How Does Mayella Ewell's Support In To Kill A Mockingbird

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How would you feel if you were forced to do something and everyone condemned you for it? A character by the name of Mayella Ewell had a similar circumstance in Harper Lee's book “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Although what she did seemed to indicate that she didn't merit any sympathy, this essay will demonstrate to you the three main reasons why she should. These reasons are, her father was abusive, she had to do everything around the house, and she was a lonely child.

First of all, Mayella Ewell grew up in a house where her father was a bit abusive. In the novel on (page 245) the author writes, ¨Do you love your father Miss Mayella? Love him, whatchu mean? I mean, is he good to you, is he easy to get along with? He is tollable, ´cept when -- Except when? Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting …show more content…

The book also provided the reader with the following evidence, ¨The jury learned the following things: The relief check was far from enough to feed the family, and there was a strong suspicion that papa drank it up anyway - he sometimes went off in the swamp for days and came back home sick.¨ (page 244) On (page 245) we also learn, ¨there was a lady who came around sometimes and asked Mayella why she didn't stay in school - she wrote down the answer; with two members of the family reading and writing, there was no need for the rest of them to learn - Papa needed them at home.¨ This evidence shows that she needs to be working to provide for her family. Plus, she was the one who had to do everything in the house. Her life was basically working, doing chores, and obeying her father so that he wouldn't hurt her when coming home drunk. This evidence shows that even while speaking she was careful in what to say and sometimes wrote it down. Possibly because of someone specifically being in the court listening to everything she