Tom Robinson Trial Essay

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the trial of Tom Robinson serves as the pivotal and highly-anticipated moment in the novel which displays the power a white woman has over a black man. Tom Robinson is accused of raping a young white woman named Mayella Ewell. The Ewell family lacks education and money, representing the lower class. The Ewells were described as living a vile lifestyle, “...behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin” (Doc A). As the oldest child, Mayella becomes a mother figure for her younger siblings. In addition, the novel implies that Mayella is involved in an unhealthy relationship with her father. While Atticus represents justice and morality, Bob Ewell represents ignorance and racial prejudice.

When Atticus was questioning Mayella during the trial, Mayella claims, “He does tollable, ‘cept when-’ (Doc B). During this conversation, the tension between Mayella and her father clearly rises and is brought to attention to the reader. In order to convict Tom the jury has to believe in, or at least pretend to believe in, the fragile, helpless girl who gets taken advantage of by Tom, rather than see her as a desperate, lonely teenager who actively desires him. By using her gender, Mayella is able to convince the judge she is telling the

Mayella Ewell hints at an uglier relationship with her father than is ever revealed, and along her guilt and pressure from her father, she puts the blame for the abuse on a black man who could easily be convicted, setting Bob Ewell free. Mayella was lonely, and frequently tried to talk with Tom Robinson, “As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world...: white people wouldn't have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes would have anything to do with her because she was white...” (Doc E). Mayella's own guilt and self-conscious force her to claim Tom Robinson has raped her so that he will be taken away and she will no longer be tempted. The Ewells seemed to have picked Tom Robinson as the man to blame because he was black, and blacks rarely won court cases over