What theme is developed throughout To Kill a Mockingbird? How?

The biggest and most obvious theme that runs throughout the novel gives the book its title, To Kill a Mockingbird.  Many characters in the novel are symbolized by the mockingbird. We are first introduced to this concept when Atticus tells Jem, “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”  Miss Maudie further explains that because mockingbirds don’t harm anyone and are just hear to sing for us, it would be cruel to destroy them. 

Many characters represent the mockingbird through their loss of innocence. Boo Radley’s warm, child-like behavior in the novel shows how harmless and beautiful he truly is.  Both Jem and Scout are considered mockingbirds as well because they are innocent children who are forced to grow up in the turbulent time of racism and the Great Depression.  Tom Robinson is another mockingbird in the story. Unjustly accused of the rape of Mayella Ewell, Tom’s death embodies society’s sin of killing an innocent man.   

Throughout the story, the innocence of many characters is subjected to the sins of society through racism, violence, and oppression. Harper Lee’s use of the mockingbird as a symbol shows a theme of how society and man can destroy innocence.

Note: Some other characters considered mockingbirds could be Dill, Dolphus Raymond, and Mayella Ewell.