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How Does Mayella Ewell Use Gender In To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama during the 1930’s in the midst of the Great Depression. In times of uncertainty during the trial of Tom Robinson Jem, Dill, and Scout grow up as if nothing has changed. Atticus Finch continues to fight Robinson’s trial which leads to nineteen year old Mayella Ewell’s testimony. In terms of control over herself and others in relation to class, race and gender it seems apparent that Mayella Ewell’s gender affects her control over her life and the lives of others the most. Gender, a widespread label separating the world to promote fairness might be used to one’s advantage in a number of ways. In this case, Mayella happens to use it to her own advantage while in court. By using her young feminine features, she is able to manipulate others such as the Judge to feel sorry for her. Rather than the judge being manipulated, Tom Robinson takes his place and takes pity on her. Not only does gender have it’s advantages, it also has its disadvantages. This includes Mayella’s set back in her home environment. With her mother being deceased for …show more content…

Mayella and her family isn’t ranked at all in an upper class category, that is because they are known for being trashy, dishonest, flakky and are looked down on. At home Mayella struggles to live a stable life especially having the new suddenly expected responsibility of being the woman of the house. It seems that the family lacks class and are known in town for being non functional and non supporting considering the only income that is provided is spent on booze and cigarettes. It happens to give a huge disadvantage in terms of affecting Mayella’s control because it offers no control. It’s quite obvious that she can’t control how their society looks at them according to their rank in class and she isn’t able to control how her family

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The book To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the 1930’s in a tired old town called Maycomb. Racism was at its highest, while jobs were at its lowest. The story is told in the perspective of the main character Scout Finch a 6-year-old girl. She shows the readers how the good people of Maycomb are hurt with the bad of Maycomb. Scout demonstrates this by putting many characters through many obstacles.

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492 Words | 2 Pages

Another reason how Mayella is powerful is by her gender. It states that he “... tried to help her…”. This is saying since Mayella is a girl that a guy will do anything to help a girl that needs help. It states “yes, suh I felt sorry for her…”. According to this statement, it

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773 Words | 4 Pages

One would say she is not powerful because she is enclosed from the world, beaten by her father, and not very respected. For example, as Atticus asked Mayella to see if her father is good and tolerable to her, but she says “He does tollable, ‘cept when-”, ‘Except when he’s drinking?’ asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded. ”(Lee, Chapter 18) This would prove that Mayella has less power than usual when her father is drunk because, his gender as a male has the power over her and gets violent when drunk.

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442 Words | 2 Pages

Mayella is a woman so she gets respect from people and . Mayella was also powerful by having everyone trust her over a black male who was innocent, but Mayella won the case because she is a woman and she is trusted over Tom Robinson. In document Mayella uses her class as a way of being powerful and using it in the trial scene of Tom Robinson. Mayella lives in a “fix”, she is poor and she uses that as an advantage to make people feel sorry for her. In document E when Tom says “I felt right sorry for her suh” he felt how Mayella was treated and wanted to help her.

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1000 Words | 4 Pages

Published in 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a timeless novel that is narrated by young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. The novel takes place in a small Alabama town called Maycomb during the 1930s, a period when racism and segregation were heavily prominent in society. Although Scout is young, she is already exposed to the presences of discrimination and inequalities within her small town. Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, is an esteemed lawyer with beliefs that differ from others and a strong desire to do the right thing. Atticus teaches his children valuable lessons, such as the other means of handling conflicts, the importance of equality, and the deception of outer appearances in hopes that they learn to feel compassion

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457 Words | 2 Pages

Imagine feeling less of a person every day because of not being a white woman. Mayella is a white woman who barely has any power, but in court, she's powerful enough to send an innocent Black man to the electric chair. Her class gets rid of all her power. Her Gender takes and gives her power. But in the end, her race makes her most powerful.

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709 Words | 3 Pages

Although due to being a poor, uneducated woman whom is treated like an object, Mayella is not a powerful character. For 19 years of Mayella’s life she has been

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1060 Words | 5 Pages

As a woman in the 1930’s she faced beatings from her father who she says “does tollable” “Except when he’s drinking.” (Doc B). She is also more open to being a victim of sexual assault from people such as an abusive father “she says what her papa do to her don’t count.” (Doc B) This shows that Mayella as a woman is more vulnerable to beatings and even sexual assault which would not be such an issue if she was a man.

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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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754 Words | 4 Pages

Race has always been a part of history, from slavery to MLK, to Barack Obama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee defines race in the south during the 1930’s. Jean “Scout” Finch, is the narrator of the story. Her brother Jeremy “Jem” and her dad, Atticus, are both main characters. Calpurnia is their house cook and helper, she is also black.

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Option 2 Literary Analysis To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel set during the 1930s in a small town in Southern Alabama called Maycomb. The story is told through the narrator, Scout, a young girl who lives with her father, a lawyer, and her older brother Jem. As a child, Scout is portrayed as a stubborn and obnoxious little girl who loves to read, play with her brother Jem, and fantasize about her mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. However, her life gets turned upside down when Scout’s father agrees to do something that is deemed unacceptable in the south; he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. Instantly, Atticus and his family go from being respected and beloved by their town, to being

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508 Words | 3 Pages

Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is set sometime in the 1930s in Maycomb County Alabama. The story is told through the point of view of Scout Finch who lives with her father, Atticus, and brother, Jem. The kids like to play pretend with their friend Dill about the man who lives in a scary house down the road, Boo Radley. The kids come in a few close counters along the way during these games in which Atticus does not approve. Scouts’ father, a lawyer, is appointed by Judge Taylor to defend Mr. Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a young girl.

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1049 Words | 5 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird there are lots of racial, gender, and religious, discrimination. Which is shown a multiple amount of times throughout the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee which takes place in Maycomb Alabama, where there is a lot of racial discrimination. But there is also some gender, and religious, discrimination.

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730 Words | 3 Pages

By saying this, Mayella reminds the jury that as men, it is their job to protect their women. So even though they may not think Tom is guilty, they convict him anyway for

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1105 Words | 5 Pages

How are the attitudes and values of Maycomb County Presented by Harper Lee? The novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee is set in the early 1900’s and is based around the Finch family and their life in their home county of Maycomb, Alabama. The attitudes and values of Macomb County are presented through the expectations of the Maycomb society, and also the actions of the people of Maycomb and how these contrast or match eachother.

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