Summary To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a story written written to show the importance of black people in the 1930's. It is a good story with a good point. The prime messages observed in this novel is that of racism, how the actions of a community, not just a parent, can affect a child, and how rumors and invalidated facts can destroy anyone's reputation. Racism is mentioned throughout the second part of the novel. It is the prime and most mentioned part of this section of the novel. There are many themes and symbols in this book. Scouts father, Atticus, tells Scout and Jem, "I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard,