Chapters 9+10 TKAM

At the beginning of the novel I was unclear what the title, “To Kill a Mockingbird” meant.  These chapters gave me a little more information about mockingbirds, which may eventually lead to deciphering exactly what the title has to do with the novel.  In chapter ten, Atticus, explains to Scout and Jem that mockingbirds are not to be targeted by their rifles.  When Scout asks Miss Maudie why she answers, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s garden’s, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us” (90).  Here, Maudie tells us that mockingbirds should be highly regarded and protected, as their life’s accomplishment is to make others happy.  This made me think deeper and led me to reflect that Arthur Radley resembles a mockingbird which is depicted through his kind gestures, such as the stitching of the pants, and the blanket that he put on Scout. I think this identity will become more evident throughout the rest of the novel, and that Arthur Radley may be the Mockingbird that the title is referring to.