Burris Ewell In To Kill A Mockingbird

All people are created equal. We come into this world born as “clean slates” that just wait for the world to make a mark on us. We have complete innocence. But as we grow, and learn, and experience different things, we begin to create our own thoughts and ideas. These thoughts and ideas then decide who we want to be as people. They decide whether we will stand up for those who have been wronged or whether we will just become another grain of sand on our vast ocean floor. And this can be shown in To Kill a Mockingbird. This can be shown by the innocent copy-cat like nature of Scout. How she desires to be just like her father, Atticus. This can be shown by the harsh nature of Burris Ewell and how his upbringing has caused him to be aggressive and vicious towards those that might oppose him, much like his father Bob Ewell. While we live in this stage of impressionability, we have no reason to view others with hatred or discomfort. But as others begin to influence us, we begin to have preconceived views on other people. Whether these views become based on race, family name or wealth, we begin to think differently of other people.

I don’t hafta take his sass, I ain’t called upon to take it.” (Lee P.182)

Mayella Ewell explaining her discomfort with the way that Atticus is referring to her.

Calling someone ma’am or using a proper prefix for someone's name would be commonly thought of as being respectful. But due to their upbringing, some people would find these words shocking or even possibly harmful. The world has not treated them fairly so they do not believe that they should be treated fairly. Mayella shows how she never had the privilege of people respecting her. She never had the chance to grow accustomed to these terms of politeness. This is due to Bob Ewell's mistreatment of her. He believes that his daughter should be respected just as much as the dirt. So Mayella thinks the