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Mayella Ewell’s Lack of Power Mayella Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of raping her. Although she is pressing charges, she has very little power in this situation. Race had a huge impact on power in the 1930’s. White people garnered more power and respect than black people in society in this time, which also extended to the court of law. However, race was the only aspect that Mayella had going for her. Although Mayella was white, she was poor and women did not get a lot of respect back in this time period. Mayella had the power to change Tom’s life, but not enough to change her own. Although Mayella Ewell was white, she still had very little power and influence on herself and others. Mayella Ewell is far from being a polite, white, girl. At this time, Lillia Eichler wrote a book on social conduct. She wrote about the desired feminine behavior and mentioned that “Politeness and courtesy are two other important virtues that the young girl should …show more content…
At the beginning of the trial, Scout was describing the Ewell’s house and she said that, “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin” (Lee A). The Ewell’s were so poor that they lived in a dump. The house used to have a black person live there before her which further contributes to her social status of being poor. Atticus was questioning Mayella during the trial, and he offended her by calling her ma’am. She replied, “Won’t answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin‘ me” (Lee C). Mayella is not used to being referred to as “ma’am,” in fact she has probably never been referred to as “ma’am” prior to this in her entire life. Nobody respects her enough to call her that. The Ewell family has very little money, which affects what people think about her and further contributes to her perceived level of power in this
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.
Mayella Ewell lived in a racist southern community in the 1930’s. During this time, no one was treated the same because of their skin color or if they were intelligent. Mayella has one thing that makes her powerful, her race. Laws back then were harsh. Between white and black, both were wrong and mean to each other.
Let us put each other in the shoes of the jury, friends, and family observing in on a discrimination case. Jem and Scout the son and daughter of a lawyer named Atticus Finch get a taste of what the real world is like when, Tom Robinson a poor black man who is married and has kids is falsely accused of raping and assaulting a white woman named Mayella. Mayella Ewell is a young girl considered to be “white trash” who is all by herself to take on the role raising her little siblings while her father Bob Ewell, who is an alcoholic, abuses her. The question arises, is Mayella Ewell Powerful? Mayella Ewell is powerful in this discrimination case because of her race as white woman, her higher class than Tom Robinson, and her gender as a female.
One of the storylines in the novel is the Robinson-Ewell trial. Tom Robinson is an innocent African-American, accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a lower-class white girl. At the trial hearing, everyone is able to tell his or her side of the story before Tom is allowed to speak. All stories, however, offer two different versions of Tom and Mayella’s relationship. Moreover, Mayella and Bob Ewell tell the jury what they expect to hear, about Tom being a monster. They explain that there was no reason for his actions against Mayella. According to them, along with the rest of Maycomb, it's just expected that a black man would rape any white woman if he had the opportunity. The Tom spoken of by the Ewells shows the stereotypes that justify whites to be superior to blacks. However, Tom tells the jury about his innocence. He pr...
One of the major events in Harper Lee’s award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird is Tom Robinson’s trial. It is based on the Scottsboro Case that took place in 1931 in Alabama, in which several black men were accused of raping two white women. Both the Scottsboro Boys and Tom Robinson are unfairly judged, however, because of prejudice against colored people. The racial discrimination makes whites’ testimony more believable even when it contradicts itself. The same happens in To Kill a Mockingbird. As we delve deeper into the case and get increasingly closer to the truth, it is quite suprising to see that Mayella Ewell is the true villain rather than a victim. She shall and must bear full responsibility for her actions because she makes the decision to tempt Tom Robinson, gives false testimony in court that directly leads to Tom’s death, and has been well aware of the consequences of her behaviors.
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.
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
Since Mayella is white, her dirtiness is a lot more amplified. African Americans at that time were depicted as the dirty ones. So when Mayella walks out of her house looking dirtier than them, people around her talk. Her whole community has standards of how you are supposed to act, and look. Mayella Ewell fits none of those standards, which is completely out of her control.
Dear Diary, Maycomb is in uproar. You know I’m not the type of fella to be knowin’ bout the latest gossip, but even I've heard it. I think it was Stephanie Crawford i heard, ‘least thats what the person with ‘er called her. She seems like a right gossip. Anyhow I heard her talkin’ bout some upset bout a trial. She said it twas a black man accused of rape by Ewell’s gal Mayella. She also said the black man, To...
Is Mayella Ewell Powerful is because of Her class, gender, and race?That question can be strongly debated by either powerful or not powerful.As we all know there has to be facts to back your opinion.An example:She is white, another could be that she's a
During the 1930’s, there was this evil assumption that Atticus draws attention to which is that “....all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…”( Harper Lee TKAM 273). With that in the minds of all the townspeople, Mayella being a “helpless” female amongst the lowest of the low gave her continuous power in the case against Tom Robinson. Moreover, being a female prompted the town to want to protect Mayella even more. The white to black ratio was unwavering in the 1930’s. Even though white people look down upon her, when it came time for Mayella’s case against Tom Robinson her class was disregarded and her race and gender trumped all.
Whether you realize it or not, society plays a big role in our lives. The people around us and their opinions cast a shadow on what we do, and not always in a good way. One good example is Mayella Ewell, from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel is set in the 30’s, around the great depression when racism and prejudice still played a strong role in society and the way things worked. Society has a negative influence because, in the novel, society cast Mayella out and left her alone, which made it hard for her to understand emotions, which ultimately led to her attempting to seduce a black man by the name of Tom Robinson, then accuse him of rape when they were caught by her father.
“You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” said by Atticus Finch. This quote explains how a person can be different in the inside than they are in the outside such as, a character named Mayella Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird was a book set during the 1930’s, written by Harper Lee that explained the struggles of segregation and racism. But was Mayella’s race the only aspect that made her powerful? Although Mayella can be seen as a powerful character due to her race, the areas she lacked in was her social class and gender. The concepts that will be explained will be why Mayella Ewell was not powerful because of her social class
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 remains calm throughout the entire case. Many lawyers would be scared during a case like this. A life is on the line, and most lawyers would be trembling, very rapid, or aggressive. Atticus is calm and collected throughout the entire case, which is an important quality for a good lawyer. An example of Atticus's respect is when he addresses Mayella as ma'am and miss. "'Long's he keeps on callin' me ma'am an sayin' Miss Mayella. I don't hafta take his sass, I ain't called upon to take it'" (243). Atticus is actually showing Mayella respect by calling her "ma'am" and "miss". Mayella lives in a white trash family with a father that beats her. She has probably never been called ma'am or miss in her life, and thinks that they are sarcastic terms. They are in fact the opposite, so by Atticus calling Mayella ma'am and miss he shows his respect towards Mayella. An example of Atticus showing his sensitive nature is when he gets Mayella to admit that her dad gets intolerable when he drinks. "'I mean, is he good to you, is he easy to get along with?' 'He does tollable, 'cept when-' Mayella loooked at her father... 'Except when nothin',' said Mayella. 'I said he does tollable,' Mr. Ewell