--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What happened after that had a dreamlike…" description: "\"“What happened after that had a dreamlike quality: in a dream I saw the jury return, moving like underwater swimmers, and Judge Taylor's voice came fro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/harper-lee-451_dream_what-happened-after-that-had-a-dreamlike_899930.jpg" --- # What happened after that had a dreamlike quality: in a… ![“What happened after that had a dreamlike quality: in a dream I saw the jury return, moving like underwater swimmers, and Judge Taylor's voice came from far away, and was tiny. I saw something only a lawyer's child could be expected to see, could be expected to watch for, and it was like watching…” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/harper-lee-451_dream_what-happened-after-that-had-a-dreamlike_899930.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/harper-lee-451_dream_what-happened-after-that-had-a-dreamlike_899930.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fd/harper-lee-451_dream_what-happened-after-that-had-a-dreamlike_899930.jpg) > ““What happened after that had a dreamlike quality: in a dream I saw the jury return, moving like underwater swimmers, and Judge Taylor's voice came from far away, and was tiny. I saw something only a lawyer's child could be expected to see, could be expected to watch for, and it was like watching Atticus walk into the street, raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time knowing that the gun was empty.”” [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 a surreal courtroom scene that feels like a dream, highlighting the emptiness of authority and the weight of expectation. **In simple terms:** A dreamlike courtroom shows empty power and expectation. Key Takeaway Recognize the emptiness behind authority. Themes justice authority illusion perception Mood thoughtful somber Type literary reflective When to use this quote - courtroom - jury deliberation - public speaking - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts legal drama psychological insight symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does the empty gun symbolize for you? - How do expectations shape perception? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑dramatize reality, reducing nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreamlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreamlike/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ## Related quotes > [I love suspense movies, because in a sense they're the most dreamlike of any genre, and I'm sure I'll make another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/i-love-suspense-movies-because-in-a-sense-they-re-the-most-dreamlike/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [“If the dreamlike visions were stripped of all pretense of order and meaning, then they could safely ignore them. 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Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard-2/) > [There's something very dreamlike about film, and I will always be very fascinated by that, and I'm always tempted to go in that direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chase/there-s-something-very-dreamlike-about-film-and-i-will-always-be-very/) [David Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chase/) > [“...for a moment he seemed to see himself as if in a dreamlike film, surrounded by kindred spirits at the warm center of some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lasdun/for-a-moment-he-seemed-to-see-himself-as-if-in-a-dreamlike-film/) [James Lasdun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lasdun/) > [It's such a surreal experience, being shot out of the cannon for any kind of first season show. 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I translated the novel and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-morris/dreamlike-sequencing-is-perhaps-one-of-jo-o-gilberto-noll-s-most/) [Adam Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-morris/) > [“Dreamlike it was, and yet no dream, for there was no waking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/dreamlike-it-was-and-yet-no-dream-for-there-was-no-waking/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) ## 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. 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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 Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. 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I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What happened after that had a dreamlike quality: in a dream I saw the jury return, moving like underwater swimmers, and Judge Taylor's voice came from far away, and was tiny. 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