Essay On Mayella Ewell In To Kill A Mockingbird

Taylor McAllister Period 3 11.08.16 TKAMB Essay Thesis- Injustice and ignorance can be shown through the narrow-mindedness of people, such as Mayella Ewell, Aunt Alexandria, and the even the town of Maycomb. To kill a Mockingbird shows and depicts many characters and the attitude toward life, Tom Robinson, and the people in the town of Maycomb. Injustice is shown throughout and complimented by that is narrow-mindedness. Some of the characters show that narrow-mindedness and ignorance can take a toll on how maycomb operates.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird Mayella Ewell's is a powerful young teenager. In the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama Mayella set news to the small town, she made allegations of rape against Tom Robinson. Mayella is as powerful as the ocean when it takes you underwater. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird will show Mayella’s  power by using Class, Race, and Gender.

Next, it is easy to tell that Mr. Bob Ewell and his daughter were more concerned about arresting Tom Robinson rather than the actual case. They were quick to point fingers, but they had trouble paying attention during the trial. When asked by Mr. Gilmer (the solicitor) if he was ambidextrous, Mr. Ewell responded by saying, “I most positively am not, I can use one hand good as the other.” Also, Mayella didn’t hesitate to accuse Tom of hitting her left eye even though Mr. Heck Tate clearly stated that her right eye was blackened. The two witnesses were ignorant and nervous throughout cross-examination.

Mayella is very loquacious when it comes to talking about her father’s drinking problems. “He’s tollable, ‘cept when-’” and “Except when he’s drinking?” asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded(Doc B). ” We know that Mayella’s father beat her, because she was hit on the right side of the face, and her father is left handed. It was reprehensible to accuse Tom of hitting Mayella, when his arm was partially amputated.

Back then segregation was a problem. It is surprising that the Ewell’s would make a lie just to get Tom Robinson killed. This is because on page 257, it says “Tom Robinson was probably the only person who was ever decent to her. So, knowing this, Tom would have no motive in hurting Mayella if he was the only one who was nice to her. This is why I believe Bob Ewell abused his own daughter instead of Tom

One day in Maycomb, Alabama during the great depression a young girl named Mayella Ewell was raped. This shows Mayella is one powerful young girl in the story To Kill A Mockingbird. It will show how she is power through class, race, and gender. First Mayella is powerful through her class ranking. In the story it said that the “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin…”.

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Mayella Ewell is a powerful character. Mayella get’s her power from her class,race,and gender. Her power mostly comes from her race. Tom Robinson has been accused of rape by Mayella Ewell. Mayella race is where most of her power comes from.

Mayella was exacerbate when Atticus kept on calling her “Ma’am and miss.” (Doc:C) Judge Taylor told Mayella that Atticus was not making fun of her because he was being polite and of what she’s been through so Mayella got away with being rude to Atticus. “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, ain’t ever seen any jury decide in a favor of a colored man over a white man…’” (Doc:D) The jury decided in favor of a colored man over a white man due to all the evidence that was found and leading to Mr. Ewell.

Mayella was not favored by the people in Maycomb. She was extremely poor and never spoke on any harassment she suffered from her father. Tom Robinson attempts to get the truth out in the open when he is giving his testimony, “She said what her papa do to her don’t count” (Doc B). Mayella doesn’t fully understand that her father is physically abusive towards her. To her it’s just love.

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the “mockingbird symbol” to help the reader understand the innocence of many characters in the story one example of a “Mockingbird” Is Arthur Radley. Arthur has never really done anything wrong to become hated as he is at the time all he wants is to have a connection with the outside world like he used to, people change from when they were when they were younger to where they are now. In the same fashion, another example of a mockingbird’s innocence is the black man Tom Robinson. Tom is an example of a mockingbird; he is an innocent man who supposedly did bad things with Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell is a mockingbird example, during the trial her father forces her to lie about what happened between Tom and herself but sincerely she has no resemblance of him.

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee took the minor character of Mayella Ewell and made her into a sympathetic role to her readers in a latent way. Mayella's life at home is told through the story's background and foreshadowing references. This is how Lee made Mayella memorable enough to the reader to know who she is and her family situation without needing her point of view of her side of the story. Once Mayella enters the storyline, her actions will become understandable to the reader and generate sympathy. One way Lee makes Mayella a sympathetic character is how before entering her into the story, one of Mayella's younger siblings was introduced.

Is Mayella Ewell powerful or not? Mayella Ewell, the poorest girl in the town of Maycomb, Alabama, living on a pig farm with her abusive father and in an abandoned Negro shack. The Ewell’s are the lowest of the low in the town of Maycomb, in rank wise and are not respected too much either. Bob Ewell, father of Mayella Ewell is an abusive man, sexually and physically and has an alcoholic problem. Mayella is usually beaten and sexually assaulted by him, especially when he is drinking, but Mayella has a plan that will let her be free from Bob.

Abuse has a bad effect on children everywhere causing them to lash out in different ways as Mayella did in her environment. For example, kids that come from negligent families often have trouble connecting with others. Throughout the story, Mayella has shown signs that prove that she lacked simple social skills to understand who she should trust or when people are being nice to her. Further, Mayella exhibits attachment issues and tendency to take risky sexual decisions such as she had done with Tom Robinson, which essentially can be attributed to be consequence of abuse perpetrated by Bob Ewell and his out of control drinking habit. The fact that she knew the consequences of abuse should have been a deterrent to her misbehavior with Tom Robinson During Mayella’s testimony, Mayella’s father is exposed as an alcoholic who is intolerable when drunk.

Bob Ewell, Mayella 's father, gets drunk and abuses Mayella. He possibly even sexually abused Mayella. Not to mention, Mayella had enough of the abuse and got an idea. In addition to this, Mayella thought since she was a white woman she could blame an African American man, Tom Robinson, of rape and if her father sees, he will

Mayella was powerless in gender because she was always abused. “Mayella was beaten savagely by someone who lead almost exclusively with his left” (Document B). Based on this quote it shows that Mayella’s father had beaten her sexual, verbally, and physically. Tom Robinson also was crippled in his left hand which shows her father beat her. During the trial Atticus questions Mayella about if she loves her father and she response “he tollable, except when he is drinking” (Document B).