--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Jen and I were accustomed to our father's…" description: "\"Jen and I were accustomed to our father's last-will-and-testament diction, and were at times free to interrupt Atticus for a translation when it was be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/harper-lee-451_diction_jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father_394413.png" --- # Jen and I were accustomed to our father's… ![“Jen and I were accustomed to our father's last-will-and-testament diction, and were at times free to interrupt Atticus for a translation when it was beyond our understanding.” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/harper-lee-451_diction_jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father_394413.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/harper-lee-451_diction_jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father_394413.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/harper-lee-451_diction_jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father_394413.png) > “Jen and I were accustomed to our father's last-will-and-testament diction, and were at times free to interrupt Atticus for a translation when it was beyond our understanding.” [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. The narrator describes how they often needed help understanding their father's formal language, highlighting the gap between legal jargon and everyday comprehension. **In simple terms:** Children needed help to grasp complex legal language. Key Takeaway Seek clear explanations when faced with confusing language. Themes communication family education Mood thoughtful reflective Type educational literary When to use this quote - parent‑child discussions - school lessons - legal aid sessions Key Concepts legal jargon interpretation generational gap Questions to Reflect On - How can we simplify formal language for broader understanding? - What role does patience play in learning? A Different Perspective Complex language can still alienate listeners despite good intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diction/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/testament/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Translations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [Enunciation, diction, all that stuff. None of that is in my personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/enunciation-diction-all-that-stuff-none-of-that-is-in-my-personality/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [“He used a minimum of words and no inflection whatsoever. It was a policeman's manner of speaking, direct and unadorned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-bunn/he-used-a-minimum-of-words-and-no-inflection-whatsoever-it-was-a/) [Davis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davis-bunn/) > [When I'm on television, I'm talking to millions of people, so the conversation is totally different. My words are different. My diction is different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keyshawn-johnson/when-i-m-on-television-i-m-talking-to-millions-of-people-so-the/) [Keyshawn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keyshawn-johnson/) > [Actually, I'm addicted to science fiction. Let me make my diction clear - I love sci-fi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/actually-i-m-addicted-to-science-fiction-let-me-make-my-diction-clear/) [John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/) > [“I got hung up on diction and syntax; I agonized over every word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-pierce/i-got-hung-up-on-diction-and-syntax-i-agonized-over-every-word/) [M. Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-pierce/) > [When we are understood, we always speak well, and then all your fine diction serves no purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/when-we-are-understood-we-always-speak-well-and-then-all-your-fine/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Apostolic preaching is not marked by its beautiful diction, or literary polish, or Cleverness of expression, but Operates “in demonstration of the Spirit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-wallis/apostolic-preaching-is-not-marked-by-its-beautiful-diction-or/) [Arthur Wallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-wallis/) > [Many of the finest and most interesting emotions perish forever, because too complex and fugitive for expression. Of all things relating to man, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/many-of-the-finest-and-most-interesting-emotions-perish-forever/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [I think your conversations are indicative of your tastes - even your diction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel/i-think-your-conversations-are-indicative-of-your-tastes-even-your/) [Miguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel/) > [How can one talk in a classical language about a child who's torn apart in an explosion in the market near his school? People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-blasim/how-can-one-talk-in-a-classical-language-about-a-child-who-s-torn/) [Hassan Blasim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-blasim/) > [But wise men pierce this rotten diction and fasten words again to visible things; so that picturesque language is at once a commanding certificate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-wise-men-pierce-this-rotten-diction-and-fasten-words-again-to/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When I was writing 'You Suck,' in 2006, I constructed the diction of the book's narrator, perky Goth girl Abby Normal, from what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/when-i-was-writing-you-suck-in-2006-i-constructed-the-diction-of-the/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [“Then let us have a language worthy of our world, a democratic style where rich and well-born nouns can roister with some sluttish verb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/then-let-us-have-a-language-worthy-of-our-world-a-democratic-style/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [I still have perfect diction!