Sympathy towards those who have committed an unbelievable act, but have also encountered degrading misfortunes exists as a complicated and controversial issue. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a nineteen year old white woman, Mayella Ewell, attempts to seduce a black man, Tom Robinson and they both wind up in court because Mayella accused Tom of raping her. The final verdict of the trial stated that Tom was guilty and he was sentenced to prison. Some may say that Mayella shouldn't receive pity at all because she is the one who is at fault for causing Tom’s death. However, Mayella should be viewed as a sympathetic character in the novel because she has to endure an abnormal and stressful life at a young age and she is a victim …show more content…
of abuse and rape by her father, Bob Ewell. As a child who has lived through early adulthood years without a mom, Mayella naturally transformed into the mother figure of the family since she’s the oldest amongst her siblings.
She held the most responsibility at home ever since her father neglected the children. “... their relief check was far enough to feed the family, and there was strong suspicion that Papa drank it up anyway..”(244) Mayella’s imperfect life of poverty and early self- reliance dragged her social life away as well. Because of the constant chores at home, Mayella was incapable of experiencing a normal social life and had ended up wasting many childhood years feeling lonely. “When Atticus asked had she any friends, she seemed to not know what he meant ,then she thought he was making fun of her.”(256) Mayella was physically unable to socialize amongst others since taking care of the house at a young age hindered her desire to feel compatible with people around her own age. Mayella’s hardworking but depressing life is definitely worth sympathizing for especially since her father forced her into a gruesome and horrid …show more content…
situation. Mayella became a victim of rape after her father savagely beaten and raped her at a young age. She was forced into an appalling experience that no one should ever have to endure. She has already been through a stressful, unfair, and tiresome life at home and her father isn't making things easier or better for her. Mayella is still a child and the treatment she’s receiving at home and from her father is a very disheartening and depressing story. During Tom’s testimony in the trial, he said, “She says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a nigger. She says what her papa do to her don't count.”(260) Mayella is implying an obvious hint that her father has once kissed and raped her. Her portrayed life in the novel is like a gloomy and hopeless tale. Feeling pity for her would be the rightful thing to do since her life has mainly revolved around countless, horrible conditions and unjust actions. Even if Mayella’s life was an unfair disaster, some may argue that Mayella isn't worth receiving pity from the readers.
This is because she purposely put Tom’s death on the line by accusing him of raping her. In reality, this isn't the case because Tom was the one who decided to end his own life. Plus, if Mayella's father were to financially contribute and help around the house, Mayella wouldn't have been so busy to the point where she lived in zero social contact with people her age. Mayella wouldn't have to accuse a social lower class, like Tom, if she had a friend or a significant other. Instead, she was desperate and lonely; it was difficult for her to control her sexual temptation and desire to kiss someone. In Atticus’ speech, he talks about how Mayella broke a certain code in the racist society that they were living in. “She knew full well the enormity of her offense,but because her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking, she persisted in breaking it.”(272) The reason why it's hard to withdraw from this kind of desire is because sex is part of human nature and it’s completely fine for a human being to be sexually attracted to another being. Tom Robinson was the only person whom she was acquainted and familiar with— besides her family; he was the only one Mayella was sexually aroused with. Putting the blame on her would be an immoral thing to do since she has dreadfully suffered through many evil and heartbreaking
circumstances. Readers of the novel should consider showing sympathy towards Mayella because she's had one of the most dreadful teenage years of her life by being the only person in the family who’s doing useful work to survive and by being a victim who’s been harmed and raped by her own father. It's already horrible enough that she can't have an ideal person to rely on but have her own father rape and beat her is a complete destruction to her whole life. Mayella isn't able to live an ordinary teenage social life; at home, it's always difficult for her since her siblings rarely contribute to the household chores. In addition, her act of trying to seduce a Negro came from a natural, lonely influence and her desire to experience being close in contact with other men. Sympathy should be expressed to Mayella since her life has been one whole mess; it's humane to show or feel pity for those who are innocent and have experienced harsh and rough conditions in their life.
Harper Lee, before the reader meets Mayella in person, uses her family and home environment to portray her as an impoverished but aspirational woman, revealing some of her more redeeming qualities before the trial has begun. She then goes on to demonstrate some of Mayella’s negative characteristics during the trial, when Lee portrays her as cowardly, emotionally unstable and racist at times. By the end of the trial, the reader is left to make their verdict on Mayella Ewell; should she be blamed for what she did or is she simply a victim of circumstance?
