There were multiple characters that angered me throughout the novel. Mrs. Dubose was one of them, for being really snotty to Jem and Scout. Another was Miss.Caroline for being really unknowledgeable about Maycomb and being so rude towards Scout because her ability to read was beyond her years. The moment Miss.Caroline triggered me the most was when she told Scout to tell her father, Atticus to stop teaching her how to read at home. Even though Atticus didn’t teach her and just simply read to her every night and answer all of the questions that Scout had asked. But above all of the really ignorant characters that angered me throughout the novel, Bob Ewell was at the top of my list. There’s nothing more to say about Bob Ewell other than he’s …show more content…
Bob Ewell is overall a bad influence and a bad role model for his kids and portrays a bad image upon them. There was a point of time in the beginning of the story where one of the Ewell kids was part of Scout’s first grade class. The Ewell’s are known for coming into the first class of the school year and never coming back. This frustrates me because it’s the parents fault for letting it happen. If your child is unknowledgeable and has the opportunity to stay in school, why don’t you let them obtain an education they deserve? If you want your child to live a better life than you had, let them have a chance with school. However, knowing that Bob Ewell is as careless as a dead rodent, he wouldn’t encourage his kids to even go to school or live a better life. The lifestyle that Bob Ewell is setting up for his children isn’t going to change unless one of the children is smart enough to change. Another thing to note is that Bob Ewell hurts, threatens, and hold grudges against others. When the court case had unravelled, Bob Ewell lied to an extent. His lying heavily influenced Mayella’s
Ewell. Towards the end of Chapter 3 after Atticus is done explaining to Scout that the Ewells are a part of an exclusive society and had privileges that they didn’t, Scout explains how she believes that is bad. With that, Atticus replies, “It’s against the law, all right, and it’s certainly bad, and when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains. I don’t know of any landowner around here who begrudges those children any game their father can hit.” This analysis by Atticus helps demonstrate how Mr. Ewell doesn’t care much for his kids and may be characterized as selfish. When Mr. Ewell takes the stand in court, it is revealed that he is very stubborn, violent and rude. He describes Mayella as a “stuck pig” and even deems it appropriate to joke and say that he might not even be her real father. Later, at the beginning of Chapter 23, Miss Stephanie describes a confrontation that occurred between Mr. Ewell and Atticus. While Atticus stands his ground and stays respectful towards him, Mr. Ewell continues to spit and curse at him, yelling at him for defending an African American in court. This event helps characterize Mr. Ewell as disrespectful and rude, even when out in public surrounded by
Even Scout’s first-grade class knows that none of the Ewell children go to school for more than a day. This is shown on page 26, when a member of the class says: “‘Whole school’s full of ‘em. They come first day every year and then leave.’” Even Atticus, who is very open-minded throughout the book, has a certain disdain towards the family: “…the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. None of them had done an honest day’s work in his recollection.” Since Atticus has been proven to be against stereotypes and judging others such as the black community, him saying these things shows how bad the Ewell family seemed to be. Because she is hated by most of her town, Mayella becomes extremely lonely and
In real life there are many different types of people, some of them are similar
... very arrogant, self important man. Bob Ewell demonstrates his sexism through his jokingly derogatory reply to the judges question on whether or not he was Mayella’s father, ‘Well, if I ain't I can't do nothing about it now, her ma's dead," . This quote depicts to the audience his utter lack of social awareness and human decency as he is disrespecting not just his own daughter but also the memory of his dead wife. His subsequent proclamation to the courthouse that he’d ‘seen that nigger yonder ruttin on my Mayella’ exposes to the audience his racial prejudice against Tom Robinson as the use of the verb ‘ruttin’ suggests that he doesn't perceive him as a man but a mere animal. Also his use of the contempts term ‘nigger’ resonates with Atticus’s earlier teaching to scout and the audience and is consequently used by harper lee to imply that he is a very ‘poor person’.
The villainy continues when he tried to kill Scout and Jem. Scout and Jem were walking home at night, when they were attacked by Bob Ewell. Bob had threatened to kill Atticus and get back at him, so he tried to kill his children. He tries to harm others for revenge and to uphold his ego.
