People may do atrocious things but some still deserve compassion. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Mayella Ewell is a nineteen-year-old girl who frames a black man named Tom Robinson for raping her. The Ewells take this to court due to the injuries Mayella obtained. She claims that Tom raped her, but in reality, she made a move on him and he was trying to get out of the situation. Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell, caught her and was furious at Mayella for her advancing a black man. This took place in the 1930s so it was not acceptable for whites and blacks to be together. Bob was an abusive alcoholic and Mayella’s home life was very bad. He beat her and blamed the injuries on Tom Robinson. However, she was forced to take this to court by …show more content…
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. Dr. Hooria Jazaieri, a research fellow at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, explained, “We often notice suffering (our own and that of others) but quickly dismiss it and thus do not allow ourselves to be emotionally touched or moved by the suffering.” It is easy to dismiss what Mayella is going through because we know that she is lying. However, we also know Mayella is being forced to do this by her father. Her younger siblings also do nothing to help her and are poorly influenced by their father. He is an abusive alcoholic and very negatively impacts her