Mayella's Stereotypes

The concept of a white woman being touched, let alone raped by an African American male was an assumption in the little town of Maycomb Alabama, 1930’s. During this period Mayella is considered helpless due to being a female as well as lonely and afraid considering her status as a poor white piece of trash. She manipulates people by using her social class, gender, and race to her advantage. In particular, her accusations made against Tom Robinson, an African American man. These factors lead to her gaining power with the trial and conviction of Tom Robinson. Race refers to the categorization of people based on physical differences.(“Is Mayella Powerful?” 7) Mayella Ewell had perquisites due to her race, which helped her during the conviction.

Notably, race is Mayella’s strong suit. Essentially, Mayella’s goal was to gain the respect and freedom that she desired. Thus she put Tom Robinson in a vulnerable situation where it could be seen by her father. Aware of her own intentions to simply escape, Mayella plays into her privilege and power as a white woman by pursuing her father’s idea of crying rape. Tom Robinson’s ability to win in court against the Ewell’s was reflective of how much power white’s had compared to blacks in the 1930’s in Maycomb Alabama.
In addition, Mayella Ewell is felt sorry for due to her class. Class refers to a person’s level of income and education and often boils down to how much money one is able to earn. (“Is Mayella Powerful?” 7) The Ewell’s know that they are the lowest amongst the whites. In an attempt to gain some power, Mayella identifies herself in a pitiful existence to the community and to Tom Robinson which lead to Tom feeling sorry for her. Not only did he feel sorry for her because of the social class she statured in Maycomb, but also because she was in an internment and abusive relationship with her father. Mayella gained her power by using her lowly stature to her advantage during the pursuance and conviction of Tom Robinson.
Furthermore, gender works alongside with Mayella’s identity as a lower class white woman to give her even more power.

During the 1930’s, there was this evil assumption that Atticus draws attention to which is that “....all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…”( Harper Lee TKAM 273). With that in the minds of all the townspeople, Mayella being a “helpless” female amongst the lowest of the low gave her continuous power in the case against Tom Robinson. Moreover, being a female prompted the town to want to protect Mayella even more. The white to black ratio was unwavering in the 1930’s. Even though white people look down upon her, when it came time for Mayella’s case against Tom Robinson her class was disregarded and her race and gender trumped all.

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

gender.