Power is a highly perceptional term. It can be defined as a measurement of significance, strength over another, and anything in between. Three common factors of power are race, class, and gender. Race measures power in terms of skin color. Class measures power in terms of social status and wealth. Gender measures power in terms of being male or female. Power is a notable topic in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, as it drives the trial of Tom Robinson, one of the salient piece of the story, along with the system of actions in Maycomb County, a small town in Alabama. The climax of the story is an unfair trial between an African American, Tom Robinson, defended by Atticus Finch, and a white family, the Ewells. Alleged rape of Mayella Ewell by Tom Robinson is the subject of the case. Here, Mayella stands superior to Tom as she is white opposed to his colored skin; however, she is …show more content…
Mayella is white, which gives her power. Harper Lee reveals that Tom Robinson is in fear of the trial: “No suh, scared I’d hafta face up to what I didn’t do”. Tom is defending himself from white folks, and even if he is telling the truth when he exclaims that he didn’t rape Mayella, the jury as well as the judge will listen to the whites, in this case, the Ewells. Jem, who is confident that his father had proved that Mr. Ewell had inflicted the damage upon Mayella, and won the case, is met with the statement from Reverend Sykes, “I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man” (Lee). Sykes, an African American, admits that whites are favored and the trial is bias, showing the power that whites have over blacks. Since Mayella is white, she does possess power. However, this claim is flawed because Mayella, although white, is low class and female, which outweigh the power given to her by the pigment of her
...uth to fully understand that it is typical to act superior to those with colored skin. All Dill sees is a man being rude to another, just because of his skin color. While Atticus clearly shows everyone in the court that it was almost impossible for Tom Robinson to have beat Mayella, he still loses the case just because he was a black man against a white woman. Lee includes, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (Lee 323) This enforces how it didn’t matter what Tom was really doing or why Mayella was screaming, but just by the way Tom looked they were able to essentially pin the rape and the beatings on Tom. Of course this was not true and he did not receive the justice he deserved, but that didn’t matter to Maycomb. All that mattered was the color of his skin and what the teenage white girl named Mayella Ewell said about him.
With this being said, even though Mayella was a low class female she inherited the superiority of being white making it easy for her during the trial. Mayella used her individualistic self pity against Tom Robinson. The little town of Maycomb Alabama knew the truth, but the Ewell’s plan backfired on them. They gained no respect, and are still considered white pieces of trash. As for Mayella individually, she’s not educated but she is very smart. Mayella did have power through race, class, and
During the trial Mayella said, “Long’s he keep telling me ma’am and sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don’t hafta take his case his sass, I ain't called upon to take it”(Doc C). During the trial, Mayella was treated a lot better during the case. But on the other hand, for Tom Robinson he was treated unfairly by Mr.Gilmer since he was called “boy” and many other rude names since he was a black man. During the trial, Reverend Sykes said, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr.Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favour of a colored man over a white man”(Doc D). Given these points, Mayella had a better advantage because of her race since most of the county and people were racist. Also it would be very rare for Tom to win since most of the jurors judged off from race instead of actual facts and reasoning.
Mayella may be white, but in her role as a female, it just goes downhill from that. Although it is different from Tom Robinson's point of view. Atticus delivers his closing argument after proving that Bob Ewell is left-handed and Tom Robinson is not able to use his left hand. ‘“.What did her father do? We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left.’”.
Mayella (white), goes to court against Tom Robinson (African American), where Mayella is accusing Tom Robinson of rape. When Atticus asks Mayella questions, Atticus mishears Mayella. An example of Mayella’s lack of power is when Atticus closes his argument by describing Mayella’s injuries during the court case. “Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left.”
Accused of raping a poor white girl, innocent Tom Robinson is now faced with a desperate trial. “The evil assumption-that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.” (Lee 273). Atticus delivers a powerful speech to the courthouse audience highlighting the disturbing truth of the unfair society. Although there was substantial evidence proving Tom’s innocence against Mayella Ewell, Tom was convicted for the rape the Ewell’s made up to disguise their guilty faults. The stereotypical accusation of the unjustifiable verdict costed Tom his life, when he grew “tired of white men’s chances and preferred to take his own.” (Lee 315). There are always two sides to a story and specifically someone from the black community had their strong opinion on those of the white community. When Calpurnia brought Jem and Scout to her church, they were interrogated by an angered Lula. “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here-they got their church, we got our’n.” (Lee 158). Lula makes a stereotypical judgement, after seeing Jem and Scout she immediately labels them white, and we can infer her thoughts are pulled from her prior knowledge of the stereotypical racist white community. She has never met Jem and Scout yet is quick to group
Let us put each other in the shoes of the jury, friends, and family observing in on a discrimination case. Jem and Scout the son and daughter of a lawyer named Atticus Finch get a taste of what the real world is like when, Tom Robinson a poor black man who is married and has kids is falsely accused of raping and assaulting a white woman named Mayella. Mayella Ewell is a young girl considered to be “white trash” who is all by herself to take on the role raising her little siblings while her father Bob Ewell, who is an alcoholic, abuses her. The question arises, is Mayella Ewell Powerful? Mayella Ewell is powerful in this discrimination case because of her race as white woman, her higher class than Tom Robinson, and her gender as a female.
