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Symbols
Mockingbirds symbolize innocence and beauty in the novel. Atticus and Miss Maudie tell Scout and Jem that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because these birds cause no harm to anyone or anything—they just sing. In doing so, they make the world a better place. Because of this, mockingbirds are pure creatures, and killing them would be, in contrast, an act of senseless cruelty. Several characters in the novel can be seen as mockingbirds, especially Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, as they are fragile, kind, and moral individuals who are misunderstood by their prejudiced society—and, in Tom’s case, ultimately destroyed by it.
The Mockingbird Quotes in To Kill a Mockingbird
The To Kill a Mockingbird quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Mockingbird. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 10
Quotes
“Remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father's right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
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Chapter 25
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[Jem] was certainly never cruel to animals, but I had never known his charity to embrace the insect world.
“Why couldn't I mash him?” I asked.
“Because they don't bother you,” Jem answered in the darkness. He had turned out his reading light.
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Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.
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The Mockingbird Symbol Timeline in To Kill a Mockingbird
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Mockingbird appears in To Kill a Mockingbird. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 10
...to shoot their air rifles and tells them that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. This isn’t a normal thing for Atticus to say, so Scout asks Miss Maudie about...
(full context)
Chapter 21
...to feel the same way she did in February, when the street closed up, the mockingbirds were silent, and Mr. Tate told Atticus to shoot Tim Johnson. Mr. Tate returns and...
(full context)
Chapter 25
...about how it’s a sin to kill disabled people. He likened it to senselessly killing songbirds. Scout was confused, since Tom received due process, but then she realized that Tom was...
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Chapter 28
...they laugh about the silly superstitions they used to believe in. They listen to a mockingbird as Scout trips on a root on their way into the schoolyard. Scout can’t see...
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Chapter 30
...Ewell fell on his knife. Scout says she agrees—the alternative would be like killing a mockingbird. Atticus thanks Boo for saving his children.
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