What are examples of the mockingbird motif in To Kill a Mockingbird, and where does Atticus say it is "a sin to kill a mockingbird"?

1. Following 's
comment about it being a sin to kill a mockingbird, there are several motifs regarding
mockingbirds found throughout the novel. After Tom Robinson is wrongly convicted, he is sent to
Enfield Prison Farm, where he attempts to escape. Unfortunately, Tom is shot dead during his
escape, and Mr. B. B. Underwood compares his death to the "senseless slaughter of
songbirds." Tom Robinson is a symbolic mockingbird because he is harmless and defenseless
and only brings joy to the world.

2. In ,andwalk
to the Maycomb school to participate in the Halloween festivities. As they walk past 's home,
Scout mentions,

"High above us in the darkness a
solitary mocker poured out his repertoire in blissful unawareness of whose tree he sat in,
plunging from the shrill kee, kee of the sunflower bird to the irascible qua-ack of a bluejay,
to the sad lament of Poor Will, Poor Will, Poor Will" (Lee, 258).

This specific mockingbird motif foreshadows Bob Ewell's attack on
the innocent, vulnerable children as they are walking home.

3. The final mockingbird motif takes place at the end
ofwhen Scout metaphorically applies her father's lesson to Boo Radley. When Sheriff Tate says
that it would be a sin to inform the community about Boo's heroics, Scout tells her
father,

"Well, itd be sort of like shootin€˜ a
mockingbird, wouldnt it?" (Lee, 281).