I felt right sorry for her….”(Lee , Chapter 19) Tom Robinson says this when he is in court, being tried for rape. In this instance, Mayella Ewell has power in class as she is poor, so people feel bad and want to help. She can use people to do what she wants out of pity.
This means they have no other elders to help; Mayella is left to make decisions by herself. Because of her living conditions, her judgement is impaired, leading to conducting wrong resolutions. Also, Mayella was lonely and this is a major factor that contributes to her indecisiveness. This is proven when Scout says, “When Atticus asked had she any friends, any friends, she seemed not to know what it meant.” This reveals she is lonely and Tom
“Just remember that sometimes, the way you think about a person isn’t the way they actually are.” Society shapes and influences Mayella Ewells, Victoria Price, and Ruby Bates. Mayella, Victoria, and Ruby are viewed as both victims and accusers during and after their trials. Some people viewed Mayella Ewells and Ruby Bates as victims but some people do not.
In the courtroom, Mayella is called “Ma’am” by Atticus. Mayella takes offense to this because she has never been spoken to with this type of authority. Mayella thinks that Atticus is mocking her in the fact that she has always been called derogatory names and never spoken to with any kind of power from anyone else. “Won’t answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin’ me” (Lee 1960 Chapter 18). Mayella says this because she does not like the fact that in her mind, Atticus is “mocking”
Mayella Ewell is a white woman, from Maycomb, Alabama, accusing an African American man named Tom Robinson, of Rape. In To Kill A Mockingbird the Ewell’s are very unfortunate. Mayella would get abused by her father, Bob Ewell, when he would get drunk. Nobody in Mayella’s town would help her because of her race,class,and gender. This could make Mayella not powerful.
On page 256 Scout feels that Mayella is lonely because she is a mixed child,Mayella comes from whites and black people side. Mayella lives in a poor town where blacks live and some white people so whites won’t talk to her. Black people wont talkj to her beacuse she has white blood in her so they put her aside. During the court Atticus asked her if she has any friuends she did not know what friends ment she thought that Atticus was making
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.
In the courtroom, when Atticus is questioning Mayella, he often calls her “miss Mayella.” Mayella is feeling offended from Atticus because she believes that he was exacerbating her. ”I’m not answering anymore questions until he stops
Do you know what it feels like to be powerless? A white nineteen year old woman named Mayella Ewell Falsely accuses a black man of raping her in Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s, and is rendered powerless, due to being recessive in her social class, race, and gender. She does so in hopes of escaping her abusive father, and a chance to have a better life. Although Mayella is white, she has been shunned by African Americans and other white people. Mayella is a very young woman that does not own anything nice, nor clean, besides geranium flowers.
208-209). See the http://www.idl.org/idl.html>. This quote is long, but it is important because it shows that Mayella is being abused at home, and we know this because of how she changes her answer to protect her father after she notices his subtle cue of sitting up straight, and when Atticus gently suggests that Bob is abusive when he’s drinking, Mayella almost subconsciously nods to Atticus’s suggestion. This shows that Mayella is conflicted between the need to save her family’s image and most likely save herself from another beating, and the urge to tell the truth about how she feels, and what actually happens at home. There is also a much subtler quote that is equally as important, this is when Atticus says: “‘You say ‘he caught me and choked me and took advantage of me’ ---is that right?’
Atticus speaks to Mayella Ewell kindly. Atticus questions Mayella, but first asks her some background questions to show the jury what kind of family she comes from. At first, Mayella takes exception to Atticus calling her "Miss Mayella," and the judge has to explain that Atticus is imply being polite. “Won’t answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin‘ me,” she said. “Ma’am?”
Mayella has worked to be a respectable woman, but many things hold her back: her dad, her looks, and her personality. Being a woman and living the way she does, Mayella’s life is ignoble, but the way she treats people makes her deserve the life she has been given. For example, Mayella forces a man to lie, which results in her flaws come around to hurt her, and her to not qualify for a chance to be respected. During Tom’s trial, Tom said, “...scared I’d hafta face up to what I didn’t do.” (page 265), and that’s because Mayella indirectly took an innocent man’s life, which makes her personality even more unattractive.
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
Mayella was a lonely woman whose father abused her. She wanted to have intimacy with Tom Robinson, which “brings shame to her family”. When her father finds
This is where Harper Lee tells us about what kind of person Mayella really is. Her character is presented as an ignorant girl that does what her father tells her to do. Atticus says, “ She is a victim of cruel poverty and ignorance, but I cannot pity her…” She plays a major role in Tom Robinson’s life as well as his family’s life. Her lies cost Tom his life and ruins his family’s chance for happiness.
