They're ugly, but those are the facts of life.
Harper LeeRead
Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True courage is acting in the face of inevitable failure.
This quote by Harper Lee emphasizes that real courage is not the absence of fear or the certainty of success, but rather the decision to take action despite knowing the odds are stacked against you. It illustrates the virtue of perseverance and determination, suggesting that one should pursue their goals with resolve, even when the outcome seems predetermined.
Themes
CouragePerseveranceDeterminationActionBravery
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to inspire people to face challenges head-on.
More from Harper Lee
All quotes →It's better to be silent than to be a fool.
Harper LeeRead
Don’t talk like that, Dill,” said Aunt Alexandra. “It’s not becoming to a child. It’s – cynical.” “I ain’t cynical, Miss Alexandra. Tellin’ the truth’s not cynical, is it?” “The way you tell it, it is.
Harper LeeRead
With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable.
Harper LeeRead
He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.
Harper LeeRead
You can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family, an' they're still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don't.
Harper LeeRead
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Women, we might as well be dogs baying the moon as petitioners without the right to vote!
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Toughness found fertile soil in the hearts of Palestinians, and the grains of resistance embedded themselves in their skin. Endurance evolved as a hallmark of refugee society. But the price they paid was the subduing of tender vulnerability. They learned to celebrate martyrdom. Only martyrdom offered freedom. Only in death were they at last invulnerable to Israel. Martyrdom became the ultimate defiance of Israeli occupation.
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When I got home from hospital, and I was in a wheelchair in a plaster body cast, an aeroplane flew over. And I thought to myself, 'Well, if I can't walk, then I might as well fly.' And I was lifted into the aeroplane for the first time. And when I took the controls of the aeroplane, I knew this was something I could do. I thought, 'I can fly.'
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I'd been in jail, and I'd been beat. I had been to a voter registration workshop, you know, to - they were just training and teaching us how to register, to pass the literacy test.
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Peoples of the Americas are rising once again, saying no to imperialism, saying no to fascism, saying no to intervention - and saying no to death.
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