To Kill A Mockingbird. The meaning of the title of To Kill A Mockingbird

A detailed Summary of To Kill A Mockingbird. The meaning of the title of To Kill A Mockingbird


In the Harper Lee novel To Kill A Mockingbird, we are lead through the lives of two young siblings, Scout and Jem, during two significant years of their childhood. The story is narrated by Scout, the hot-headed daughter of local lawyer Atticus Finch. In court, Atticus represents a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. The outcome of this trial eventually leads to the demise of the defendant.

"Shoot at all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember, it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Atticus Finch, Chapter 10, Page 99.

In the quotation above, Atticus displays his disapproval of senseless destruction. As a young man, he was gifted with excellent marksmanship, and enjoyed shooting doves out of the sky. At some point in his life, he saw that his talent was an unfair advantage over nature, and refused to shoot an animal again unless it was absolutely necessary. Atticus doesn't want his children to kill the blue jays, but if it keeps them away from the mockingbirds, he'


In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee has shown his anger at the gross injustices that were committed during this period of wide spread racial hatred in the Southern states of the USA. The situations in the novel still occur today, with workers for peace being assassinated just for wanting to have a safe existance (example: Yitzhak Rabin). Tom and Arthur were punished only for being different to the norm, and this was a sin.

Tom is not the only "mockingbird" type character in the novel. There is Arthur 'Boo' Radley, the neighbourhood legend/phantom who has been kept a virtual prisoner in his own home by the viscous rumors circulated by his shallow neighbours. Frowned upon as a delinquent teenager, the town judge let him free from his crimes on a promise from Mr Radley (Arthur's father), that no further trouble would be caused. So from that point, 'Boo' (as he was affectionately by the community) never left the house in daylight. Night time, however, was when he would reportedly roam around the s

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 675
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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