Lying a lie is an assertion that is believed to be false. Sometimes to deceive and mislead someone, or sometimes to protect someone. Studies show that at least 1 person lies 2 times or more per day. 21% to avoid others, 20% as humor, 14% to protect one’s self, 13% to impress or appear more favorable, 11% to protect another person, 9% for personal benefit or gain, 5% for the benefit of another person, 2% to hurt another person, 5% unspecified or, explicitly, for no reason at all. Everyone has reasons for lying, but has anyone ever realized lying affects other people too? Lying ends up hurting other people. One can see this when Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, lying is a big part of serious …show more content…
“I hold on to Tate. Her eye was blacked and she was mighty beat up.” This is what Bob Ewell testified about what Tom Robinson did to his daughter. He agrees with what the sheriff says about her bruises and the condition he found her in. “No, I don’t remember if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me.” This is just one of the times Mayella hesitated with her answers, saying she couldn’t recollect if Tom Robinson hit her and hesitated, she contradicted her father and one could tell she was lying. When it’s Tom’s turn to testify, he reveals that he couldn’t even move one of his arms due to an accident, the arm that he would have moved to hit Mayella to match up with the bruise on her eye. It is obvious that the Ewell’s are falsely accusing Tom Robinson. But why? Bob Ewell, it’s obvious it couldn’t have been Tom Robinson, but others don’t believe him because of the color of his skin. Bob Ewell is lying about it and is making his daughter Mayella lie about it too. “Which was a lie, but one must lie under certain circumstances and at all times when one can’t do anything about them”. One must have empathy for Mayella, as her father is forcing her to lie about this
Richard Gunderman asks the question, "Isn 't there something inherently wrong with lying, and “in his article” Is Lying Bad for Us?" Similarly, Stephanie Ericsson states, "Sure I lie, but it doesn 't hurt anything. Or does it?" in her essay, "The Ways We Lie.” Both Gunderman and Ericsson hold strong opinions in regards to lying and they appeal to their audience by incorporating personal experiences as well as references to answer the questions that so many long to confirm.
Lying is bad but the fear that can come from it is worse. Fear can rule a person which drives them to extreme and irrational acts that can shape society in a negative way. We as people are so accustomed to how we should act that during times of fear and crisis our vision is blurred and sometimes our decision making abilities are impaired. We often look past at how much fear can affect us and our society. Starting from Salem 1692 and going to the McCarthy era fear ruled the people and even now in present time America we are constantly living in fear.
Bob Ewell, after seeing Mayella with Tom Robinson, knows that Tom Robinson has done nothing, and that Mayella is the culprit of this circumstance. However, Bob Ewell makes claims against Tom Robinson because the culture of this society has been formed to
Throughout the novel, Bob Ewell is profusely illustrated as an abrasive, abusive, and generally unpleasant man who hasn’t a care for his children. As Tom says when describing why he would help Mayella: “Mr. Ewell didn’t seem to help her much” (263) . In addition, Bob Ewell plays a major role as to why Mayella lies in court, in fact he makes her do so. To cover up for his own crime he says that Tom Robinson was “ruttin' on my Mayella!" (231) . The most substantive and saddening display of Mr. Ewell’s character is when Tom directly reveals the abuse taking place. In his testimony, Tom explains that his accuser threatens Mayella after seeing the two of them together (263). Even if Mayella was able to overcome the social repercussions of telling the truth, she would face the tragic domestic abuse that her father is evidently capable of. Like striving towards acceptance, resisting oppression is another example of human instinct. As following instinct is by definition natural, one must have sympathy for Mayella
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 things that Atticus says to the people of the court is that “ she tried to put away her evidence of her offence away for her but in this case, she was no child hiding stolen contraband: she struck out her victim of necessity she put him away from her -he must be removed from the presence of the world.” What Atticus is trying to say here is that if Tom was not a black man then this case would not be going on but because he is black there is a case on to prove he really did rape Mayella Ewell. Another thing that Atticus said is that “her father saw it”. What Atticus is trying to say here is that if Bob Ewell saw the rape then why would he not chase after Tom Robinson or call the doctor before he even called the cops. If she had been raped the first thing that Bob should have done would be to call the doctor for the bruises she got during the attack. This case should not even be going on here because both of the people that say that Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell where both racist so you can’t really tell if they are really telling the truth about if Tom Robison really do this horrible crime
...a white man harming a black man, the black man would be guilty of assaulting the white man. Thusly, there was little to no chance that the jury would believe anything Tom Robinson said. Mayella used the town’s racism to her advantage to get out of her sticky situation.
