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To kill a mockingbird historical context
Harper lees writing style
Historical context of setting of to kill a mockingbird
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Although not entirely good, Mayella is more a victim of circumstance than a bad person
Harper Lee, before the reader meets Mayella in person, uses her family and home environment to portray her as an impoverished but aspirational woman, revealing some of her more redeeming qualities before the trial has begun. She then goes on to demonstrate some of Mayella’s negative characteristics during the trial, when Lee portrays her as cowardly, emotionally unstable and racist at times. By the end of the trial, the reader is left to make their verdict on Mayella Ewell; should she be blamed for what she did or is she simply a victim of circumstance?
At the beginning of the novel, Lee uses Mayella’s home environment to generate sympathy for her. The
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Lee uses juxtaposition to explore the contrast between Mayella and the rest of her family. In one corner of the yard there are ‘six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums’ said to belong to Mayella. The adjective ‘chipped’ reminds us of the disorderly nature of the Ewell yard and symbolises their impression on society. However, the imagery of the ‘brilliant red geraniums’ could symbolise Mayella’s aspirations to make something of herself and to give a good impression, or it could be the personification of Mayella herself. This concept inspires awe in the reader for Mayella as, despite her financial deprivation, she strives for something beautiful. This entire passage is of great significance because it helps the reader to understand and perhaps validate some of Mayella’s less redeeming qualities that will be explored later on in the …show more content…
Lee uses this relationship to mitigate some of Mayella’s bad qualities as the reader gradually comes to understand what Mayella’s upbringing must have been like. During Bob’s testimony, he describes Mayella as ‘screamin’ like a stuck hog’. The use of zoomorphism with the word ‘hog’ gives us the impression that Ewell must lack any empathy for her should he refer to her in such a derogatory manner. This adds to the idea of Mayella being raised in a hostile environment, clear from his indifference to her suffering. The adjective ‘stuck’ also could reveal how Ewell thinks of the power balance between them. This word gives connotations of helplessness, especially disturbing since Bob portrays Mayella in such a way in a fictional story. This generates sympathy for her not because Ewell portrays her as powerless, but because the reader can only imagine why he portrays her as such. Perhaps her father intimidated her to the extent that she truly was helpless and cowardly, from this we can understand why she may lie to the
It is evident that Mayella wants to be better than her set familial status when she tries to keep clean and make her living quarters presentable, actions that the rest of her family would never bother...
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.
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 brought 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 protected.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, this theme of deluding oneself rather than admitting a painful truth is shown through the town of Maycomb itself, Mayella Ewell’s internal and external struggles in dealing with her feelings for Tom Robinson, and how Jem refuses to believe that the world he grew up in turns out to not be what he had imagined.
Occupying an abandoned colored person’s cabin was Mayella and her family living behind her town’s garbage, her mother’s death led to Mayella having to take the responsibility of seven brothers and sisters, this home to Mayella gave her a place in society in her town and where she stood according to what people labeled her class. Tom Robinson who stated “Yes, Suh. I felt sorry for
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a small town in Alabama exemplifies one of the many towns that has clearly defined social classes. Some of these stereotypes are determined by one’s class, nationality, and gender, and the authority that people believe they may possess, which 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,
As further evidence is procured, this is proven to be false. The truth is that Mayella’s father beat her for making romantic advances towards Tom. Mayella is unlike the rest of the Ewells in the sense that she likes to keep herself tidy, and lives in a more sophisticated manner than the rest of her family. This makes me infer that she is quite taciturn, and a kind-hearted person who wouldn’t lie about what happened that day if it weren’t for something taking over her conscience. Being threatened by her acrimonious father to lie about what really happened set aside what she knew to be right and pushed her to lie in the trial. Both pressure and fear make people do what they know is not the right thing to do, even though their conscience tells them otherwise. Doing the wrong thing may dispel fears or pressure that is put on for a certain instance. There are many reasons why people do what they know isn’t right even though their conscience tells them not to, but sometimes this can help them construct their values, and improve on how susceptible they are to their
In the first box, Atticus asks Mayella about her father and how he treats her. You see Mayella try to be strong with her answer, until she slips up. She says “He does tollable, ‘cept when-”. A few lines down, it reads “‘Except when he’s drinking?’ asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded.” Think about this. What could possibly happen when a single father, with a daughter, is an alcoholic? Also, think about the effects alcohol has on people. This isn’t the only thing to notice. Reread the first box but this time, look at Bob’s actions and how they change. “‘He does tollable, ‘cept when-’ ‘Except when?’ Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat straight up and waited for her to answer.” Something is happening between Mayella and her father. Why else would he get so jumpy when hearing about how he treats his daughter, after he’s been drinking? As Mayella messes up her words, her father sprouts right up. He is concerned. “Is she going to say it?” or “You better watch your mouth.” could be his thoughts. Mayella is intimidated by her father. Bob has more power than Mayella in this situation. Now, look at the second box. Tom says “She say she never kissed a grown man before. She says what her papa do to her don’t count.” Mayella has never kissed a grown man before because what her father does to her doesn’t count. Bob Ewell
Although Mayella Ewell eventually testifies against Tom Robinson on false grounds, her backstory and true nature is innocent, and her “mockingbird” only dies when her father corrupts her. First, when Scout is describing the Ewell’s living condition, the novel states, “Against the fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson… People said they were Mayella Ewell’s” (Lee 228). Being raised in the conditions that she was, Mayella’s attempts at rectifying her family’s image, even in these small, personal acts, captures the way she wishes to live and how she thinks. Caring for the geraniums and trying to maintain some semblance of cleanliness, especially when compared to the rest of her family, gives the reader
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.
“... 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
Sympathy is unfair. An alarmingly large number of people are treated apathetically when they make certain decisions, such as those made by Mayella Ewell in Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird. A common trend in society is to pass judgement on others without giving heed to the situationality of circumstances. When looking at whether or not people deserve sympathy, the specifics of a situation have to be considered. Thus, one must do the same when deciding if Mayella Ewell is deserving of sympathy. The actions she took — specifically, framing a negro man named Tom Robinson for rape — are met with intense scrutiny and criticism. This is, of course, done without considering the rationale of her thought process. On one hand, Mayella can tell the truth
May also fulfills the stereotypical role of a dutiful, submissive, and even weak woman. Her engendered name seems evidence of this, acting as a constant reminder to her that she is an inferior being. Like a child who must ask "may I?" to obtain permission, May also seeks to gain permission from her husband to live a happy life. Also like a child, May tends to yield to her "superiors'" desires. When the doctor ...
In doing so, he evokes emotion from the jury to the extent of proving Tom's innocence. One way he accomplishes this is by speaking about Mayella in a way that brings out the jurors sentiment. He says, “I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt.” This inflicts remorse on Mayella and makes the jurors have mercy on her, but also displeasure in view of the fact that she could be