power is the ability to have complete power over someone elses lives as well as your own.In the story “to kill a mockingbird”,tom robinson is convicted for a crime he diddnt commit- rape.The alleged victim is Mayella Ewell.Tom Robinson was blamed for this heinous crime for two main reasons; he was in the wrong place at the wrong time,and because he was black.Mayella ,a poor -class white woman who lives whith her dad and several siblings.with Mayellas father being a drunk;the Ewells have been known for their troublemaking.what makes Mayella have power over Tom Robinson?is it class?gender?race maybe?although Mayella is powerless when it comes to class and gender,her race ultimately makes her powerful.
Mayella's family,the Ewells live behind the Maycomb county dump. their yard was a vapid,bare spot enclosed in a “fence” of old trash and metal ,in the yard is just as bad trash lay everywhere.but something caught the eye of everyone who passed the garbage -house, was the bright red geraniums.they looked as if someone had took very good care of them
…show more content…
this plays a very big part in this novel.if you weren't white ,you literally had no power whatsoever.this helps Mayella in the court case. the jury(all white males)were more likely to believe her story more than Tom Robinson's.even though it was obvious that Mayella's father was the one that beat up Mayella they still found Tom Robinson guilty.They thought that it was a ludicrous idea that Tom would be innocent. Mayella got hit on the right eye,which means that a left -handed person must have hit her.but Tom Robinson's whole left arm is severely crippled ,it got caught in a cotton gin and it crushed his left arm ,shoulder,and hand. Tom can't even feel his arm let alone hold it up. mr.ewell,on the other hand, is left -handed and his arm is perfectly fine,fine enough to fracture a skull.but the jury still found tom guilty just because the that he is
To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama during the 1930’s in the midst of the Great Depression. In times of uncertainty during the trial of Tom Robinson Jem, Dill, and Scout grow up as if nothing has changed. Atticus Finch continues to fight Robinson’s trial which leads to nineteen year old Mayella Ewell’s testimony. In terms of control over herself and others in relation to class, race and gender it seems apparent that Mayella Ewell’s gender affects her control over her life and the lives of others the most. Gender, a widespread label separating the world to promote fairness might be used to one’s advantage in a number of ways.
In Document A, it says how her family lives behind the town garbage dump and the house is broken down and isn’t in good condition. The town is surprised because in one corner of the yard, Mayella planted red geraniums and cared for them. She tried to keep the house clean but the geraniums were the only thing clean in the house. Mayella isn’t powerful in her class because she is poor.
Although Mayella is powerless when it comes to Class, and Gender, her Race ultimately, makes her powerful. Although, Mayella is not powerful in this story. “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin…”(Doc A)
When thinking of the term power, the upper rich class may come to mind. Mayella definitely does not live in the rich class. She lives in “the town’s garbage dump” (document A). In document E, they say that she lives by blacks, which back in their time was seen as a bad and poor thing to do.
Is Mayella powerful because of class, gender or race? All though Mayella is powerless when it comes to class and gender her race ultimately makes her powerful. Due to Mayella’s class, she is less powerful because she does not have opulence. Mayella’s class makes her less powerful because “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin.
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, Harper Lee reveals how prejudice is portrayed through the characters in the story. Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley are all victims of prejudice in the novel and each of the opinions towards them are proven wrong. During the trial of Tom Robinson, people are prejudice towards him purely because of the fact that he’s an african american man who was accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. The day of the trial occurred and the jury was predominantly white. While Bob was accusing Tom he said “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!”
Mayella's father however was a drunk and apparently wouldn't touch her but that wasn't so true. Honestly all of this is really crucial to our society it’s a very important factor that they showed signs of inequality in To Kill A Mockingbird. This book covers it alot in the book behind the scenes.
Then some people thought that Tom was innocent but the judge decided to make Tom go to prison. In the book it said that Mayella hugged and kissed Tom on the cheek. From this I can infer that Mayella is desperate and can get away with this because Tom Robinson is a black person. This reminds me of a couple southern movies I’ve watched where black people are always the first to suspect because of their color. Tom Robinson on trial for his life said Bob Ewell yelled “whore I’ll kill you” when he saw Mayella kiss Tom from the window.
Mayella is a lower classman.
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.
One corner of the yard, though, bewildered Maycomb. Against the fence, in a line, were six… jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for… tenderly…. People said they were Mayella Ewell’s. ”(Lee, Chapter 17) Mayella is believed to meticulously take care of six flowers in her yard. Because she can take care of these flowers, people can see that Mayella can take care of other things and that she does have power as these flowers give Mayella power in her class.
Throughout chapters 16-23 the Ewells show many ways of them lying. The two Ewells who lie during the Tom Robinson trial are Mayella and Bob Ewell. I feel Mayella and Bob lie to get the innocent man, Tom Robinson in trouble, therefore making up lies is not right. First of all, why would Mayella lie? Mayella lies to protect her father.
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).
In chapter 19, Tom Robinson gets his chance to speak. Tom tells his side of the story. He says that he had been called by Mayella to help her fix a chiffarobe. Mayella had asked him to help her fix things other times before and he does because he feels sorry for her. According to Tom, while he is helping, Mayella had grabbed him and kissed him, and when asked if he resisted, Tom says: “Mr. Finch, I tried, I tried to ‘thout bein’ ugly to her.