Good afternoon, my name is Bailey Przybilla, and it is my pleasure to represent Maycomb County and to serve as a prosecutor in this important case. Ladies and gentlemen, this case is about a woman who lied under oath to cover up for her actions. November 21, 1934, Mayella Ewell took an oath in court to not lie and broke that oath during the trial, which is perjury. She lies about Tom Robinson, a black man, attacking her to cover up for her coming on him. Mayella Ewell committed this perjury because her father caught her kissing a black man and she was also ashamed of herself for it. Mayella wanted to protect her father because, in reality, her father was the one who beat her. She then thought it would be easier to lie saying Tom Robinson raped, …show more content…
Members of the jury, the County will review the evidence against Mayella Ewell for lying under oath to cover up for her actions. First, “No, I don’t remember if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me” (Lee 248). My second piece is, “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side” (Lee 248). Next, “I don’t know how he did it, but he did it-I said it all happened so fast-” (Lee 249). Another piece of evidence is, “‘He blackened your left eye with his right fist?’ ‘I ducked and it glanced, that’s what it did’” (Lee 250). My final piece of evidence is, “‘Why didn’t your screams make them come running? The dumps are closer to the woods, aren't they?’ No answer” (Lee 250). Perjury is the result of Mayella Ewell's actions during her trial. Mayella could not answer some of the questions she was asked, and she was very hesitant about some. She switched her answers and would go back and forth between them when asked certain questions. Finally, Tom Robinson’s, the one she accused of raping her, right arm doesn’t work and her left eye was the one that was blackened, which doesn't match
sorry for her? You felt sorry for her?’ Mr. Gilmer was ready to rise to the ceiling” (Lee, 197). This is when Tom Robinson is on trial for being falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell. The people thought it was not right for Tom Robinson to feel sorry for Mayella because he was black and she was white. “Tom, did you rape Mayella Ewell?” (Lee, 196) The fact that Tom was even brought on trial was an act of prejudice. In courts today the case wouldn’t even had made it to court and here they are accusing
Tom Robinson, a Negro, represents another mockingbird. He lives a life of simplicity beyond the town dump, and attends the same church as the Finch family cook, Calpurnia. Tom regularly assists people in need, especially Mayella Ewell, but he finds himself punished for it. Mayella, a white woman, accuses Tom of rape and abuse, and her father Bob takes this matter to court and uses subterfuge in his testimony. During the trial Link Deas, Tom’s former employer, announces, “That boy worked for me eight
Jem's turn to build his own. And as the camellia out of wax does not wither, in the same sense, true courage may be hard to build, but once built, it never leaves you. Mrs Dubose's camellias are not the only flowers that can be seen symbolically. Mayella Ewell's red geraniums also carry an important meaning. During the Robinson trial the reader is given a description of the Ewell's property. It is said that "what passed for a fence was bits of tree-limbs , broomsticks and tool shafts, all tipped with
Lee, held my interest as a reader. The two individual events are Tom Robinsons court case and the pageant at Scouts school when she plays the role of “Pork”. I will discuss what techniques were used in both events and how they held my interest. Mayella Ewell accuses Tom Robinson, a black man, of raping her and Atticus, Scout’s father takes the case. Scout and Jem, Atticus’s children sneak to the trial so we, as the reader, find out what is happening through Scout’s eyes. Scout has seen many trials
important theme of alienation and unjust treatment. The fight to eliminate it is represented through Atticus’s efforts. In To Kill A Mockingbird alienation is illustrated through the treatment of characters such as Arthur Radley, Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell. Throughout the novel there are countless instances of societal discrimination toward these characters. Intolerance and ignorance in society is the cause of alienation. In Maycomb almost every person alienates Arthur Radley. The reader never
set in a small Alabama town during the 1930's, is narrated by Scout, a six year old girl. She tells the events surrounding a court case in which her father, Atticus Finch, defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been wrongly accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman [4]. The novel was extremely successful, selling over fifteen millio... ... middle of paper ... ....ca/Culture/HarperLee/bio.html>. 3. "Harper Lee: A Biography." Elysium. 24 Sept. 2000. (Accessed 1 Oct. 2000) .
man, Tom Robinson, was accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, and was brought to trial. There were distinct views concerning Tom Robinson's innocence – views influenced by prejudice. The townspeople of Maycomb believed in Tom's guilt while Atticus and the children believed in Tom's innocence. The townspeople, from day one, knew what the verdict was going to be even though some of them knew deep down that Tom did not rape Mayella. "The older citizens, the present generation of people who
are very loud, territorial and aggressive. The bluejays represent the prejudiced bullies of Maycomb, such us Bob Ewell. Mockingbirds, on the other hand, are innocent and all they do is sing beautiful songs; they would not harm anyone. Tom Robinson is an example of a mockingbird. Tom never harms anything or anyone. The only mistake Tom made was to help Mayella and hack wood. Mayella accused Tom of raping her. When asked if Tom was the man who raped her, she replied and said that he "most certainly
space in the novel because it gives Harper Lee a chance to do an in-depth exploration of characters and situations. The people involved in the case are Bob and Mayella Ewell, Tom Robinson and Atticus Finch. The alleged rape of Mayella by Tom allows Harper Lee to look in detail at issues of racial and social prejudice in Maycomb. Bob Ewell is the villain of the novel and, as a result of the trial, he tries to get revenge on Atticus and his family. In the trial itself he is revealed as a very unpleasant
about a black guy named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a young women by the name of Mayella Ewell. In the court, significant evidence was presented to the juror's that would prove that Tom Robinson was innocent. The evidence showed that a left handed male must have beat Mayella because the bruises were on the right side of her and Tom Robinsons left arm was disabled. Robinson could not have beat Ms. Ewell. Tom Robinson was still convicted and later on was shot at a prison fence while he was trying
summer with his aunt, Miss Rachel. Aunt Alexandra is Atticus' sister and the family has a maid named Calpurnia. The children spend a great deal of time at the house of Arthur "Boo" Radley. Bob Ewell who lives with his daughter Mayella Ewell is the man who accuses Tom Robinson, a black man, of raping Mayella. Law enforcement in Maycomb consists of Heck Tate, county law official and Judge Taylor. The story begins when Jem and Scout meet a new friend, Dill, who has come to spend yet another summer with
white people in the south during the depression. The assumption that Blacks were inferior is proved during the trial of Tom Robinson. Such characteristics served to justify the verdict of the trial. In this trial, Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell and is found guilty. Many examples from this novel support the fact that Tom Robinson was in fact innocent. Atticus Finch represented Tom Robinson in the trial. He showed that Tom's left arm was crippled due to a former injury using a cotton gin
leads to conflict. During the 1930’s in the south, Mayella Ewell’s gender and class did not provide her with a voice. However, her skin color outshone her disadvantages, and allowed her to be highly respected, and this also gave her power over all black people. Due to Mayella’s white race, she was able to have an influence over a majority of her neighbors, and her class and gender did not matter in most scenarios, During the court case, Mayella was referred to as, “Ma’am,” while Tom Robinson was
Tom Robinson, a black man in To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the main characters in this story that causes controversy because of his skin color. Is the story’s relevance based on Mr. Robinson and his skin color? In my opinion yes, the book revolves all around his skin color and racism of the time. Tom Robinson is treated unfairly because he was black not because of what he supposedly did. The controversial subject matter in this book is immense in numbers, but out of all them, racism stands out
Economic Classes in To Kill a Mockingbird “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and there’s the negroes.” (Lee 258).When Jem proclaimed this social idea to Scout in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, it showed how much of an influence the different economic classes have on the people of Maycomb County. In the novel, Scout and Jem Finch are raised