No spoilers are really ahead as I would like to discuss something a little different.
Titles. Book titles are so surprisingly important. It is what makes us reach for a specific novel on the shelf and is what grabs interest. I feel as though all too many book don't have nearly enough thought in the title. But this one did.
Confession: When I was little and saw my brother reading to Kill A Mockingbird I did not know what it was about. All I really knew was of a person named Boo Radley, who I decided was a soldier and I did not understand why he was killing birds. That is the beauty in the title.
On page 74 Atticus Finch says when discussing what is and isn't okay to shoot, "...but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
Another character Miss MAudie goes on to explain to Scout that Atticus is right as "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, don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us."
The same thing goes for people. You cannot try and hurt the defenseless. It is a sin.
Scout seems to learn this lesson as the title is mentioned again later in the story. on page 234 she says on the death of someone who needs to played a certain way, "Well it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" Making it clear the lesson meant to be taken away from the novel.
I like the this title did not resemble plot, but rather a them. It isn't about what it's like to kill a mockingbird. It's about the repercussions from it and recognizing when what you're shooting at could very well be a bird trying to make some music for you.
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