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aretha-franklin/i-still-have-perfect-diction/) [Aretha Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aretha-franklin/) > [The idea of 'talking white,' a lot of people grew up around that, just the idea that if you speak with proper diction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chance-the-rapper/the-idea-of-talking-white-a-lot-of-people-grew-up-around-that-just/) [Chance the Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chance-the-rapper/) ## 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 Diction quotes > [Enunciation, diction, all that stuff. None of that is in my personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/enunciation-diction-all-that-stuff-none-of-that-is-in-my-personality/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I still have perfect diction!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aretha-franklin/i-still-have-perfect-diction/) [Aretha Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aretha-franklin/) > [“Then let us have a language worthy of our world, a democratic style where rich and well-born nouns can roister with some sluttish verb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/then-let-us-have-a-language-worthy-of-our-world-a-democratic-style/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [When I was writing 'You Suck,' in 2006, I constructed the diction of the book's narrator, perky Goth girl Abby Normal, from what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/when-i-was-writing-you-suck-in-2006-i-constructed-the-diction-of-the/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [But wise men pierce this rotten diction and fasten words again to visible things; so that picturesque language is at once a commanding certificate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-wise-men-pierce-this-rotten-diction-and-fasten-words-again-to/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [How can one talk in a classical language about a child who's torn apart in an explosion in the market near his school? People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hassan-blasim/how-can-one-talk-in-a-classical-language-about-a-child-who-s-torn/) [Hassan Blasim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hassan-blasim/) > [I think your conversations are indicative of your tastes - even your diction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel/i-think-your-conversations-are-indicative-of-your-tastes-even-your/) [Miguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel/) > [Many of the finest and most interesting emotions perish forever, because too complex and fugitive for expression. Of all things relating to man, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/many-of-the-finest-and-most-interesting-emotions-perish-forever/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Apostolic preaching is not marked by its beautiful diction, or literary polish, or Cleverness of expression, but Operates “in demonstration of the Spirit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-wallis/apostolic-preaching-is-not-marked-by-its-beautiful-diction-or/) [Arthur Wallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-wallis/) > [When we are understood, we always speak well, and then all your fine diction serves no purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/when-we-are-understood-we-always-speak-well-and-then-all-your-fine/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“I got hung up on diction and syntax; I agonized over every word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-pierce/i-got-hung-up-on-diction-and-syntax-i-agonized-over-every-word/) [M. Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-pierce/) > [Actually, I'm addicted to science fiction. Let me make my diction clear - I love sci-fi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/actually-i-m-addicted-to-science-fiction-let-me-make-my-diction-clear/) [John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/) > [When I'm on television, I'm talking to millions of people, so the conversation is totally different. My words are different. My diction is different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keyshawn-johnson/when-i-m-on-television-i-m-talking-to-millions-of-people-so-the/) [Keyshawn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keyshawn-johnson/) > [“He used a minimum of words and no inflection whatsoever. It was a policeman's manner of speaking, direct and unadorned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-bunn/he-used-a-minimum-of-words-and-no-inflection-whatsoever-it-was-a/) [Davis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davis-bunn/) > [The idea of 'talking white,' a lot of people grew up around that, just the idea that if you speak with proper diction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chance-the-rapper/the-idea-of-talking-white-a-lot-of-people-grew-up-around-that-just/) [Chance the Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chance-the-rapper/) [Browse all 63 Diction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Jen and I were accustomed to our father's last-will-and-testament diction, and were at times free to interrupt Atticus for a translation when it was beyond our understanding.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harper Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father-s-last-will-and-testament/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Diction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father-s-last-will-and-testament/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/harper-lee-451_diction_jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father_394413.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/harper-lee-451_diction_jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father_394413.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e9/harper-lee-451_diction_jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father_394413.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Jen and I were accustomed to our father's last-will-and-testament diction, and were at times free to…” — 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": "Jen and I were accustomed to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father-s-last-will-and-testament/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/jen-and-i-were-accustomed-to-our-father-s-last-will-and-testament/#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 } } ] } ```