“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” says Atticus on page 119. Scout later asks Miss Maudie about what her father said. “‘Your father’s right,’ she said. ‘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, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” (119)
As the reader knows, Atticus hates killing animals as his preference was for Jem to shoot at tin cans instead. When pressured to shoot Tim Johnson, Atticus was faced with a choice—to kill him, or to let him possibly kill or harm others. Unlike mockingbirds, which solely try to please people by singing, mad dogs could potentially be dangerous and life-threatening. A question that I still have is, do you think Atticus was hesitant to kill the dog because he didn’t want Jem and Scout to see him? Also, Scout mentions that this was the first time Atticus ever explained something as a sin. Why is this significant/symbolic?
(Also, you can hear what a mockingbird’s “music” sounds like: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_mockingbird/id.)
Atticus says it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, but considers it "okay" to kill a mad dog. As Lydia said, a mad dog can be life threatening, and hurt the town, but a mockingbird just provides music and joyfulness, and doesn't tear up gardens. The moment when Atticus has to shoot the mad dog, he does it not because he is “okay” with it, but because it is a symbol of how the town needs Atticus to rid the town of the inner evil. When Atticus sides with Tom Robinson, the town lashes back on his family because they are starting to feel a sense of insecurity because their only “example person” has now sided with (who they think) the bad guys (the African-Americans). Boo Radley is a perfect example of a mockingbird because (as Miss Maudie noted) he has only been kind to her, never harsh, and the only things he has done to Jem and Scout have been nice things. If anybody, Nathan Radley has been the only symbol of pure hatred toward the kids and the town!
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