Victim or Villain? Mayella Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird

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.
First and foremost, Mayella’s impulsive actions are the primary cause of the whole event. It is Mayella that decides to kiss Tom, not Bob Ewell or anyone else. She pushes the first domino: if Mayella hasn’t tempted Tom, nothing will have happened. In addition, when Mayella is sexually assulting Tom, all Tom thinks is to be nice and avoid any body contact. His testimony says, “I tried. I tried to ‘thout being ugly to her. I didn’t wanta be ugly, I didn’t wanta push her or nothin’.” Tom is definitely not the one that takes the initiative. Then who is? The person that should take full responsibility – Mayella. She is unforgivable, for she tempts Tom not because she is unconscious or being forced. “She says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a nigger.” Tom’s words implies that Mayella is willing to, and even enjo...

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...er comes back, Mayella panics and screams because of the fear and shame of being seen tempting a black man. Since she knows it is unacceptable and still does it, Mayella should be prepared to hold responsibility for her actions.
To conclude, Mayella should be fully responsible for her actions. She is someone that should be condemned instead of pitied because she is conscious while deciding to kiss a black man, kills Tom Robinson by giving false testimony in court, and knows in advance the consequences of her actions. Tom’s miserable fate is in sharp contrast with Mayella’s, as this event in To Kill a Mockingbird is meant to reflect how white people are easily forgiven even when all evidence is pointing against them. Unfortunately, Scottsboro Boys’ end is the same as Tom’s – all but one of them were convicted and sentenced to death for something that did not happen.