While the novel does take place post-Civil War, racism is still an ever-present factor in America. Slurs such as “nigger” or “negro” are apart of the common vocabulary, such as when Cecil Jacobs says, “That nigger ought to hang from the water tank!” (102). Since the black community is looked down upon, kissing Tom was one of the worst decisions she could make in the public eye. As Atticus explains, “She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man … No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards” (272). Even in the judicial system which, by definition, is supposed to serve justice, has the odds stacked against African-Americans. When Atticus expounds upon this unjust bias he says, “When it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins” (295), rendering Tom Robinson’s trial practically useless. Because of the southern biases against the African American community, Mayella would be ostracized and shunned by society had she revealed her true actions. Everyone strives for acceptance, and will go to many extremes to achieve it, even at the expense of another. Therefore, one must give Mayella sympathy as she was only following her instincts as a
During the Tom Robinson Trial, Mayella is called up to the chair, asked a few questions and after she has had enough, she screams, "I got somethin ' to say an ' then I ain 't gonna say no more. That nigger yonder took advantage of me an ' if you fine fancy gentlemen don 't wanta do nothin ' about it then you 're all yellow stinkin ' cowards, stinkin ' cowards, the lot of you. Your fancy airs don 't come to nothin '—your ma 'amin ' and Miss Mayellerin ' don 't come to nothin ', Mr. Finch-" (She is scared of the town knowing that she is wrong and Tom robinson is innocent. Mayella uses this case to cover up the shame in her life because she is extremely lonely, has no self-esteem, and overwhelmed with the amount of unhappiness in her life. Mayella gets extremely defensive in this quote because she knows that everything Atticus has brung up is good evidence and she can’t hold her own. In the jury, it was full of all white men. Mayella acted timid and helpless and suggested in her comment that the man of the jury be brave and heroic. She becomes someone who is vulnerable, valuable and needs to be
One of the storylines in the novel is the Robinson-Ewell trial. Tom Robinson is an innocent African-American, accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a lower-class white girl. At the trial hearing, everyone is able to tell his or her side of the story before Tom is allowed to speak. All stories, however, offer two different versions of Tom and Mayella’s relationship. Moreover, Mayella and Bob Ewell tell the jury what they expect to hear, about Tom being a monster. They explain that there was no reason for his actions against Mayella. According to them, along with the rest of Maycomb, it's just expected that a black man would rape any white woman if he had the opportunity. The Tom spoken of by the Ewells shows the stereotypes that justify whites to be superior to blacks. However, Tom tells the jury about his innocence. He pr...
One of the major events in Harper Lee’s award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson’s trial. It is based on the Scottsboro Case that took place in 1931 in Alabama, in which several black men were accused of raping two white women. Both the Scottsboro Boys and Tom Robinson are unfairly judged, however, because of prejudice against colored people. The racial discrimination makes whites’ testimony more believable even when it contradicts itself. The same happens in To Kill a Mockingbird. As we delve deeper into the case and get increasingly closer to the truth, it is quite suprising to see that Mayella Ewell is the true villain rather than a victim. She shall and must bear full responsibility for her actions because she makes the decision to tempt Tom Robinson, gives false testimony in court that directly leads to Tom’s death, and has been well aware of the consequences of her behaviors.
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, nine-teen year old Mayella Ewell is forced to go against Tom Robinson, an African American who is accused of raping her. Although it is obvious that the rape didn’t happen, the author portrays Mayella as a victim of circumstance. Lee makes it somewhat easy to sympathize with Mayella by describing Mayella’s homelife, indirectly characterizing Bob Ewell throughout the novel, and describing Mayella’s actions while in court.
When people have a gain in power, their morals develop an they start learning different things and become more aware of society. Throughout the book, we see Jem and Scout develop morally, and gain and lose power. My first example of this happening is in Chapter 9. In this scene of the book, Scout was mad at Cecil Jacobs for calling her father a “n----- lover” Cecil is calling Scout that because her father Atticus is defending a black man in court. Scout says on page 85.1“Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting anymore..”This quote ties into my claim of power and moral development because Scout uses the word “anymore”. Which is implying that she doesn’t fight anymore. In my opinion Scout gained power because
Although she doesn’t know these people personally, she automatically justifies their actions with bigotry against them. Furthermore, during the trial, Tom Robinson recounts his experience of Mayella raping him and says, “‘She reached up an’ kissed me ‘side of th’ face… She says, ‘Kiss me back, nigger. ’ I say Miss Mayella lemme outa here an’ tried to run but she got her back to the door an’ I’da had to push her. I didn’t wanta harm her, Mr. Finch… ’” (194). By saying that Mayella said, “kiss me back nigger”, Tom is illustrating how Mayella irresponsibly used her power obtained from being white. She degrades him with the word “nigger” and puts herself in a position of advantage where he would not be able to fight back, as he is a black person. Her language implies that she thinks of him as lower being than her and how she’s offended because Tom did not want to kiss her back. Tom also adds that he said, “Miss Mayella lemme out of here”, which shows that he struggled against Mayella. However, she persistently continued to force him to her will; he is not allowed to leave and is treated as if he were a dog. Even after hearing Tom’s cries for help Mayella does not stop and continues to selfishly only think about herself instead of how her actions
Yet Mayella’s word is still favored against Tom because she still holds a higher social status than Tom, just because she is white. In fact, in the novel, Atticus has an important quote regarding the court system that is still true today, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.” (Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott & Co., Inc.