In the last century there have certainly been many "greats": novels, books and stories that impress, amaze and make you think. Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," however, is unique among all these moving literary pieces in that the novel exclusively develops Lee's idea, carried forward by Atticus in the novel, to "...shoot all the jays whatever you want, if you want." they can hit them, but remember that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird" (90). This phrase is expressed by the character MissMaudie when she says "...thrushes do nothing but make music for our amusement. They don't eat up people's gardens, they don't nest in corn cribs, they don't do one thing, but they sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a shame to kill a mockingbird. :(90) In the bird kingdom, the jay is considered the "bully", as it is very loud, aggressive and territorial; by Bob Ewell The phrase "killing a mockingbird" represents the iniquity of spoiling something good and relatively intact, since mockingbirds do nothing but sing beautiful songs, they are innocent and harmless. This motif can also be interpreted as a symbol of imitation, or "mocking". " - themockingbird is known for its surrogate songs of other birds. This mockingbird motif, the main theme, is exemplified by the actions and words of three characters in "To Kill A Mockingbird" -Arthur (Boo) Radley, Tom Robinson and Jean-Louise (Scout) Finch. It is obvious and easy to understand why one of the "mournets" in Lee's novel is Tom Robinson, as he is not just a cripple, "His left arm was a full twelve inches shorter than his right , and hung dead on his side. It ended with a small shriveled hand, and from the balcony I could see that it was of no use to him. (186), but also innocent, kind and kind-hearted. This is acknowledged when he helps Mayella Ewell, in exchange for nothing. "...'did he do all this for no money?' “Yes, yes.” (197) He is a victim not only of racial prejudice, but also of the system of segregation in which the city of Maycomb lived. Even when he was convicted, the jurors had no quarrel with him: they simply felt that taking the word of a black man more than two whites would jeopardize that system of segregation they lived under. Tom as a symbol is further continued by