To Kill a Mockingbird Theme Analysis

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The title of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee holds much symbolism throughout the story, seeing as it is the central theme. Although it does not have any direct connections to the plot, it is the main cause for certain conflicts throughout the book.
In Chapter 10, Scout overhears Atticus tell Jem that it’s “a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). Why is this? Miss Maudie later explains that “Mockingbirds don’t do one things 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” (Lee 119).
Miss Maudie is indirectly trying to tell Jem and Scout the moral theme of this adage: That mockingbirds are innocent, and so killing them is wrong. In the book, Lee uses the symbol of a mockingbird as a manifestation of innocence. The act of killing a mockingbird symbolizes the destruction of innocence, the act of evil polluting and corrupting that which is pure. Mockingbirds also represent the misinterpretation of good people. Back at the time, many citizens of Maycomb looked down upon others with in...

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