Atticus states that killing a mockingbird is a sin, "they do not do a thing but make music for our amusement" (Lee 94). As mentioned above, mockingbirds don't sing their own songs, they simply imitate those of other birds. This is why the two Atticus quotes are so important. As stated by Best, "To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age novel in which the Finch children begin to understand themselves, but first they must understand the community around them and others within it to gain self-awareness." Just as mockingbirds abandon, so to speak, their own voice to sing the songs of others as a means of conforming to the worldview of others to sing in unison with everyone else. Or rather, trying to understand things through someone else's perspective. The point that Atticus tries to make on several occasions throughout the book to his