The mockingbird, which sings beautiful music for the benefit of others and never does harm to anyone, is a symbol of innocence. Immediately after atticus shares the rule about shooting mockingbirds with jem and scout, miss maudie steps in to explain it to them Her words further set up this central symbol of the novel, which represents innocence and compassion, purity and simplicity. “atticus said to jem one day, i’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but i know you’ll go after birds Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. Discover famous quotes from the novel 'to kill a mockingbird' with corresponding page numbers
Atticus said to jem one day, i’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but i know you’ll go after birds The key to understanding the quote lies in the symbolism attached to the blue jays and mockingbirds Blue jays represent the targets of worldly desires, while mockingbirds symbolize the embodiment of innocence and purity. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' that was the only time i ever heard atticus say it was a sin to do something, and i asked miss maudie about it.
