How Does Mayella Ewell Use Class Power In To Kill A Mockingbird

Power can come in all different forms. Throughout history, societies have enslaved others because of race and similarities to that race. Class power dictates the economic structure of all societies, having class power, whether it is in wealth or having it socially, builds up the structure. Gender power comes from the roles, behavior, and attitudes for men and women. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Mayella Ewell is a white poor southern woman who accuses Tom Robinson, a black man of rape. She uses her gender and racial power to have this man killed. Mayella Ewell is powerful because she is able to destroy another man’s life to save her own. Mayella is powerful when it comes to gender because she is able to use her femininity

Mayella may not a lot of class power, but she is powerful when it comes to race and gender power because society has an assumption about what Atticus is saying and she uses that inequality to win over the jury. Mayella has very little to no class power, but using her other powers she is able to victimize

She is able to use her racial power to accuse and win the trial against Tom. During the trial, it was clear what had actually happened, but when Jem and Reverend Sykes are talking, Jem is sure that the jury will find Tom not guilty, but Sykes knows what will actually happen, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Lee, D). With all the wisdom that comes with age, Reverend Sykes knows that Tom Robinson will be found guilty, not because he committed the crime but because he is a black man and Mayella is a white woman going against him. Not only was Tom dealing with racism, but also Martin Luther King, Jr. who was a black man who tried to fight segregation with peace and he writes a letter to show to the white people what it is like to be a black man in society, “I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say "wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity;” (King, I). Tom Robinson was a black man who was accused and has felt the “stinging darts of segregation” especially when Mayella calls rape against him and he is convicted for a crime he did not commit all because he is black and she is white.