--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had a feeling that I shouldn't be here…" description: "\"“I had a feeling that I shouldn't be here listening to this sinful man who had mixed children and didn't care who knew it, but he was fascinating. I ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/harper-lee-451_children_i-had-a-feeling-that-i-shouldn-t-be-here_1357634.png" --- # I had a feeling that I shouldn't be here listening to this… ![“I had a feeling that I shouldn't be here listening to this sinful man who had mixed children and didn't care who knew it, but he was fascinating. I had never encountered a being who deliberately perpetrated fraud against himself. But why had he entrusted us with his deepest secret? I asked him…” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/harper-lee-451_children_i-had-a-feeling-that-i-shouldn-t-be-here_1357634.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/harper-lee-451_children_i-had-a-feeling-that-i-shouldn-t-be-here_1357634.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/harper-lee-451_children_i-had-a-feeling-that-i-shouldn-t-be-here_1357634.png) > ““I had a feeling that I shouldn't be here listening to this sinful man who had mixed children and didn't care who knew it, but he was fascinating. I had never encountered a being who deliberately perpetrated fraud against himself. But why had he entrusted us with his deepest secret? I asked him why. 'Because you're children and you can unterstand it,' he said.”” [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator questions why a morally ambiguous person is trusted with a secret, highlighting innocence versus corruption. **In simple terms:** A child wonders why a flawed adult is trusted with a secret. Key Takeaway Consider how innocence can be used to reveal truth. Themes innocence trust morality secrecy Mood conflicted thoughtful intrigued Type literary philosophical psychological When to use this quote - family dynamics - legal ethics - personal growth - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethical paradox psychology of trust Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to trust someone with a secret? - How can innocence be both a strength and a vulnerability? A Different Perspective The adult may be manipulative, using innocence to conceal wrongdoing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Deepest Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deepest-secret-1789479/) [Fraud Entrusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fraud-entrusted-4636810/) [Listening Sinful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening-sinful-4636811/) [Secret Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-asked-1365052/) [Sinful Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sinful-man-1005242/) ## Related quotes > [“Scout: Why are you entrusting us your deepest secret? Mr. Raymond: Because you’re children and you can understand it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/scout-why-are-you-entrusting-us-your-deepest-secret-mr-raymond/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“You want to know a secret?” I asked. “Sure,” she said halfheartedly. “I love to sniff the insides of books,” I said in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gantos/you-want-to-know-a-secret-i-asked-sure-she-said-halfheartedly-i-love/) [Jack Gantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gantos/) > [“You can't tell your teacher that my name is James Witherspoon. Atlanta ain't nothing but a country town, and everyone knows everybody. 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I am a selfish and sinful man, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-paton/something-in-the-humble-voice-must-have-touched-msimangu-for-he-said/) [Alan Paton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-paton/) > [Sinful man really hopes when he no longer has anything of his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-baptist-metz/sinful-man-really-hopes-when-he-no-longer-has-anything-of-his-own/) [Johann Baptist Metz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-baptist-metz/) > [If a woman marries a man, shes trusting him with the rest of her life that he wont hit her, cheat on her, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/if-a-woman-marries-a-man-shes-trusting-him-with-the-rest-of-her-life/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [“In transforming the soul of sinful man, Jesus will set in motion an eternal chain reaction that will change all things forever (1 Cor. 15).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-mason/in-transforming-the-soul-of-sinful-man-jesus-will-set-in-motion-an/) [Eric Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-mason/) > [Having begun my life in science searching for the equation beyond time, I now believe that the deepest secret of the universe is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smolin/having-begun-my-life-in-science-searching-for-the-equation-beyond/) [Lee Smolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smolin/) > [“The deepest secret is that life is not a process of discovery, but a process of creation. You are not discovering yourself, but creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-deepest-secret-is-that-life-is-not-a-process-of-discovery-but-a/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [He confided his deepest secret to you; be always wary of his secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/he-confided-his-deepest-secret-to-you-be-always-wary-of-his-secret/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“If joy is the aim and the core of existence, she thought, and if that which has the power to give one joy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/if-joy-is-the-aim-and-the-core-of-existence-she-thought-and-if-that/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by Harper Lee > [“No jury in this part of the world's going to say, "We think you're guilty, but not very," on a charge like that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-jury-in-this-part-of-the-world-s-going-to-say-we-think-you-re/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [That proves something- that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/that-proves-something-that-a-gang-of-wild-animals-can-be-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. 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It just shows you how poor that person is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-never-an-insult-to-be-called-what-somebody-thinks-is-a-bad-name/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin' after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wonder-how-much-of-the-day-i-spend-just-callin-after-you/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Writing is something you'll never learn in any university or at any school. It's something that is within you, and if it isn't there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-something-you-ll-never-learn-in-any-university-or-at-any/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Naw, Jem. I think that there is just one kind of folks. Folks." Jen turned and punched his pillow. WHen he settle back his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/naw-jem-i-think-that-there-is-just-one-kind-of-folks-folks-jen-turned/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The course of English Literature would have been decidedly different had Mr. Wordsworth owned a power mower.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-course-of-english-literature-would-have-been-decidedly-different/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I would like to be the chronicler of something that I think is going down the drain very swiftly, and that is small-town, middle-class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-would-like-to-be-the-chronicler-of-something-that-i-think-is-going/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The gum looked fresh. I sniffed it and it smelled all right. I licked it and waited for a while. 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You got anything needs readin' I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-just-thought-you-d-like-to-know-i-can-read-you-got-anything-needs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Explore all 494 Harper Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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