--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I'll be a clown when I get…" description: "\"I think I'll be a clown when I get grown,' said Dill. Jem and I stopped in our tracks. Yes sir, a clown,' he said. 'There ain't one thing in this world..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/559/harper-lee-451_backwards_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2506172.png" --- # I think I'll be a clown when I get grown,' said Dill. Jem… ![“I think I'll be a clown when I get grown,' said Dill. Jem and I stopped in our tracks. Yes sir, a clown,' he said. 'There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off.' You got it backwards, Dill,' said Jem. 'Clowns are sad…” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/559/harper-lee-451_backwards_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2506172.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/559/harper-lee-451_backwards_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2506172.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/559/harper-lee-451_backwards_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2506172.png) > “I think I'll be a clown when I get grown,' said Dill. Jem and I stopped in our tracks. Yes sir, a clown,' he said. 'There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off.' You got it backwards, Dill,' said Jem. 'Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them.' Well I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks.” [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 character decides to become a clown to mock society, flipping the usual sad clown trope. **In simple terms:** A clown uses humor to critique others. Key Takeaway Use humor to expose hypocrisy. Themes humor social critique identity performance Mood playful provocative Type satirical conversational When to use this quote - stand‑up comedy - political protest - artistic expression - personal coping Key Concepts role reversal satire self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to laugh at the audience? - Can satire be both entertaining and transformative? A Different Perspective Risk of alienating audiences or trivializing pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backwards/) [Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus/) [Clown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clown/) [Clown Gonna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clown-gonna-1110343/) [Clown Grown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clown-grown-1110344/) [Clown Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clown-said-272463/) [Clowns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clowns/) [Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folks/) [Jem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jem/) [Jem Clowns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jem-clowns-1110342/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Rings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rings/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [This world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-world/) [Track](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/track/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-m-gonna-be-a-new-kind-of-clown-i-m-gonna-stand-in-the-middle-of-the/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them." "Well, I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/clowns-are-sad-it-s-folks-that-laugh-at-them-well-i-m-gonna-be-a-new/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I think I'll be a clown when I get grown… There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown-there-ain-t-one-thing-in/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > ["I think Ill be a clown when I get grown.. Yes, sir, a clown. There aint one thing in this world I can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-think-ill-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown-yes-sir-a-clown-there-aint/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I think I'll be a clown when I get grown," said Dill. "Yes, sir, a clown... There ain't one thing in this world I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown-said-dill-yes-sir-a-clown/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“They float,” the clown said. “Down here we all float; pretty soon your friend will float, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/they-float-the-clown-said-down-here-we-all-float-pretty-soon-your/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The clown has great importance as part of the search for what is laughable and ridiculous in man. We should put the emphasis on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lecoq/the-clown-has-great-importance-as-part-of-the-search-for-what-is/) [Jacques Lecoq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lecoq/) > [“Jem, naturally, was Boo: he went under the front steps and shrieked and howled from time to time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/jem-naturally-was-boo-he-went-under-the-front-steps-and-shrieked-and/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-was-not-so-sure-but-jem-told-me-i-was-being-a-girl-that-girls/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [...but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/but-before-i-can-live-with-other-folks-i-ve-got-to-live-with-myself/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/before-jem-looks-at-anyone-else-he-looks-at-me-and-i-ve-tried-to-live/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I had never thought about it, but summer was Dill by the fishpool smoking string, Dill's eyes alive with complicated plans to make Boo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-had-never-thought-about-it-but-summer-was-dill-by-the-fishpool/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/when-a-child-asks-you-something-answer-him-for-goodness-sake/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/clowns-are-sad-it-s-folks-that-laugh-at-them/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## 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. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/folks-don-t-like-to-have-somebody-around-knowin-more-than-they-do-it/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [ “...\[Summer\] was a thousand colors in a parched landscape...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/summer-was-a-thousand-colors-in-a-parched-landscape/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [It’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. 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. When I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-gum-looked-fresh-i-sniffed-it-and-it-smelled-all-right-i-licked/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I just thought you'd like to know I can read. 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 Backwards quotes > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [I wear T-shirts and backwards hats and buy my shoes at Payless!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-bristowe/i-wear-t-shirts-and-backwards-hats-and-buy-my-shoes-at-payless/) [Kaitlyn Bristowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-bristowe/) > [A historian is not always a prophet facing backwards, but a journalist is always someone who afterwards knew everything beforehand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-historian-is-not-always-a-prophet-facing-backwards-but-a-journalist/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Why don't you just imagine it never happened..??](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/effy-stonem/why-don-t-you-just-imagine-it-never-happened/) [Effy Stonem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/effy-stonem/) > [“It would seem no matter how progressive we get there are always those few who are backwards in their ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-nicole/it-would-seem-no-matter-how-progressive-we-get-there-are-always-those/) [Solange nicole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-nicole/) > [In the spiritual life, he who does not advance goes backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/in-the-spiritual-life-he-who-does-not-advance-goes-backwards/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Now, success is not the result of making money; making money is the result of success - and success is in direct proportion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/now-success-is-not-the-result-of-making-money-making-money-is-the/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Can anyone be so foolish as to believe that there are men whose feet are higher than their heads, or places where things may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lactantius/can-anyone-be-so-foolish-as-to-believe-that-there-are-men-whose-feet/) [Lactantius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lactantius/) > [I took a little break - I was coming back to work and the last thing I was going to do was take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-took-a-little-break-i-was-coming-back-to-work-and-the-last-thing-i/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Only a fool walks into the future backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/only-a-fool-walks-into-the-future-backwards/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [We have different expectations for different groups of people. 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We start with the customer and we work backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/we-re-not-competitor-obsessed-we-re-customer-obsessed-we-start-with/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) [Browse all 837 Backwards quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backwards/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think I'll be a clown when I get grown,' said Dill. Jem and I stopped in our tracks. Yes sir, a clown,' he said. 'There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off.' You got it backwards, Dill,' said Jem. 'Clowns are sad, it's folks that laugh at them.' Well I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. 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