Sophia Hoeflicker Mrs. Hewlett English 1H-2 26 January 2023 Is Mayella Ewell Worthy of Compassion? Compassion is a natural human emotion that is felt for others, but those whose lies could do great harm, do not merit it. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a 19 year old woman by the name of Mayella Ewell had errorneously accused a black man of raping her. In 1930s Alabama, racism was a prominent part of life; in most cases, when blacks were accused of a crime, they would end up being found guilty. Being a lonely, abused girl in hysterics in court, Mayella Ewell induced others in the courtroom to have compassion for her, but not everyone held compassion for a woman telling a lie that could have an innocent man put to death. Mayella Ewell …show more content…
Atticus Finch, a powerful local attorney defending the accused Tom Robinson, questioned Mayella about the event. However, it is evident that Mayella’s recollection of the event was not consistent and she ended up sobbing hysterically on the stand. The markings on her body seem as though they had been inflicted by a left-handed individual. Tom does not physically have a left hand, but Mayella’s own father, Robert “Bob” E. Lee Ewell uses his dominantly.Mayella may be protecting her father from facing the charges and hurting her more, but she threw the blame on an innocent black man who could easily take the fall. While the accused Tom Robinson gave his testimony, he included a small detail that slightly entailed what Mayella’s father does to her. Tom attested, “She says …show more content…
Admittedly, she is a young girl who doesn’t know what a friend is, and had been placed under responsibility for her younger siblings and caring for the house her whole life. Although she is lying with intent to cover for her father, she may not know what else she could have done because of the two to three years of education she received. However, Mayella should have had the whole image of what she was doing in her mind. It is true that Mayella has never had much of a social life, but because her father implied what was wrong with her physically, she could have learned what was right. Placing the blame on a man who could easily be prosecuted for her injuries is something that can not be pitied and sympathized
This shows Mayella’s motive to frame Tom, and by showing that, the court is further convinced to believe Tom Robinson. Despite this, the jury is still full of racists, so Atticus does more for Tom's case through the use of the pathos
Do you remember him beating you about that face?” - Atticus (page 247) This quote and statement show that Mayells is unsure what she allowed to tell Atiicus she can not think of an alibi as to how there marks on her face is Tom Robinson didn’t inflict the harm Atticus is well aware of Mayella is indeed lying and he asks this to question her false
The firm declaration of Mayella denying that her father abuses her after claiming he can be intolerable while drunk and her hesitant answer gives us the clear conclusion that Mayella is being abused by her father and her injuries and rape were done not by Tom Robinson but by Mr. Ewell
He is a compassionate person and was only trying to help Mayella with her chores when she came up and tried to make a move on Tom even though he did not do anything wrong. Mayella takes advantage of people and their Achilles heels. Mayella does not give compassion to others; accordingly, she is not entitled to compassion. Compassion could be described as “a mental state or an orientation towards suffering” (Jazaieri). Compassion is an empathetic feeling that is able to detect when someone is feeling down or is undergoing a challenging situation.
Mayella had a choice weather or not to call Tom inside the house to “bust down the chifferobe”. She also let her desires cloud her thinking which in the end resulted in her breaking the moral code. In result of mayella breaking the code she also ended up ruining a innocent life. This evidence supports my thesis because Mayella knew this want the right thing to do and she did it anyways which makes her evil.
He sat up straight and waited for her to answer” (Lee 208). Mayella does not know any better as she grew up only knowing the world threw her father’s eyes. Plus, her father most likely encouraged her to lie in order to protect himself from the consequences of abusing his kids. Allowing for others to feel empathy for Mayella because her father never
By referring to Mayella as ‘she,’ Atticus disregards her poverty-stricken life and lack of education, insisting that being white is enough. Enough to make up such lies about an innocent and independent black man, knowing that her affection and feelings towards Tom will be sheltered by the cloak of her white skin. By applying language such as ‘she,’ Atticus refuses to give her the respect of being referred to by her name. Furthermore, in comparison to Mayella, Tom Robinson is no monster, but “... a human being.” Atticus comments that “She must put Tom Robinson away from her.
The only way Mayella can process her feelings is to spin a web of lies to which unfortunately involves the prosecution of Tom Robinson. Her actions are unhealthy and inexcusable but they are the only way She can keep her suffering at
Even though all the evidence points to this being a false claim and has caused rivalry in the small town of Maycomb, Mayella is worthy of compassion. Mayella struggles with crippling loneliness, pushing her to the point of no return. “True compassion goes beyond the understanding of another person’s suffering” (Yugay). The judge and townsfolk could never have known what was happening in Mayella’s home without hearing the cross-examination
Mayella does not deserve compassion as her accusations destroyed a family. Mayella Ewell uses her status as a white woman to enforce an accusation of rape that does not warrant compassion. When Scout and Jem, two children of the defense attorney, go to a black church with their caretaker, the reverend is collecting donations when he announces, “You all know of Brother Tom Robinson’s trouble. He has
Ryan Dabrowski Mr.Moynihan English 8 2-21-23 Does Mayella Ewell have power? “Mayella, who is never treated with politeness, does not recognize Atticus’s politeness or compassion in the court”(Chapter 18).In The book, To Kill a Mockingbird , Harper Lee shows the true racism in the US during the early 1930s.
When the Judge Taylor, Atticus, and Mayella have interview at the court, Mayella starts crying, because of her lies about Tom Robinson. When Mayella cries, Atticus doesn’t show that he feels Mayella is lying, because Atticus respects her. Additionally, Atticus doesn’t accuse Mayella for not telling the truth. Moreover, Atticus approaches Mayella with his courteousness by calling her “Ma’am.” Furthermore, Atticus respects Tom Robin, who seems like a criminal even though he is not.
Mayella’s family is wrong for using Tom Robinson for their own well-being to cover up their mistakes. Bob Ewell scares Mayella away from saying the truth about the situation because he will hurt her if she does not lie. Mayella is caught in a Lie when she says “No, I don’t recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me.” (Lee 188) Mayella stutters while on trial saying that Tom did not hit her but then quickly changes her story that he did.
Mayella has worked to be a respectable woman, but many things hold her back: her dad, her looks, and her personality. Being a woman and living the way she does, Mayella’s life is ignoble, but the way she treats people makes her deserve the life she has been given. For example, Mayella forces a man to lie, which results in her flaws come around to hurt her, and her to not qualify for a chance to be respected. During Tom’s trial, Tom said, “...scared I’d hafta face up to what I didn’t do.” (page 265), and that’s because Mayella indirectly took an innocent man’s life, which makes her personality even more unattractive.
Her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking. When she tried to put the evidence of her offense away, instead of being honest, she had put a man’s life in danger. However, Mayella is not a criminal. She is simply a woman who carries a heavy burden with no one to support or respect her. Mayella is a victim of abuse and