Untitled document Essays - Creative Works, Films, American Culture

"Remember it is a sin to kill a mockingbird." This is a quote straight from Harper Lee's character Atticus, in her her novel To Kill A Mockingbird , and arguably the most important one. This quote has me thinking, "is it really a sin to kill a mockingbird?" Some would agree with Atticus's belief and others would disagree with his thoughts; however, it is in fact a sin to kill a mockingbird. Three reasons to support this claim would be mockingbirds are innocent, the Bible is against it, and it is illegal. It is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they are innocent creatures. In response to the quote by Atticus, Miss Maudie says, "Your father's right, Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." She is right. These beautiful birds don't take anything but give us the gift of music. One we should all cherish. It is a sin to kill a mockingbird because the Bible says not to. As I just explained, Mockingbirds are innocent, but there is an even deeper meaning to the innocence we feel from Harper Lee's words. In the novel, Tom is a mockingbird. This is a metaphor that should not be ignored. This deeper meaning is taking the characters personalities and comparing them to the lovely mockingbird. Because mockingbirds are innocent we must see that this means Tom is innocent too as he is the perfect resemblance. The Bible provides many examples for why it is wrong to kill an innocent man. For example, Leviticus 24:21 states, "Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death." Another example is, Exodus 20:13 which also exclaims,"You shall not murder." It is a sin to kill a mockingbird because it is illegal. Atticus was not just keeping our hearts from doing and thinking wrong, he was also saving us from possible fines and prosecutions. The Washington Post states, " It is illegal to transport, trap or kill native non-game adult birds like Blue Jays or Mockingbirds without a permit, even if they are harassing birds at nest boxes or feeders." Those who disagree and say, "it is not a sin to kill a mockingbird", might bring up the point that mockingbirds get into our gardens and eat all of our tomatoes. This is invalid because like us, they are surviving. We should not put a mother bird to death for having the sense to feed her babies. In conclusion, it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they are innocent, the Bible says not to, and it is illegal. I hope now we can all agree Killing a mockingbird is wrong. Now this does not mean we should kill as many seagulls as we like. The metaphor still stands and we should absorb the lesson we have learned through this story.