As further evidence is procured, this is proven to be false. The truth is that Mayella’s father beat her for making romantic advances towards Tom. Mayella is unlike the rest of the Ewells in the sense that she likes to keep herself tidy, and lives in a more sophisticated manner than the rest of her family. This makes me infer that she is quite taciturn, and a kind-hearted person who wouldn’t lie about what happened that day if it weren’t for something taking over her conscience. Being threatened by her acrimonious father to lie about what really happened set aside what she knew to be right and pushed her to lie in the trial. Both pressure and fear make people do what they know is not the right thing to do, even though their conscience tells them otherwise. Doing the wrong thing may dispel fears or pressure that is put on for a certain instance. There are many reasons why people do what they know isn’t right even though their conscience tells them not to, but sometimes this can help them construct their values, and improve on how susceptible they are to their
Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Robinson is caught with Mayella in the Ewell residence by her father Bob Ewell. Bob swears by everything that he saw Mr. Robinson taking advantage of his daughter, Mayella. Robinson supposedly runs out of the back door of the house and Bob states he does not beat Mayella. Then Bob storms into the sherif...
Opening Statement for Mayella Ewell Good afternoon, my name is Miranda Otremba, and today I will be representing Maycomb County to prove a woman is guilty of perjury. In this case, we see a woman caught up in her lies. Ladies and gentlemen, this case is about a woman embarrassed by her actions, leading her to lie to tell the truth. This woman stated that she had been raped, but based on the evidence, we can see that another crime, perjury, was committed.
Good afternoon, my name is Abigail Virnig, and it is my pleasure to represent Maycomb County and serve as a prosecutor on this important day. The defendant in this matter, Mayella Ewell, lied under oath when fear got the best of her. The lying under oath occurred because she was afraid of Bob Ewell. Mayella said that Tom Robinson raped her. She said Tom choked her and took advantage of her.
Hello, My name is Brooke Marshik, and it's my pleasure to represent the state of Maycomb and serve as a prosecutor in this particular case. On August 26, 1936, Mayella Ewell was accused of lying under oath. At the conclusion of this case, and after you have heard all the evidence, I am confident you will return the verdict guilty of lying under oath. Members of the jury said this is a case about a 19-year-old woman whose fear got the best of her. Mayella Ewell lied under oath out of fear of her father, Bob Ewell.
Opening Statement for Mayella Ewell Good morning, my name is Sam Schyma and it’s my pleasure to serve as a prosecutor in Maycomb County. This case is against Mayalla Ewell. On November 21, the defendant Mayalla Ewell accused Tom Robinson of rape.
Good afternoon, my name is Bailey Przybilla, and it is my pleasure to represent Maycomb County and to serve as a prosecutor in this important case. Ladies and gentlemen, this case is about a woman who lied under oath to cover up for her actions. November 21, 1934, Mayella Ewell took an oath in court to not lie and broke that oath during the trial, which is perjury. She lies about Tom Robinson, a black man, attacking her to cover up for her coming on him. Mayella Ewell committed this perjury because her father caught her kissing a black man and she was also ashamed of herself for it.
Mayella is not allowed to admit that she is attracted to a black male and that she is lonely. So she allows Tom Robinson to stay up on trial and be falsely accused of raping and beating her. In chapter 18 they established that Tom Robison testifies that he could have not hit Mayella Ewell on the right side of her face because Tom's left arm was damaged with no muscle usage due to it getting caught in the cotton gin back when he was a little boy. That being said, Tom Robinson could have never hit Mayella on the right side of her face. Second, Bob Ewell is not how he seems to be.