More handpicked essays just for you.
The Relationship Between Literature And Society
The Relationship Between Literature And Society
Literature And Society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Whether you realize it or not, society plays a big role in our lives. The people around us and their opinions cast a shadow on what we do, and not always in a good way. One good example is Mayella Ewell, from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel is set in the 30’s, around the great depression when racism and prejudice still played a strong role in society and the way things worked. Society has a negative influence because, in the novel, society cast Mayella out and left her alone, which made it hard for her to understand emotions, which ultimately led to her attempting to seduce a black man by the name of Tom Robinson, then accuse him of rape when they were caught by her father.
The first bad thing that society had done to Mayella is make her lonely. For example when To
…show more content…
Kill a Mockingbird’s main character, Scout, asked her father about the Ewells, he said, “…the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for generations.” (Lee, 40). This demonstrates how Maycomb treated the Ewells awfully, and how nobody liked them very much. This also shows how badly Mayella must have been treated, and how she must have been very desperate for friends in a world where people would hardly even look at her. Another example is from when Atticus was questioning Mayella about her testimony against Tom Robinson, “’…you must have friends. Who are your friends?’ [Mayella] frowned as if puzzled. ‘Friends?’” (Lee, 245). This quote simply shows how Mayella had no friends. It also represents how Mayella was so alone all of her life that she didn’t even know what friends were. In conclusion, society threw Mayella headfirst into a pit of loneliness just because of her family and her origins. Another bad thing that society did to Mayella Ewell was make her lonely enough to seduce Tom Robinson.
For example, when Atticus was asking Mayella questions during the trial, the novel stated, “’Won’t answer another word you say long as you keep mocking me,’ she said. ‘Ma’am?’ asked Atticus, startled. ‘Long’s you keep makin’ fun o’ me.’ Judge Taylor said, ‘Mr. Finch is not making fun of you. What’s the matter with you?’” (Lee, 243). This quote easily shows the reader how Mayella was not very good at being able to tell Atticus’s polite gestures as rudeness. It can also show how, if Mayella could mistake politeness for rudeness, then she could easily mistake Tom Robinson’s sympathy for love. During Atticus’s closing statement he said, “’…her desires were stronger than the code that she was breaking.’” (Lee, 272). This shows that Mayella cared so much about not being alone that she pushed everything aside so that she could be with someone. It also exhibits how the loneliness that society subjected her to trumped everything, even her better judgement, which is why she tried to come on to Tom. All in all, it’s society’s fault that Mayella flirted with Tom Robinson because she was so
lonely. Lastly, society made Mayella afraid of what she did, which pressured her into telling people that Tom had raped her. For example, while Atticus was giving his closing statement he said, “’She did something every child had done- she tried to put the evidence of her offense away.’” (Lee, 272). This reveals how Mayella only said that Tom raped her to make sure that he couldn’t tell anybody what had happened between them. It also shows that she must’ve been very afraid of what society would do to her if they found out the truth. When Atticus continued with his statement, he said, “’Tom Robinson was her daily reminder of what she did. What did she do? She tempted a negro.’” (Lee, 272). This exposes how Mayella was ashamed of how she felt about Tom. She was ashamed because society looked down on white people who had feelings for people of color. In conclusion, society scared Mayella into taking Tom to court for the crime that he did not commit. Mayella Ewell is a great example of how negatively society impacts people because she was cast out, tried to get with a black man out of loneliness, and lied about it in order to protect her already poor image in the society that she lived in. She is only one example out of many that fell victim to society’s judgmental ways. Mayella acted and thought differently because of the way her society treated her. This is not the only instance, but one of many where society has negatively affected somebody innocent.
Is Mayella Ewell powerful?That is the question that is asked and must be answered.Throughout the story” To kill a mockingbird” Mayella shows some glimpses of power, but not enough to say she is powerful.For example, in the beginning she shows that she cannot even control her home life so how can she be powerful.Also she shows that she is just too poor for her to have power.Now in the next three paragraphs I will explain my thinking on why I believe Mayella is not powerful.
Mayella Ewell is a woman in the 1930’s and yes, women back then were not treated as citizens. As Atticus is delivering his closing argument on how the person who beat Mayella with his left, Tom cannot use his left due to a job accident. By contrasting the difference in race and gender, in the 1930’s these were a big thing, To examine the results of race, gender are way different. Mayella may be white, but in her role as a female, it just goes downhill from that. Although it is different from Tom Robinson point of view. As Atticus is delivering 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…’”. Tom Robinson is unable to use his left hand due to a job accident. Mayella took advantage of Tom, she knew he would help her because he is a nice man. Mayella was not taught respect while growing up, Tom on the other hand was amiable. Mayella is anxious of her father and what he does to her. Some readers might be anxious too, but might confess up to what their father is doing to them. Since she was not taught respect from her father, she would not know much about it. “Won’t answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin’ me,’Mayella said.
With lots of children to take care of Mayella was only able to get two to three years of education and she had no friends. This is why when Atticus asks her about her friends she thinks he is making fun of her. After having to live a life like this we don?t know why Mayella would like to defend her hard-hearted father, but she probably did this because she was scared of what he would do to her if she told the truth. We feel sympathetic towards her at this point but there is still a sense of hatred towards her as she is letting an innocent person being jailed who actually helped her a lot when no one did.
