Mayella is not a sympathetic character because she lied under oath, “tempts” a married black man, and was the reason Tom died. During the trial Atticus asks Mayella if her dad ever has beaten her, or abused her in anyway.
Once Atticus fully understands what he has been told by Mayella about what happened the day of the crime, he does his job as a lawyer and strongly defends Tom Robinson. He accuses Mayella of lying, knowing that she was only doing it to get what she and Maycomb wanted. “‘Tom, stand up. Let Miss Mayella have a good long look at you. Is this the man, Miss Mayella?’...
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.
We see her endeavors to bring something innocuous and great into her reality essentiacould save Mayella on the testimony box, "Atticus had hit her hard in a way that was not clear to me, but rather it gave him no delight to do as such." He says in his last comments, "I don 't have anything yet feel sorry for in my heart for the central observer for the state. " Potentially every character in this book could be a mockingbird. Be that as it may, once racial preference mists a man 's mind it rapidly ends up noticeably inconceivable for that individual to take after a genuine mockingbird.
Because of her race, gender, and class, she is considered a powerful character in the novel In To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella’s race gives her an incredible advantage, because society
When asked how Atticus was mocking her, she responds “Long’s he keeps callin’ me ma’am an sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don’t hafta take his sass, I ain’t called upon to take it.” (p. 184) this shows that she hasn’t grown up with much respect around and
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
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.
During Tom Robinson’s testimony, Scout had epiphany. “As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella must have been the loneliest girl in the world” was what she had said. Mayella’s loneliness can be clearly seen by anyone who talks to her. Furthermore, she does not know what it feels like to be treated politely. For example, when Atticus Finch calls her ma’am, she asks him to stop giving her attitude and then proceeds to yell at him.
“Atticus was quietly building up before the jury a picture of the Ewells’ home life… and there was a strong suspicion that Papa drank it up anyway.” (Narrator 244). Atticus portrays Mayella’s life at home, he tries to get the jury to feel sorry for her which helped him to be successful in the trial. Since Atticus was acting so nice and acting like he relates to Mayella, she eventually let her guard down and got cornered by Atticus. Atticus “trapped” Mayella, and the only reason he was successful in doing so was because of his solicitude.
In the novel: To Kill A Mockingbird, Mayella Ewell, a poor white woman, accused Tom Robinson, an African American, of rape. The Ewell’s are very indigent and her father, Bob Ewell, gets drunk and abuses Mayella. Since Mayella is very poor, this makes her not so powerful. In Maycomb, Alabama, A poor white woman named Mayella Ewell who lives behind the town garbage dump, accuses Tom Robinson, an African American, of rape.
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.
She had no choice but to lie because she needed to protect herself. Mayella did cause harm to Tom Robinson with her lie, which made her appear to be corrupt and villainous. In reality, lying was the only way she could protect herself. Mayella’s lie is justifiable because life threw every possible adversity at her, this lie was just one of the ways she survived; growing up with a father who abused and molested her, Mayella learned to survive anyway she could. This lie satisfied her father, which could mean one less beating for Mayella.
“‘... What did her father do? We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left(Doc B)....’” Mayella knows that no white man will love her, because she is poor, so she goes to the next best thing which is Tom. “She reached up an’ kissed me’ side of th’ face(Doc B).” Based on the evidence she is powerless based on her
But she said he took advantage of her, and when she stood up she looked at him as if he were dirt beneath her feet.” Mayella’s loneliness and powerlessness drove her to have an affair with a black man, breaking a societal code. She is a victim of poverty because of the hatred and discrimination occurring in Maycomb. Although some might view Mayella Ewell as a victim, others might view her as a villain because she broke a societal code by attempting to have an affair with a Negro.
