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What Does Mayella Ewell Symbolize In To Kill A Mockingbird

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The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story set in
Southern Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. The story shows an improper American society filled to the brim with prejudice, which ends in the extensive separation of the the people of a different social status. First mentioned by Atticus, the well-known saying “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird,” (Pg. 90) that mockingbirds are benevolent animals that do nothing but sing their hearts out. Lee weaves in the depiction of the mockingbird to symbolize the destruction of innocence. The image of a mockingbird can be seen in Tom Robinson who received plenty of injustice and unfairness only because he was African American; and Mayella Ewell, also experiencing her share of hate due to her low place in society.
Tom Robinson represents a mockingbird, having been getting a bucketload of racism and mean comments from the people of Maycomb. Tom was a kind African American man who was …show more content…

Mayella Ewell is a girl who is facing discrimination from society while also receiving abuse from her father. She looks after her geraniums, tends to her younger brothers and sisters, and does all of the chores of the house without any help. Instead of praising her, her father Bob Ewell, regularly pummeled her. The whites want nothing to do with her due to her social position whereas the African Americans keep her distance from her because she is white. Given this, being kind and compassionate is not her strong suit. During Tom Robinson’s trial, Atticus keeps on being polite to Mayella. Annoyed, she said to the judge: “[As long] as he keeps on [calling] me ma'am and [saying] Miss Mayella. I don’t [have to] take his sass, I [am not] called upon to take it.” (Pg. 182) Her innocence was taken from her, leaving her to neglect and poverty. Mayella is a eliminated mockingbird, a victim of the prejudice of

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