“Atticus said to Jem one day, "Iâ€™d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know youâ€™ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit â€˜em, but remember itâ€™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. "Your fatherâ€™s right," she said. "Mockingbirds donâ€™t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They donâ€™t eat up peopleâ€™s gardens, donâ€™t nest in corn cribs, they donâ€™t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. Thatâ€™s why itâ€™s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
— Harper Lee,