Harper Lee titles her novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" to illustrate how sinful it is to kill a mockingbird. As shown in the quote, mockingbirds are animals that are made of pure goodness that harm no one. They are also very innocent because they have not been exposed to the horrors of the earth. In the story, some characters represent mockingbirds, such as Scout, Jem, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. This means that they once were, or currently are, very innocent and untouched by the cruelties of man. The difference between these characters is that Boo and Tom's innocence were destroyed, and Jem and Scout's innocence is still intact. Boo was once a polite child who was lured into a gang by evil, and was abused by his father for doing so, which in turn, made him lose his innocence. Tom is an African American man who was exposed to he terrible racism in Maycomb and was eventually accused of a crime that he didn't do. After he was proven guilty, he lost every drop of innocence. Because of this he tried to escape from prison and was shot and killed. Jem and Scout's father, Atticus, is one of the few educated people in Maycomb and believes in equal liberty and justice for all. After witnessing the terrible things that society has done to people like Boo and Tom, he warns his children to not grow up to fast. He wants them to keep their innocence for as long as they can because of the dangerous and unforgiving world. Despite this, he knows that they will eventually stop shooting at cans and going for blue jays. He wants his children to learn that it is a sin to destroy anyone's innocence. Jem and Scout eventually lose their innocence after being exposed to the racism that exists which allows Tom to be proven guilty. They also learn that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird when Scout states that Boo is like a mockingbird and it is a crime to hit him. Throughout the story, the children grow up are exposed to the horrors, but also to the beauties of the world.