In To Kill a Mockingbird, according to Atticus, it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. Scout asks Miss Maudie why. What does Miss Maudie tell Scout?

In , the
children take their air rifles outside to shoot andencourages them to aim at tin cans or blue
jays. Atticus then tellsandthat it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. When Scout asks Miss Maudie
why Atticus said it was a sin to kill a mockingbird, Maudie tells her,

Mockingbirds dont do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They
dont eat up peoples gardens, dont nest in corncribs, they dont do one thing but sing their
hearts out for us. Thats why its a sin to kill a mockingbird (Lee, 93).

Essentially, mockingbirds are peaceful, defenseless birds that do
not harm anyone and only spread joy, which is why people should protect them and refrain from
harming them. In the novel, mockingbirds symbolically represent vulnerable, innocent individuals
like Tom Robinson and Arthur "Boo" Radley, who become the unfortunate victims of the
town's prejudice. Later on, Scout metaphorically applies Atticus's comments regarding
mockingbirds to 's situation after Bob Ewell's vicious attack. She likens Boo Radley to an
innocent, defenseless mockingbird and demonstrates her maturity and integrity by agreeing with
Sheriff Tate's decision to not tell the town about Boo's heroics in order to protect
him.