What does the quote it's a sin to kill a mockingbird mean in your opinion? Paola Dec 12, PM In my opinion the mockingbirds were a symbolism of people and what Atticus was saying was that it was a sin to not only kill but harm those who have not harmed us. I think part of the meaning of "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" involves innocence. But more specifically, mockingbirds imitate the songs of other birds, so it would be a sin to kill a mockingbird based on the sound it produces. It is just mimicking what it hears. Sometimes, people, especially children, imitate ideas and behaviors of others without fully understanding them. It would be wrong to persecute that child for believing ideas such as racism that were those of the parents.

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The Mockingbird
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JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. 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. Suffering never purified anybody; suffering merely intensifies the self-directed drives within us. Any act of love, however—no matter how small—lessens anxiety's grip, gives us a taste of tomorrow, and eases the yoke of our fears. There are people who write, but I think they're quite different from people who must write. I suppose she was with me about two months altogether.
The theme of prejudice in the novel can be best perceived through the symbol of the mockingbird. Atticus advised his children that if they went hunting for birds to "shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" Miss Maudie explains this further by saying that "mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.