More handpicked essays just for you.
To kill a mockingbird gender role
To kill a mockingbird gender role
Critical essays on the gender inequality in to kill a mockingbird
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
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.
In the first paragraph I will explain why and how I believe Mayella Ewell is not powerful, with the use of the class.First off I would like to show you one of my biggest reasons for believing Mayella is not powerful “Maycomb's Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what used to be a Negro cabin”.(DBQ:Is mayella Ewell powerful?13)The second reason I believe Mayella Ewell is not powerful while using class for my examples is that “longs as he keeps on callin’
First, I will show how she could not even control her home life “She says she never kissed a grown man before...She says what her papa do to her don't count”(DBQ:Is Mayella Ewell powerful?15).The second way I can prove Mayella was not powerful using gender is that she gets abused by her father”’I mean, is he good to you, is he easy to get along with?’,’He does tollable, ‘cept when-’, ‘Expect when?’, ‘Expect when nothin’, said mayela. ‘I said he does tollable.’,’Except when he's drinking?’ asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded.”(DBQ:Is Mayella Ewell powerful?.15). The final way I will prove that Mayella is not powerful with the use of gender is that” ...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…”(DBQ:Is Mayella Ewell powerful?.15).So as you can Mayella has little to no power when it comes to her
Which is her red geranium, Scout says that they are well nurtured by Mayella. Mayella has six of these red geraniums in the corner of her yard. Mayella and her father live in the neighborhood of Negroes, and would never bother them except Tom because he's too nice of a person. “..white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes [the Ewells’ nearest neighbors] wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white..” Mayella would not be powerful in the role of class because of where she lived and what she worked.
An example of Mayella’s lack of power is when Atticus is closing 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…” (Doc B) Atticus’ closing statement shows that Mayella Ewell was defenseless because of her gender. Women typically do not participate in high fitness level activities throughout their life, and because of this, Mayella was powerless against the the man who was raping her. Another example that presents Mayella powerless is when Atticus is questioning Mayella during the court case. “...Except when nothing’, said Mayella. I said he does tollable. Mr. Ewell leaned back again. Except when he’s drinking? asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded.” (Doc B) This quote shows how Mayella was powerless because of her economic class. Because Mr. Ewell is unemployed, he continuously starts drinking which enables him to have the courage to injure his daughter, let alone rape her. In summarizing, the evidence above affirms how Mayella could be seen as powerless based from her economic class and
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.
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
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.”
To fully understand Mayella and Scout’s positions, a comparison of the girls’ fathers and lifestyles has to be made to give a backdrop to build a firm foundation of their personalities and actions. The town’s beloved defense attorney, Atticus Finch, Scout’s ...
Here is evidence to support Mayella is not powerful. Mayella lives in Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s. According to the DBQ “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin…. Its windows were merely open spaces
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.
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
“... 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
This is sadly because she didn't grow up with a ton , in fact not even one. Mayella has a very dismal life along with a very dismal house as well. Her father unfairly treats her wrong for no reason.As all this coes out Scout realizes how dismal Mayella’s life is.
Power is a highly perceptional term. It can be defined as a measurement of significance, strength over another, and anything in between. Three common factors of power are race, class, and gender. Race measures power in terms of skin color. Class measures power in terms of social status and wealth. Gender measures power in terms of being male or female. Power is a notable topic in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, as it drives the trial of Tom Robinson, one of the salient piece of the story, along with the system of actions in Maycomb County, a small town in Alabama. The climax of the story is an unfair trial between an African American, Tom Robinson, defended by Atticus Finch, and a white family, the Ewells. Alleged rape of Mayella Ewell by Tom Robinson is the subject of the case. Here, Mayella stands superior to Tom as she is white opposed to his colored skin; however, she is
An example of classism in this novel is the Cunningham family, the farmers that were knocked by the Depression. On Scout’s first day of school, her classmate Walter Cunningham refuses to take a loaned quarter offered by Miss Caroline, their teacher. Knowing this, Jem invites Walter back for dinner with the Finches which then Scout judges the way he eats at the dining table. Calpurnia, a black housekeeper, becomes furious and scolds Scout, “‘That boy’s yo’ comp’ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?’. However, Scout still thinks that, ‘He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham —’. Then, Calpurnia shouts, ‘Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house’s yo’ comp’ny (32-33). In the first place, it is important to know that people in Maycomb are grouped by last name, land and reputation. By looking at the way Scout treats Walter, the difference between the two family’s social status is palpable. Classism is when one is treated differently because they belong to a particular social class. Scout’s attitude towards Walter is an example of classism because Scout does not think that he is an accompany but “just a Cunningham”, meaning that he does not need to be respected. It is also important to recognize Calpurnia’s reaction to Scout’s behavior. She is certainly furious seeing the way Scout treats Walter