Mayella Ewell Quotes

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To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Three stones can kill a bird. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, takes place in the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama. The story follows Scout Finch, a little girl narrating the book, along with Jem Finch, Scout’s older brother. As the two get older, it shows the unraveling of the Tom Robinson case that is being lawyered by their father, Atticus. Tom Robinson, a black man, was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, by Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell is the father of Mayella Ewell who is revealed to be sexually abusing Mayella as well as using all of their money on alcohol, leaving their family in poverty. This accusation came after Bob Ewell discovered Mayella forcing herself on Tom Robinson, which enraged him …show more content…

But, since the case is a debate between a black man’s words against a white family’s and the setting is located in the 1930s in the racist city of Maycomb, the outcome is stacked against Tom Robinson. Leading to a countless number of racist remarks to the Finch family, especially Scout and Jem, by the local community and the growth of racism in the city. Although, both Scout and Jem are immune to the prominent racism displayed by the rest of the city since they were taken care of by Calpurnia, a black woman. Yet in this case, the local authorities, such as Sheriff Heck Tate, are not immune as they continue to do nothing and stay neutral. In her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the symbolic significance of the White Camellia, Mad Dog, and the Mockingbird to foreshadow later events. At first, Lee uses the White Camellia to foreshadow the spread of racism in the city, especially with the appearance of the Ku Klux …show more content…

Dubose, a prominent racist as well as an owner of White Camellias, looks down on Scout and Jem, who often walk by because Atticus is in charge of Tom Robinson’s case. At one point, Jem loses it and destroys the White Camellias, showing that Jem would advocate for the destruction of racism. Afterwards, the same kind of flowers returned to Jem from Mrs. Dubose as her parting gift. Scout narrates, “Inside, surrounded by wads of damp cotton, was a white, waxy, perfect camellia. It was a Snow-on-the-Mountain. he screamed, flinging it down” (Lee 148). This shows that the White Camellia is a sign that Mrs. Dubose is trying to spread racism to a younger audience, such as Jem, to keep the cycle of racism continuing. Especially since the Camellia is ‘white’ and ‘perfect’, it is specifically trying to spread white supremacy, which was what the White Camellia was all about, foreshadowing the appearance of the Ku Klux Klan. It also predicts that Jem would advocate against racism, as he destroyed the White Camellias after he received them. As time passes, the case of Tom Robinson slowly starts to come up. The case is an uproar in Maycomb, causing the white community to target Tom Robinson. One day, in particular, Jem, Scout, and Dill follow Atticus to the county

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