--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I'll be a clown when I get grown……" description: "\"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, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/harper-lee-451_can-do_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2582579.png" --- # I think I'll be a clown when I get grown… There ain't one… ![“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, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off.” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/harper-lee-451_can-do_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2582579.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/harper-lee-451_can-do_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2582579.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/harper-lee-451_can-do_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2582579.png) > “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, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off.” [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. Choosing a clown’s role reflects using humor to cope with life’s absurdities and societal constraints. **In simple terms:** Being a clown can be a coping strategy. Key Takeaway Use humor to navigate life’s challenges. Themes humor coping identity Mood lighthearted reflective playful Type literary cultural When to use this quote - stand‑up comedy - performance art - mental health therapy Key Concepts psychology social critique Questions to Reflect On - What does laughter hide for you? - When is humor appropriate? A Different Perspective Humor can mask deeper pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus/) [Circus clowns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circus-clowns/) [Clown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clown/) [Jem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jem/) [Kill a mockingbird mockingbird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-a-mockingbird-mockingbird/) [Kill a mockingbird novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-a-mockingbird-novel/) [Mockingbird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mockingbird/) [Sad clown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-clown/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tkam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tkam/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [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/) > ["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'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system - that is no ideal to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-m-no-idealist-to-believe-firmly-in-the-integrity-of-our-courts-and/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses… That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/so-it-took-an-eight-year-old-child-to-bring-em-to-their-senses-that/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-one-place-where-a-man-ought-to-get-a-square-deal-is-in-a/) [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/) > [I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system -- that is no ideal to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-m-no-idealist-to-believe-firmly-in-the-integrity-of-our-courts-and-2/) [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/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown-said-dill-jem-and-i-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/you-just-hold-your-head-high-and-keep-those-fists-down-no-matter-what-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/why-reasonable-people-go-stark-raving-mad-when-anything-involving-a-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [You can choose your friends, but you sho' can't choose your family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/you-can-choose-your-friends-but-you-sho-can-t-choose-your-family/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness’ sake. But don’t make a production of it. Children are children, but they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/when-a-child-asks-you-something-answer-him-for-goodness-sake-but-don-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [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/) ## 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 Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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, so I'm gonna join the circus and laugh my head off.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harper Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown-there-ain-t-one-thing-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can do" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown-there-ain-t-one-thing-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/harper-lee-451_can-do_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2582579.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/harper-lee-451_can-do_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2582579.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/harper-lee-451_can-do_i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown_2582579.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“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…” — Harper Lee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harper Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think I'll be a clown...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown-there-ain-t-one-thing-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-think-i-ll-be-a-clown-when-i-get-grown-there-ain-t-one-thing-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```