First, I will show how she could not even control her home life “She says she never kissed a grown man before...She says what her papa do to her don't count”(DBQ:Is Mayella Ewell powerful?15).The second way I can prove Mayella was not powerful using gender is that she gets abused by her father”’I mean, is he good to you, is he easy to get along with?’,’He does tollable, ‘cept when-’, ‘Expect when?’, ‘Expect when nothin’, said mayela. ‘I said he does tollable.’,’Except when he's drinking?’ asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded.”(DBQ:Is Mayella Ewell powerful?.15). The final way I will prove that Mayella is not powerful with the use of gender is that” ...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…”(DBQ:Is Mayella Ewell powerful?.15).So as you can Mayella has little to no power when it comes to her
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 Tom said, “She says what her papa do to her don’t count… I didn’t want to harm her, Mr.Finch an’ I say lemme pass”(Doc B). As you can tell, this emphasized how Mayella allowed her own father to sexually assault her even though this should have never happened, and she should have stopped him. Scout then described Mayella during the trial and said, “Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer”(Doc B). This demonstrated how Mayella was scared of her father and let him control her when she should’ve just told the truth. To sum up, this showed how Mayella was powerless since she allowed her father to control her during the case by making her say what he wanted her to say by scaring
“... Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s garden’s. They don’t nest in the corncubs. They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (pg.103)Mayella is innocent because she grew up in an abusive household. The book gives hints that her father Bob Ewell sexually assaults her and leaves her to take care of her so called “brothers and sisters.” Mayella Ewell was put on stand and was made to lie to the judge and jury by her father, Bob Ewell, who beats her and abuses
“...Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean, and I was reminded of the row of red geraniums in the Ewell yard.” (Lee, Chapter 18). Mayella Ewell and her family were very low on the class scale. They lived in a filthy house by the town dump and everyone thought of them as a trashy family. This quote from To Kill A Mockingbird is taking place during the trial of Tom Robinson. Bob Ewell still looks as filthy as usual but Mayella has attempted to keep herself clean because she wants people to look at her differently. Mayella does not want people to compare her to her father. Her father is a slob, filthy, rude, and a trashy man and Mayella wants a better life that that.
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. Mayella is not one of those other people in the small town of Maycomb that lives in a nice neighborhood. Mayella lives behind a garbage dump with her father and siblings. During the trial of Tom Robinson, Scout describes Mayella’s home.
It is Mayella's deceit that brings Tom Robinson to trial. Though she may not be forgiven for this lie, Atticus and Scout feel sympathy for her because of the terrible poverty in which she lives. Whenever Scout feels sorry for Mayella we do as well as we are viewing the trial from her point of view.
Sympathy is unfair. An alarmingly large number of people are treated apathetically when they make certain decisions, such as those made by Mayella Ewell in Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird. A common trend in society is to pass judgement on others without giving heed to the situationality of circumstances. When looking at whether or not people deserve sympathy, the specifics of a situation have to be considered. Thus, one must do the same when deciding if Mayella Ewell is deserving of sympathy. The actions she took — specifically, framing a negro man named Tom Robinson for rape — are met with intense scrutiny and criticism. This is, of course, done without considering the rationale of her thought process. On one hand, Mayella can tell the truth
Tom Robinson is a kind black man whom Atticus is defending against the charge that he raped Mayella Ewell. Atticus knows that he will lose because Tom is black, but he also knows that Tom is innocent and that he has to defend him. Tom Robinson is portrayed as a hard-working father and husband in the novel and he was only attempting to help Mayella since no one else would, but she made advances that he refused and her father saw them. On the witness stand, he testifies that he helped her because, "'Mr. Ewell didn't seem to help her none, and neither did the chillun.'" (256). Even though Tom helps Mayella out of kindness and pity, Mayella is trapped and must accuse him of raping her to save her own life. Shortly after being wrongfully convicted
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 brought 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 protected.
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.
Is Mayella Powerful? In this story or document Mayella isn’t really that powerful because of her class, race, and gender. This story took place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The reason why she is really not that powerful is because of her class, and gender. Her family is a poor pig farm family that lived in a Negro cabin that is behind the town’s dump.The reason why she does not have any power due to her gender and that is because she is a girl.
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
To Kill a Mocking Bird expresses the racist attitudes of Maycomb most dominantly in the court case involving Tom Robinson (who's lawyer is Atticus Finch) and Mayella Eule. The trial makes blatantly obvious to the reader that Tom Robinson, the black man accused of rape is innocent and yet the jury finds him guilty. It also establishes that Mayella was actually beaten by her father and although the evidence that points to this occurrence is circumstantial, it is made perfectly clear. The court case also clarifies to the reader the frightful nature and obvious abundance of racism within the small town of Maycomb.