Mayella Ewell Is A Mockingbird Essay

499 Words1 Page

I agree and disagree with the statement, “Mayella Ewell is a mockingbird.” Mockingbirds symbolize innocence, and the novel’s title, To Kill A Mockingbird, means to destroy innocence. Two of the most prominent mockingbirds in the novel are Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. They are like mockingbirds in the sense that they cause no harm. These two individuals are corrupted by evil, in other words, victimized by the prejudice of Maycomb throughout the course of the novel. Taking this into consideration, I believe Mayella Ewell is a mockingbird but also isn’t. What I mean by this is, she can be seen being harmed and causing harm. Mayella Ewell comes from a family that is seen as the disgrace of Maycomb. In Atticus’s cross-examination of Mayella, he builds up a picture of the Ewells’ home life. From this information, the jury can see that Mayella is constantly working for her family and her life is not easy. When Atticus calls Mayella, “Miss Mayella” …show more content…

When Mayella falsely and purposely accuses Tom Robinson of rape, she causes him harm. In chapter 20, the text says, “I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt” (Lee 271). What Atticus means by this is, although he feels pity for the victimization Mayella receives from her father, that does not make up for her accusation of Tom Robinson. This accusation causes Robinson harm and ultimately leads to his death. Mayella is different from Boo Radley and Tom Robinson in the aspect that she did cause harm, whereas Boo, who left presents for Jem and Scout in the knothole of a tree and Tom Robinson, an innocent Negro who offered her help, did nothing but perform acts of generosity. Therefore, I agree and disagree that Mayella Ewell is a

Show More
Related

  • Mayella Juxtaposition In To Kill A Mockingbird

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    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?

    Read More

  • Why Is Mayella Ewell Not Powerful In To Kill A Mockingbird

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Overall, Mayella is not a powerful figure in To Kill a Mockingbird. Even though she was powerful because of her race, the areas she lacked in was her social class and gender. Despite the fact that Mayella won the trial, the only reason why she won was due to her race. She is also a very weak character since she even allowed her own father to assault her and just the way she lived in general. For the most part, this is important because if this trial happened in a different time period like today, then it would’ve been certain for Tom Robinson to win the

    Read More

  • Boo Radley Innocent Quotes

    460 Words  | 1 Pages

    “... 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

    Read More

  • Mayella Ewell's Power In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Mayella Ewell is the conflict of the story. To challenge herself to see if she is powerful based on class, gender, and race. Mayella is powerful due to her race; however, she would not be powerful due to her class and gender. One might think she is powerful over all; however, she does not have power in the eyes of some readers. Proceeding on to see if Mayella has power in the race.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Dbq

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    To some it is very unclear whether Mayella is powerful or powerless. In the book to To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, a family tries to defend a ‘Mockingbird’ who is being charged with crimes of rape. The book ironically takes place in the mid 1930s after similar events have just recently happened relating to blacks vs. whites. While Mayella Ewell can be considered as powerful based on her race, her class and gender indicates that Mayella is powerless based on the circumstances during the mid 1930s.

    Read More

  • How Harper Lee makes Mayella Ewell a Vulnerable yet Contemptible Character in To Kill a Mockingbird

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    164 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Examples Of Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • What Does Mayella Ewell Represent In To Kill A Mockingbird

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    how is he misunderstood by societyIn literature, a symbol is a representative of several other aspects. Symbolism adds a deeper meaning than an object’s literal, direct interpretation. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, many of the characters introduced are represented by a harmless mockingbird. Mockingbirds are described to bring beauty to the world instead of causing any harm. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the author uses the symbolism of a mockingbird to show how certain characters in the novel are damaged by the injustices of the world.

    Read More

  • Respect in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    Atticus demonstrates his character by defending Tom Robinson. Atticus leads by example, showing the highest respect for everyone in Maycomb, not discriminating by color or class. His serious defense for Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, proves his high ideals. Atticus fights a hopeless battle against the racism in the town. Atticus not only shows his non prejudice through the trial of Tom Robinson, but also through his everyday dealings with Calpurnia. Atticus refutes Aunt Alexandra persistent attempts to fire Cal and claims that she is one of the family.

    Read More

  • Victim or Villain? Mayella Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    To conclude, Mayella should be fully responsible for her actions. She is someone that should be condemned instead of pitied because she is conscious while deciding to kiss a black man, kills Tom Robinson by giving false testimony in court, and knows in advance the consequences of her actions. Tom’s miserable fate is in sharp contrast with Mayella’s, as this event in To Kill a Mockingbird is meant to reflect how white people are easily forgiven even when all evidence is pointing against them. Unfortunately, Scottsboro Boys’ end is the same as Tom’s – all but one of them were convicted and sentenced to death for something that did not happen.

    Read More

  • Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are isolated from mainstream

    3095 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Powerlessness In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 has been mistreated a great amount throughout her lifetime.

    Read More

  • How Does Mayella Ewell Show Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some may say that this is the final nail in the coffin for her status as a mockingbird, but this may just represent another facet of the definition of mockingbirds. Corruption of innocence is violence, in a way, and Mayella Ewell has been conditioned many a time, that she should do whatever her father tells her to, regardless of that action's moral ambiguity, and that if she doesn’t, she will have to face the consequences, often at the price of physical harm from her father. The loss of Mayella’s innocence through the corrupted lifestyle of her father, is often more telling of her mockingbird status than, say, her geraniums. Innocence, of a child or otherwise, is all the more precious when it is taken away, piece by piece, until the last scrap someone holds on to is more than anything ever was or will be, and these Mockingbirds, Mayella foremost among them, has had that last little bit of themselves torn away, leaving a wretched husk where there used to be a glimmer of

    Read More

  • Racial Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    She is greatly influenced by her father, Atticus Finch, and his moral guidelines and belief system. Atticus is a non-discriminatory person who is willing to help anyone, no matter their race, religion, or gender. Mayella Ewell is a white woman who is accusing a black man named Tom Robinson of rape, which he did not do. Mayella Ewell is white and therefore her claims against a black man are automatically believed. The vast majority of the people in the town feel that the incident occurred and thank Atticus for his legal support of Tom.

    Read More

More about Mayella Ewell Is A Mockingbird Essay

Open Document