First, the trial of Tom Robinson is an eye-opening experience for Jem and Scout; there they discover hatred, child abuse, and lying. Seeing pure hate is new and strange for Jem and Scout. They know that prejudice does exist, but listening to and watching Bob Ewell during the trial is astounding to them because Bob Ewell abhors all blacks, especially Tom Robinson. Bob’s daughter, Mayella, makes an advance on Tom, which is absolutely unspeakable and shameful at that time. In addition, Bob Ewell’s hate grows (especially for Atticus) because after the trial his reputation and respect is ruined, even though he does not have a high degree of integrity to begin with. Also, through the
Burris Ewell’s actions and appearance in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird reveals that he is a flippant and disrespectful young man that clearly has no sense of hygiene. For example, Scout, one of Burris’s classmates, describes him as “the filthiest man I [have] ever seen”, with a dark gray neck and unsanitary fingernails. (31) It is evident that Burris has made no attempt to better his hygiene, as his appearance is still extremely unappealing. Not to mention the fact that he also has lice, and simply ignores the fact that it could seriously harm him in the future. Burris’s lack of cleanliness indicates to everyone around him that he does not take good care of himself, which is a direct link to hygiene issues. In addition to Burris’s unattractive
...a seeked it by trying to seduce Tom. Because Mayella tried to seduce Tom, Ewell found it acceptable to beat her. Because Ewell beat her, Mayella tried to say that Tom had raped her. Because Mayella said that Tom had raped her, Atticus was appointed as Tom’s lawyer. Because Atticus was appointed Tom’s lawyer, Ewell got mad. Because Ewell got mad, he seeked revenge. Because Ewell seeked revenge, he tried to kill the Finch children. Ultimately, it was not Mayella’s evil action that released the flood of evil in the community but rather her father’s. If Bob Ewell had given Mayella the attention and proper upbringing that she deserved, this whole situation could most likely have been avoided.
There are no two characters in To Kill a Mockingbird that differ in identity as much as Atticus Finch and Bob Ewell. Atticus is a man of the law. He defends Tom, an innocent man wrongly convicted, despite the flack his family get from it. “‘ My folks said your daddy was a disgrace an’ that nigger oughta hang from the water tank!’” (Lee 76) He sets a good example for his children. He calls everyone he know ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma'am’.
quick". He does not care that he is dirty or he has head lice. He
One of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird is Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell is a selfish drunk who doesn't know how to control himself. He beats his children and he can’t hold a steady job for long. He is obsessed with revenge for Atticus for making him look like a fool at the trial of Tom Robinson, whom Ewell’s daughter is accusing of rape. Because of his false testimony, he can never be trusted again in front of the whole courtroom. He will do anything to get back at Atticus, and is willing to go as far as going after his children. He also has a grudge against the judge in the trial, and against the wife of the accused. Bob is crazy and delusional and is trying to gain back his reputation by taking down all the people that went against him in
Bob Ewell is a careless, racist man who finds unjust reasons to be proud of himself. Bob Ewell lives behind the dump, he has a yard full of garbage and too many kids to care for or even keep track of. In addition, he does not even try to work out of poverty. Atticus describes “ the Ewells [being] the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. None of them had done an honest days work in his recollection” (40). Although he is able to work, Mr. Ewell decides not to strive for a better life, and lives indolent. Consequently, Bob gets money from the state, though he “drank it up anyway” leaving little for his children (244). Bob has no achievements and is so neglectful of his children he has nothing to be proud of, however he finds relief for this void through his race. Evidently, Bob uses his white power to fulfill his need for superiority.
Jean Louise, Scout, was subjected to more evil than racism. Robert Ewell, a violent alcoholic, attempted to murder Scout and Jem in a drunken rage. Mr. Ewell appeared in many places throughout the book, and it was his daughter, Mayella Ewell, who pressed false charges against Tom Robinson for the offense of rape and battery. Almost every time Ewell was mentioned, he was portrayed as either violent or totally inebriated. He used the welfare checks that he received, not to purchase food for the family, but to buy booze for his personal consumption.
Throughout the novel we see the abusive behaviors of Bob Ewell towards people, especially to his daughter Mayella. When Bob Ewell saw what he did from the window he screamed “you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya” (Lee 198). This inferred that Bob Ewell was talking to his daughter and not Tom, who later testified that when Bob yelled this he was looking right at Mayella. Atticus also makes a case on page 127 about how no one, not even Bob, called a doctor to check on Mayella. By not calling a doctor it proved Bob Ewell was only concerned for himself, not even for the own well-being of his daughter, he was a selfish and horrible father. Also, the Ewell family was one of the lowest whites in Maycomb they had no money and no education, the children only attended the first day of school every year. Bob Ewell wanted the people of Maycomb to view them higher than they do now, but was too lazy to do it himself. Mr. Ewell believed that pinning his own abusive behaviors on Tom Robinson would make people believe he saved their town from dangerous man, and they would now think highly of him. Bob Ewells selfish behavior and poor parenting skills lead to him being a responsibility in the death of Tom
In TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD, Harper Lee uses Bob Ewell to present the idea of revenge and how he acts upon it even though they victims may be innocent. Bob Ewell is a white male who is known to be a drunkard. His family, includes Mayella Ewell and his other 7 children. Mayella’s mother died when she was 2 years old which made Mayella the surrogate mother of the family. Bob uses his welfare checks to get alcohol instead of trying to take care of him or his kids. The Ewell family lives in a shotgun shack out by a dump because they are poor and considered “the disgrace of Maycomb”. Bob seeks this revenge because of Atticus, his humiliation after the trial, and Helen Robinson.