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“You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” said by Atticus Finch. This quote explains how a person can be different in the inside than they are in the outside such as, a character named Mayella Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird was a book set during the 1930’s, written by Harper Lee that explained the struggles of segregation and racism. But was Mayella’s race the only aspect that made her powerful? Although Mayella can be seen as a powerful character due to her race, the areas she lacked in was her social class and gender. The concepts that will be explained will be why Mayella Ewell was not powerful because of her social class …show more content…
During the trial Tom said, “She says what her papa do to her don’t count… I didn’t want to harm her, Mr.Finch an’ I say lemme pass”(Doc B). As you can tell, this emphasized how Mayella allowed her own father to sexually assault her even though this should have never happened, and she should have stopped him. Scout then described Mayella during the trial and said, “Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer”(Doc B). This demonstrated how Mayella was scared of her father and let him control her when she should’ve just told the truth. To sum up, this showed how Mayella was powerless since she allowed her father to control her during the case by making her say what he wanted her to say by scaring …show more content…
During the trial Mayella said, “Long’s he keep telling me ma’am and sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don’t hafta take his case his sass, I ain't called upon to take it”(Doc C). During the trial, Mayella was treated a lot better during the case. But on the other hand, for Tom Robinson he was treated unfairly by Mr.Gilmer since he was called “boy” and many other rude names since he was a black man. During the trial, Reverend Sykes said, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr.Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favour of a colored man over a white man”(Doc D). Given these points, Mayella had a better advantage because of her race since most of the county and people were racist. Also it would be very rare for Tom to win since most of the jurors judged off from race instead of actual facts and reasoning.
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
...uth to fully understand that it is typical to act superior to those with colored skin. All Dill sees is a man being rude to another, just because of his skin color. While Atticus clearly shows everyone in the court that it was almost impossible for Tom Robinson to have beat Mayella, he still loses the case just because he was a black man against a white woman. Lee includes, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (Lee 323) This enforces how it didn’t matter what Tom was really doing or why Mayella was screaming, but just by the way Tom looked they were able to essentially pin the rape and the beatings on Tom. Of course this was not true and he did not receive the justice he deserved, but that didn’t matter to Maycomb. All that mattered was the color of his skin and what the teenage white girl named Mayella Ewell said about him.
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?
Is Mayella Ewell powerful?That is the question that is asked and must be answered.Throughout the story” To kill a mockingbird” Mayella shows some glimpses of power, but not enough to say she is powerful.For example, in the beginning she shows that she cannot even control her home life so how can she be powerful.Also she shows that she is just too poor for her to have power.Now in the next three paragraphs I will explain my thinking on why I believe Mayella is not powerful.
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
“... 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 Ewell is a woman in the 1930’s and yes, women back then were not treated as citizens. As Atticus is delivering his closing argument on how the person who beat Mayella with his left, Tom cannot use his left due to a job accident. By contrasting the difference in race and gender, in the 1930’s these were a big thing, To examine the results of race, gender are way different. Mayella may be white, but in her role as a female, it just goes downhill from that. Although it is different from Tom Robinson point of view. As Atticus is delivering his closing argument after proving that Bob Ewell is left-handed and Tom Robinson is not able to use his left hand. ‘“...What did her father do? We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left…’”. Tom Robinson is unable to use his left hand due to a job accident. Mayella took advantage of Tom, she knew he would help her because he is a nice man. Mayella was not taught respect while growing up, Tom on the other hand was amiable. Mayella is anxious of her father and what he does to her. Some readers might be anxious too, but might confess up to what their father is doing to them. Since she was not taught respect from her father, she would not know much about it. “Won’t answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin’ me,’Mayella said.
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.
Let us put each other in the shoes of the jury, friends, and family observing in on a discrimination case. Jem and Scout the son and daughter of a lawyer named Atticus Finch get a taste of what the real world is like when, Tom Robinson a poor black man who is married and has kids is falsely accused of raping and assaulting a white woman named Mayella. Mayella Ewell is a young girl considered to be “white trash” who is all by herself to take on the role raising her little siblings while her father Bob Ewell, who is an alcoholic, abuses her. The question arises, is Mayella Ewell Powerful? Mayella Ewell is powerful in this discrimination case because of her race as white woman, her higher class than Tom Robinson, and her gender as a female.
While the novel does take place post-Civil War, racism is still an ever-present factor in America. Slurs such as “nigger” or “negro” are apart of the common vocabulary, such as when Cecil Jacobs says, “That nigger ought to hang from the water tank!” (102). Since the black community is looked down upon, kissing Tom was one of the worst decisions she could make in the public eye. As Atticus explains, “She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man … No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards” (272). Even in the judicial system which, by definition, is supposed to serve justice, has the odds stacked against African-Americans. When Atticus expounds upon this unjust bias he says, “When it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins” (295), rendering Tom Robinson’s trial practically useless. Because of the southern biases against the African American community, Mayella would be ostracized and shunned by society had she revealed her true actions. Everyone strives for acceptance, and will go to many extremes to achieve it, even at the expense of another. Therefore, one must give Mayella sympathy as she was only following her instincts as a
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
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.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird white and colored people have freedom according to the Jim Crow laws which were followed by Maycomb a town that’s people based their race, class and gender differences on those laws and own knowledge of right and wrong. Mayella Ewell who gained control using the advantages she had of being both white and female during a trial showed signs of power and having control, does Mayella only have power and control over others but her own self?
Since Mayella is white her dirtiness is a lot more amplified. African Americans at that time were depicted to be the dirty ones. So when Mayella walks out of her house looking dirtier than them, people around her talk. Her whole community has standards of how your suppose to act, and look. Mayella Ewell fits none of those standards, which is completely out of her control. The way she acts towards people whom meet these standards says a lot about her character. When in court she says “you keep on makin’ fun o ' me.”(Lee, Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird) When really her prosecutor was only being polite. It is not her fault she misunderstood the man, and it only makes her look worse since she is a white woman. Her community would expect a colored person to be uneducated in that matter, but Mayella being the race she is should have known better. She could not help the family she was born into. In the end the court rules in her favor against the African American, but even that doesn 't mean she is powerful. Sure she has power in that instance, but any other
Mayella, the woman defending against Robinson, comes from a low income and low educated family, making them a poor family. Yet Mayella’s word is still favored against Tom because she still holds a higher social status than Tom just because she is white. In fact, in the novel, Atticus has an important quote regarding the court system that is still true today, “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.” (Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott. pg. 251-252).