'I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you'll go
after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want , if you can hit 'em, but
remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' This is what Atticus Finch
tells his children after they are given air-rifles for Christmas. Uniquely, the title of the classic novel by Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird, was taken from this passage. At first glance, one may wonder why Harper Lee decided to name her book after what seems to be a rather insignificant excerpt. After careful study, however, one begins to see that this is just another example of symbolism in the novel. Harper Lee uses symbolism rather extensively throughout this story, and much of it refers to the problems of racism in the South during the early twentieth century.
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