Significance of the Title "To Kill a Mockingbird"

The Significance of the Title
“To Kill a Mockingbird”




When we hear the words “To Kill a Mockingbird”, we think of one thing. A timeless classic, a literary work of art that in some way has touched us all, whether we were forced to read it in school or read it for enjoyment. But do we truly know what the significance of the title is? In this novel, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are portrayed as the “mockingbirds” of the story, and the title suggests that the whole message of the book is revealed to us in the four little words of the title.

Towards the beginning of the story, Atticus tells the children at the dinner table that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they don’t do anything to anyone except sing and make a nice sound. Not very far after he says this, we realize that Boo Radley could be depicted as a mockingbird. Despite what the children think of him, he does not associate let alone harm or upset anyone in any way. If he does anything ...