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Examples Of Compassion In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Compassion for mistakes Nearly everyone is worthy of compassion and sympathy, even if they make mistakes or have mal-intent . In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella Ewell accuses Tom Robinson, a black man, of raping her. It is evident that she is lying to all of the faces in the court by her mannerisms and wordings. Due to Tom’s testimony we learn what actually happened, Mayella would often ask Tom to help her with something, but the last time she decided to make a move. Mayella pushed herself at Robinson but he did not reciprocate, so he ran off as far and fast as possible. Hearing this it is simple to mark Mayella as a horrible person worthy of nothing, but she truly is a sympathetic character. Mayella Ewell deserves compassion regardless …show more content…

While Mayella was being interviewed she thought Atticus was mocking her. A realization occurred and that realization was, “I wondered if anybody had ever called her “ma’am,” or “Miss Mayella” in her life; probably not, as she took offense to routine courtesy. What on earth was her life like?” (Lee 184). Mayella Seems to have never received proper respect in her life, She is offended by simple civility because she thinks she is being mocked. Mayella’s life is not filled with joy; she takes care of her family’s home, is never helped out by her siblings, and is abused by her father. Mayella has a lot to deal with thanks to her father and siblings, “others are choosing to acknowledge suffering (their own and others’) and wish to see the relief of suffering. This notion can get lost at times when doing these practices in solitude” (Jazaieri). Mayella does not have the atmosphere or ability to acknowledge her suffering; neither alone or with others. She does not have the ability to process or talk through her feelings, Mayella can not recognize that she is suffering as much as she is. 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

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Ladies and gentlemen, this case is about how Mayella broke her promise to the town of Maycomb Country by lying under oath. She lied because she was embarrassed that she tried to kiss Tom first and she did not want to expose her dad for beating her. Pieces of evidence that show Mayells is guilty are when she says “. . . Papa told me to do it while he was. . .”

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If Atticus had approached Mayella with an attitude of hatred, she would continue to be impudent and act like she doesn’t care. “Atticus’s voice had lost its comfortableness; he was speaking in his arid, detached professional voice. ’Do you remember him beating you about the face?’’ (Atticus 247).

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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

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There are four witnesses to this event, Sheriff Heck Tate, Mayella’s father Robert Ewell, Mayella Ewell, and finally Tom Robinson. Mayella Ewell is worthy of compassion. Her home life is wistful and lonely with her siblings not usually in the house with her and her father allegedly abusing her. Mayella is worthy of compassion since she was physically and emotionally hurt. Mayella Ewell was abused physically and therefore worthy

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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.

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In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Mayella Ewell does not deserve pity from the readers, despite her home life because she constantly victimizes herself, shows no remorse for Tom Robinson, and will bring innocent people down to help herself. Mayella’s character starts to reveal itself during the trial. During the cross examination, Atticus Finch had asked her questions that will help the jury get a better understanding of what truly took place. She shows little to no confidence while answering the questions, and she is given multiple opportunities to tell the truth. In some cases, she simply did not answer the question at all.

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She is stunned by a society who thinks that she lives “among pigs”[Doc A], after the trail she and her father are told to “get back to your dump” [Doc A]. Mayella also shows stupidity when she gets called ma’am or miss by

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In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, one crucial theme is compassion. Being the responsible parent that he is, Atticus Finch teaches both Scout and Jem to show sympathy. He acts as a good example by telling them that they will “never really understand a person until [they] consider things from [their] point of view… Until [they] climb inside of [their] skin and walk around in it” (Lee pg. 30). Atticus models this by defending Tom Robinson; he is aware they have a slim chance of winning, but he attempts to help him anyway. Because Tom is innocent, Atticus feels sympathy for him.

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Admittedly, this is true as she has caused Tom Robison and his entire family to be outcasts and seen as villains in order to protect herself from shame and position in society. However, Mayella is worthy of sympathy from others since she has not been treated fairly by anyone in her life, making others around her that hear her story, feel empathetic for her. Compassion is when others feel sympathetic for people in unfair or bad situations and want to help get rid of the pain it causes them. Empathy goes to those who are in bad places and did not earn the treatment they received, this is why others could feel compassionate for Mayella because she didn’t ask or deserve how her father and the town treats her. Irina Yuagy, a transformation and self-development writer at Mindvalley, explains, “True compassion goes beyond the understanding of another person’s suffering.

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In To Kill A Mockingbird, compassion is most important throughout the story’s lessons and understanding. Compassion is used throughout the book by a few different characters that most likely didn’t see compassion in the same way. The different ways that compassion was used in the story was extremely important due to the amount of change it caused in the story and the reader’s view of the story. Everyone deserves compassion in their life, and one of the characters in the book that could use compassion is Mayella Ewell. It was easy to tell that Mayella was a pitiful character and she deserves compassion because of how she grew up, how lonely she is, and she is most likely desperate.

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If she does not lie, her father will punish her even more, and this anxiety is what compels her to lie. Given that Mayella grew up in a low-income family, she has always been frowned upon; Nevertheless, the community members do not understand that her father has repeatedly exploited and abused her. In light of this, she has grown to fear him, and when she and Tom find themselves in a life-threatening situation, Mayella chooses to try and protect herself by having to put Tom in mortal danger. She lies about the accused Tom because of the constant shadow that looms over her and her future. She said Tom raped and abused her to protect herself.

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Mayella never learned to sympathize for her and her own home life, which is sorrowful because “I [the author] find it also helps renew one’s optimism as it reminds us we are not alone in these practices [compassion practices]. Many others are choosing to acknowledge suffering (their own and others’) and wish to see the relief of suffering” (Jazaieri). Mayella has had little experience with compassion and love in her life, and her not having those experiences makes her not

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576 Words | 3 Pages

Irina Yugay, a transformation and self-development writer at Mindvalley, stated “Well, when you feel compassion for those around you, you can’t stand by and watch someone else suffering” Mayella’s family is not ideal. As a result, she suffers constantly. Her father does not value education which shows he does not care about their well-being and does not ever try to help her. Even if he tried, he is a drunk and is unable to take care of her or any of her younger siblings which means that the job is left to Mayella. Although she was forced to go to court by her father, she also went so that people would understand her pain.

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732 Words | 3 Pages

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

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At Tom’s trial he makes the mistake of admitting he felt empathy for Mayella Ewell. “You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?” the repetition of sorry as well as the tone of incredulity in Mr. Gilmer’s voice emphasis the belief that that Mayella’s horrific home life as a black man in his community Tom Robinson had no place feeling sorry for Mayella, white person. Somebody who would have naturally been born with a higher standing in society.

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