The Meaning Behind the Title

The title 'To Kill a Mockingbird' symbolizes discrimination against innocent people. Miss Maudie explained to Scout why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird when she 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 they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Basically what she is saying is that it is a sin to kill them because of their innocence. The book shows many different aspects of discrimination, including race (the black man on trial), age (Atticus), economic status (Walter Cunningham), and social rejection (Boo Radley). This book is very powerful because we still deal with these issues today. Even after the Civil Rights Movement, there is still lots of racial discrimination in the United States and all around the world. Many senior citizens are judged by their wrinkles, not their wisdom and experience. Many kids are rejected in school because they cannot afford the most in-style clothes. There are also many people who are rejected simply because the are a little bit different than everyone else, and others choose to magnify that difference. These people are all "innocent mockingbirds" who do not deserve to be distinguished from everyone else based on these things.