Original artwork, not a still
To Kill a Mockingbird · 1960
It's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The book's title, explained in one sentence: the mockingbird stands for the harmless, whom it is wrong to hurt. Readers soon see it points to Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, and the line has become the shorthand for protecting the innocent, quoted on classroom walls and in tributes to the novel. It gives the story its moral centre in a phrase a child can repeat.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for To Kill a MockingbirdShow the scene
In Chapter 10 of Harper Lee's 1960 novel, Scout and Jem are embarrassed that their father, at fifty, is older than their friends' parents, wears glasses and neither hunts nor farms. They have air rifles. Atticus will not teach them to shoot, but he tells them to remember that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Scout is surprised, because it is the only time she ever hears him call anything a sin, so she asks Miss Maudie. Miss Maudie agrees with him: mockingbirds only make music for us to enjoy and harm nobody's garden.
Sources (2)
- LitCharts, To Kill a Mockingbird quotesChapter 10 quote on the mockingbird, with Miss Maudie's replyReference checked
- LitCharts, Chapter 10 summarySummaryReference checked
Context reviewed