In chapter 18, Atticus questioned Mayella during the trial. Atticus stated “so you did, so you did, ma’am. You’ll have to bear with me, Miss Mayella, I’m getting along and can’t remember as well as I used to (Lee 243). As you can see in the quote, Atticus is being respectful to her. Then, Mayella stated “Won’t answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin’ me” (Lee 243). Mayella became offended when Atticus was being respectful to her. Then in chapter 19, Mr. Gilmer, the Ewell’s lawyer questioned Tom Robinson during the trial. Mr. Gilmer said “Had your eye on her a long time, hadn’t you boy?”(Lee 263), Mr. Gilmer also said “Then you were mighty polite to do all the chopping and hauling for her, weren’t you, boy?”(Lee 263). Tom probably would have wished he was given the respect that Mayella was given, but instead he was called “boy” and not respectfully called “sir”. This is where “class” sets in. Since black men and women were placed in a lower part of their social class than the white women and men they were given the least respect, but If Mayella was a black female and Tom was a white male would they still be given the same
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
In his concluding argument, Atticus uses imagery, diction, and tone to explain Tom’s innocence. One instance in which he used imagery to better his argument was when he was explaining Mayella’s misconduct with Tom in her home. Atticus pried, “’No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards’” (Lee 204). This figurative language initially puts blame on Mayella and begins to explain the severity of her kissing Tom. Although Mayella only sought out Tom for comfort and attention, no one else would see it this way. Her entire reputation, though never very respectable, would be ruined if she was caught kissing a Negro. Even though interracial relationships are quite normal today, African Americans had an entire different identity back then. They were dirty, immoral, and too
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
Due to Mayella’s white race, she was able to have an influence over a majority of her neighbors, and her class and gender did not matter in most scenarios, even though they were downgrading and considered lower class men. Both of these people are adults, yet they are addressed differently. Tom Robinson was treated like a child and Miss Mayella was treated like a proper adult. The way that this society looks at these two people is very segregated and is completely dependent on their race. Many others in this town suffered from racism and rude remarks being made towards them, like Helen.
While Atticus understood this, the rest of Maycomb chose to stereotype the entire black community as people they had to distrust. Atticus also respected Mayella Ewell even though she was his opposition and referred to her as "Miss Mayella". Evidently, Mayella had not received that kind of politeness before, as she thought that Atticus was trying to "sass" her. At this point, the author is using language to show that Atticus has no prejudice in him. The author also creates a contrast for the reader to consider.
Overall, race, class and culture impacts one’s place in society. I have Four hundred years of history cannot be wiped away so easily. I realized that society has a long way to go and the importance of fighting all injustices. Martin Luther King captured it best by saying “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
Mayella Ewell is a character in “To Kill a Mockingbird”. She lives in the town of Maycomb, Alabama where the inhabitants are very sexist and judgemental. In the book Mayella is not powerful considering her class, race, and gender. The community members she lives near are a very large contributing factor to her powerlessness. Mayella is mistreated a great amount throughout her lifetime. After all that physical and mental abuse she faces becomes enough Mayella does something drastic. She accuses an African American man of rape knowing, her being a white woman, he would get in tremendous trouble. People cannot say whether it was right or wrong of her to do what she did. What they can say is that at the moment she was powerless to do otherwise.
In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee shows the reader how all women are expected to act lady-like and be proper through the actions of Mrs. Dubose, Jem, and Atticus. In Maycomb, there are social norms that girls are expected to follow. Atticus grinned, "I doubt if we'd ever get a complete case tried—the ladies'd be interrupting to ask questions" (296). Jem and Scout react to Atticus’s answer by laughing.
Technology Is What You Make It The articles “How Computers Change the Way We Think” by Sherry Turkle and “Electronic Intimacy” by Christine Rosen argue that technology is quite damaging to society as a whole and that even though it can at times be helpful it is more damaging. I have to agree and disagree with this because it really just depends on how it is used and it can damage or help the user. The progressing changes in technology, like social media, can both push us, as a society, further and closer to and from each other and personal connections because it has become a tool that can be manipulated to help or hurt our relationships and us as human beings who are capable of more with and without technology. Technology makes things more efficient and instantaneous.
...such as during the eighteen hundreds we were allowed to own slaves, or in the early nineteen hundreds men were allowed to beat their wives. The more individuals reach Kohlberg's post-conventional stage, the more we will advance as a society. Our identity and morals motivates our intelligence, aggression, and attraction are all fueled by our conscience and the society around us. Our conscience is motivated by our morals. Kohlberg's states, "the main experiential determinants of moral development seem to be amount and variety of social experience, the opportunity to take a number of roles and to encounter other perspectives," (Schellenberg, 55). Therefore, society has a major influence on our selves and through relation our morals.
Society is a concept found in all aspects of life; it is a slant which is impossible to avoid. For instance; sadly in life society labels things or people as good or bad, poor or rich, ugly or pretty. The literary piece of the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley clearly reflects this act of society in which they classify all things. The novel reflects how society labels everything; by being judgmental from the way the family is seen, how people view Frankenstein as a monster, and how the monster is affected, his conduct gets altered by all of society judgmental actions.