To Kill a Mockingbird - Course Introduction

Protip: this novel really has very little to do with killing mockingbirds. But a more apt title, "To Completely Let Down a Totally Innocent Black Man Because American Society in the 1930s' Was Still Racist Like Whoa," was deemed too long to fit on the cover.

Granted, "To Kill a Mockingbird" ends up being the perfect title in context. Protagonist Scout and her brother Jem are told that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (10.7, 10.9). You know what else is sinful? Racism. Injustice. Murder. Perjury. Racism, again.

So the next time you read "To Kill a Mockingbird" (which is gonna be a lot over the next three weeks, since you're taking this course) think about how much it encompasses through the use of metaphor. And how it definitely, positively has nothing to do with birds.

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