Quotes from Old Yeller

Fred Gipson ·  132 pages

Rating: (75K votes)


“What I mean is, things like that happen. They may seem might cruel and unfair, but that's how life is a part of the time. But that isn't the only way life is. A part of the time, it's mighty good. And a man can't afford to waste all the good part, worrying about the bad parts. That makes it all bad”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller


“That was as rough a thing as I ever heard tell of happening to a boy. And I'm mighty proud to learn how my boy stood up to it. You couldn't ask any more of a grown man... It's not a thing you can forget. I don't guess it's a thing you ought to forget. What I mean is, things like that happen. They may seem mighty cruel and unfair, but that's how life is part of the time. But that isn't the only way life is. A part of the time, it's mighty good. And a man can't afford to waste all the good part, worrying about the bad parts. That makes it all bad.”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller


“I remember like yesterday how he strayed in out of nowhere to our log cabin on Birdsong Creek. He made me so mad at first that I wanted to kill him. Then, later, when I had to kill him, it was like having to shoot some of my own folks.”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller


“Well, when you're fourteen years old, you can't afford to mix in a rock fight with your five-year-old brother. You can't do it, even when you're in the right. You just can't explain a thing like that to your folks. All they'll do is point out how much bigger you are, how unfair it is to your little brother.”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller


“When it came to gunfire Jumper didn’t have any more sense than a red ant in a hot skillet.”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller



“Now nothing was left hanging to the pole but the frazzled ends of the snapped blades.”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller


“... I guessed that when you are nearly a man, you have to learn to put up with a lot of aggravation from little old bitty kids.”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller


“I reached in and let him lick my hand. 'Yeller,' I said, 'I'll be back. I'm promising that I'll be back.”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller


“Then at night, we could hardly sleep. This”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller


“You're getting to be a big boy; and while I'm gone, you'll be the man of the family. I want you to act like one. You take care of Mama and Little Arliss. You look after the work and don't wait around for your mama to point out what needs to be done. Think you can do that?”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller



About the author

Fred Gipson
Born place: in Mason, TX, The United States
Born date February 7, 1908
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“The man had a body that made her want to learn how to carve marble.”
― Jenna Bayley-Burke, quote from Compromising Positions


“Whatever can be thought of is an idea in the mind of the person thinking of it; therefore nothing can be thought of except ideas in minds; therefore anything else is inconceivable, and what is inconceivable cannot exist.”
― Bertrand Russell, quote from The Problems of Philosophy


“As instructed, she visualized the first moves in her mind, and then began.  No words—her class was supposed to be reading the pictures in her mind.  Knees bend, arms sweep up, breathe in.  Stretch for the gorgeous blue sky and feel the warmth.  Breathe out, arms sweep down and to heart center.  Repeat.”
― Debora Geary, quote from A Modern Witch


“With regard to power, women don’t have the vanity men have. They don’t need to make power visible, they only want the power to give them the other things they want. Security. Food. Enjoyment. Revenge. Peace. They are rational, power-seeking planners, who think beyond the battle, beyond the victory celebrations. And because they have an inborn capacity to see weakness in their victims, they know instinctively when and how to strike. And when to stop. You can’t learn that...”
― Jo Nesbø, quote from Nemesis


“Oh, please,” said Hessler. “It’s your standard false duality designed to draw gullible believers into a world of monochromatic enemies and strip away any moral ambiguity—usually utilized by the ruling government to bolster whatever policies it wishes to implement.”
― Patrick Weekes, quote from The Palace Job


Interesting books

Into the Gauntlet
(54.1K)
Into the Gauntlet
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Bring Up the Bodies
(54.5K)
Bring Up the Bodies
by Hilary Mantel
A House for Mr Biswas
(15.3K)
A House for Mr Biswa...
by V.S. Naipaul
Agnes Grey
(41.6K)
Agnes Grey
by Anne Brontë
The Reckoning
(7.4K)
The Reckoning
by Sharon Kay Penman
When the Wind Blows
(42.8K)
When the Wind Blows
by James Patterson

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.