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How did killing a mockingbird engage social concerns and have lasting effects on society
In depth character analysis of mayella ewell
Themes of killing a mockingbird in relation with society
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Power is based usually on class, gender, and race and for what the answer to the question, that of how powerful is Mayella in To Kill a Mockingbird is that she is powerful. Because even though they live in a “dump” she is still powerful through her race and gender. She did have the plan of probably sending her dad to court so she can be away from him. Not many people come to visit, not even negroes, except tom, even go near there but she is a white women and that gives her a boost on how much power she has, to put it another way she is still powerful even if she is poor.
Under the circumstances of that she is poor, but her race gives a more higher point of view on the subject of her race. Of course being formal is right when in front of a lady, but when Atticus is
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Because of the Jim Crow Laws stating that Americans and african-americans can’t “come together”. But moreover to the Jim Crow law stuff, it is stated that Mayella is abused by her father and never been decent to her and has been beaten, so she used the Jim Crow law in her hand. Additionally, from a sentence a minute ago, of course men try to be gentlemen like and that is what Tom did, but when he said that he is sorry for her that it meant to them that he is saying that he is better than her, but he was just being polite and helping her with her chores. So after all the court stuff, Mayella has won, because of what Tom said. In conclusion power is usually based on class, gender, and race and for what the answer to the question, that of how powerful is Mayella in To Kill a Mockingbird is that she is powerful. To add up for what all this is saying that Mayella is powerful, hands down. So henceforth of the answer is yes, and that she is powerful through mostly race and
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.
To some, it is very unclear whether Mayella is powerful or powerless. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, a family tries to defend a ‘Mockingbird’ who is being charged with crimes of rape. The book ironically takes place in the mid 1930s after similar events have just recently happened relating to blacks vs. whites. While Mayella Ewell can be considered as powerful based on her race, her class and gender indicates that Mayella is powerless based on the circumstances during the mid 1930s. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella possibly demonstrates a woman who is powerful because of her race.
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.
While Atticus understood this, the rest of Maycomb chose to stereotype the entire black community as people they had to distrust. Atticus also respected Mayella Ewell even though she was his opposition and referred to her as "Miss Mayella". Evidently, Mayella had not received that kind of politeness before, as she thought that Atticus was trying to "sass" her. At this point, the author is using language to show that Atticus has no prejudice in him. The author also creates a contrast for the reader to consider.
However, it is understandable that one can argue that Mayella’s two disadvantages trump her one advantage, socially, and make her a less powerful character in the story. Although it can be debated that women were looked at as a minority and class drives a person’s reputation (which can also lead to the amount of power one possesses), this topic’s evidence is irrelevant to the time that this story took place. Maycomb, Alabama was a very small town filled with conservative and stereotypical people who were stuck in their old ways and were very stubborn when it came to changing their ideas. Race was such a social hurdle that no one could overcome, due to it being a physical trait, during the 1930’s. Even if there was a poor, white woman, she would be automatically respected at a higher level than a wealthier black man. If one’s cultural group were to be ignored in this scenario, a wealthier man would have been at a higher advantage compared to a poor woman. However, race played a large role in this society, and during the court case, “(The Ewells had) presented themselves to you gentlemen (the all white jury), to this court… confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption- the evil assumption- that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women.”
The main victims of this inhumanity are the Blacks, who are seen to be the lowest of the low. This is visible when despite the fact that Calpurnia is a great housekeeper and has done nothing wrong, Aunt Alexandra still insists on Atticus firing her, just because she is black. This brings to light the deep-rooted racism in Maycomb. There are many other characters that are loathsome and act brutally towards others such as Mrs. Dubose when she shouts horrible things about Atticus to Scout and Jem “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” This shows that she is not afraid to voice her opinion about the hatred she feels towards people and that she certainly doesn’t care about how her words could hurt others.
There are many factors that influence whether having power is favorable or hindering. In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, two main characters, Abigail Williams and Judge Thomas Danforth use the power they obtain to hurt others. While Abigail uses it in a self seeking manner, Danforth uses it to show the town who is in charge. The witch trials occur after a group of girls claim that various people have compelled them to conjure evil spirits. With everything going on in Salem, certain characters take advantage of chaos and step up to take charge. Abigail Williams, one of the girls involved with the witchcraft scandal, obtains a great amount of power, which she ends up using for her personal gain. Thomas Danforth,
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
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.
A few of the types of power that Helen/Elastigirl uses with her children are legitimate power, coercive power, referent power, expert power. According to Yukl (2013)
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
Atticus lives by this, and strives to instill the same values in his kids. When the whole town turns against him for taking Tom Robinson’s case, he refuses to give up. Even his sister tells him to drop the case, but to no avail. Even when everyone is against his decision, he still stands up for what he believes in, saying “...if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this country in the legislate, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” showing his steadfastness when it comes to his morals and basic principles. Atticus demonstrates this same perseverance in fighting for Tom, even though it is quite clear he will lose. It is obvious that Tom didn’t rape Mayella, but the townspeople will side against, simply because he is black, something Atticus is well aware of. Despite that he continues trying his hardest to do what he knows is right, to help those who need it, and he does so calmly and respectfully. This is something Scout regularly struggles with, she is prone to fits of anger and stubbornness while defending her beliefs. There are several instances where Scout faces ignorance and hate, especially regarding her father’s decision. However, instead of agreeing with society, she takes a stand, which although often violent, shows that she too is capable of persevering in the face of
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).
Atticus plays into the stereotype that women are weak and frail. Atticus thinks that women do not have the depth to handle a case as depressing as Tom’s. He is making a claim about all women that is not true. He is not teaching Scout how strong a woman can be. Atticus’s comments influenced the sexist tone of the conversation.