Mockingbird Motif

Motif is a literary element that means a recurring theme in a novel, that helps the book progress or get across a message more easily.
To Kill a Mockingbird really has helped me understand motif because the mockingbird is a great example of it. Before I was like, "Yeah symbolism, okay I don't know what you mean, moving on, next definition." With the discussions and timed writes on the mockingbird motif, its really helped show what it meant, rather than just a dry definition next to all the others.
The mockingbird motif is brought up a few times, but I definitely noticed whenever anyone mentioned a mockingbird because of the title, To Kill a Mockingbird meant that a mockingbird had to have some major relevence to the novel. Of course it does, it means to kill or harm in any way something innocent is a terrible thing to do, just like killing a mockingbird. Mockingbirds only provide music, they harm no one, so in return no one should harm them. Tom's death being likened to the killing of songbirds helped the theme of racial prejudace and Mr. Tate refusing to say Boo had stabbed Bob Ewell helped the theme of innocence.

life lesson? sure.

"You can't judge a person until you've walked 1.609344 kilometers in their shoes," says my mom, right after a lesson on metric conversions. At the time my childish mind just brushed it off as another bit of fluff floating around in my mother's head, but looking back, I find this over used cliche rather helpful.
I realize that this saying isn't telling you to literally rip off your enemy's shoes and prance about in them, but that you must try to see their point of view. Now when I find myself in an altercation with someone, I reflect on the wise words of my elders and re-examine my actions, which generally deflates the situation, resolving the conflict in a much more peaceful manner.