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Racial discrimination in the justice system
Racial discrimination in the justice system
Introduction of racial bias in the criminal justice system
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Innocent or Guilty? Mayella’s Hidden Crimes in Trial Mayella Violet Ewell plays victim when she falsely accuses a black man for rape. Mayella Ewell is a child of Bob Ewell, a poor alcohol addict, along with seven other children of varying ages. Mayella and her father were the only two people that were related to the case, and they were the ones who accused a black man, specifically Thomas Robinson, for rape. In a shocking twist, however, we hear that Mayella is actually one-hundred percent responsible for what she’s done. Her actions are but are not limited to committing perjury, forging evidence, and tempting a Negro, all things that would normally not be allowed back in the day. So why does Mayella try to play victim when she can just let herself off by telling the truth? …show more content…
She is a very lonely person, because she only went to school for two years, preventing her to make any stable relationships with anyone at school, whether or not that relationship would be good or bad. Not only that, she doesn’t fare any better than a mixed child; “Black people ouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white, and white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs” (trial script, page 19). As proof of this, Atticus even asked her during the trial whether or not she had friends, and she didn’t even know what he meant. That proves that she is extremely lonely all of the
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?
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
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
“... 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 (white), goes to court against Tom Robinson (African American), where Mayella is accusing Tom Robinson of rape. When Atticus asks Mayella questions, Atticus mishears Mayella. An example of Mayella’s lack of power is when Atticus closes his argument by describing Mayella’s injuries during the court case. “Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left.”
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.
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 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
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.
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
Mayella is forced to put an innocent man in prison because she wants to put the " evidence of her crime away from her" and save herself from another. punishment. The snare of the snare. She has reason to be afraid, as Atticus implies she was " savagely beaten" by Bob Ewell. Therefore not only does she fear being driven out of society but also fears physical abuse.
verdict of the trial, Jem and Scout see the hate in jurors for blacks, for it is obvious that Tom Robinson is innocent. Another new and disturbing element that Jem and Scout discover is child abuse. Having never been hit by Atticus, the children know nothing of physical, mental, emotional, or sexual abuse. However, Mayella Ewell knows too well of these abuses and is a victim of them from her own father. Bob Ewell shows he has no consideration for her by his actions or words, and this is clearly displayed during the trial when he is being asked on the stand, "Are you the father of Mayella Ewell?" (172) His crude reply is, "Well, if I ain’t I can’t do nothing about it now"(172). This shows he has no class or respect, while on the other hand, Jem and Scout are used to seeing the example of their tactful father. Also, during the trial it becomes lucid that Bob Ewell beat Mayella up and not Tom Robinson.
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...
Society has a major role in this because if you did something wrong you were looked down on and she didn’t want that to happen to her and her family. Mayella was shaped as an accuser because everyone turned their head to the abuse she was enduring. She felt as though if she made up a story she could have an excuse for the bruises and abuse yet she would still get the attention she deserves. She wasn’t thinking about his life only her own.