Mayella Abuse Quotes

Everybody has two different sides to him or her- one that is seen by others and one that is buried in their personal lives, completely hidden from others. People tend to perceive themselves as how they are seen by other people, but can open up or be exposed when they are put in that position. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, both of Mayella’s sides are evident. On the outside, she can be dismissed as a lying cheat, as she lied while on the witness stand. But, when she is forced to open up during her testimony, her true self can be seen. Some feel that what she exposes is why full sympathy should be shown towards her. Though some sympathy could be shown towards Mayella because of her abusive father and loneliness, her behavior towards

Abuse has a bad effect on children everywhere causing them to lash out in different ways as Mayella did in her environment. For example, kids that come from negligent families often have trouble connecting with others. Throughout the story, Mayella has shown signs that prove that she lacked simple social skills to understand who she should trust or when people are being nice to her. Further, Mayella exhibits attachment issues and tendency to take risky sexual decisions such as she had done with Tom Robinson, which essentially can be attributed to be consequence of abuse perpetrated by Bob Ewell and his out of control drinking habit. The fact that she knew the consequences of abuse should have been a deterrent to her misbehavior with Tom Robinson During Mayella’s testimony, Mayella’s father is exposed as an alcoholic who is intolerable when drunk. Ewell’s problem with alcoholism is clearly shown in Mayella’s cross-examination “‘except when he’s drinking?’ asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded”(Lee 245) when she is being asked when her father is intolerable. This is important because it shows the cruelty that Bob has implanted on his child. It causes her not to be able to function as normal child, which is why sympathy should be shown towards her. Her father’s negligence is a reason to gain some sympathy from the

During Mayella’s testimony, Atticus asked her about what she did in her free time and if she had any friends. The moment Atticus asked her if she had any friends, she didn’t know what he meant by that. She assumed that he was making fun of her rather than asking her a serious question. This deserves the audience’s sympathy because she does not have any idea what friends are. She has been lonely for a large portion of her life and needs somebody in her life to be her companion. During Tom Robinson’s testimony, Scout had epiphany. “As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella must have been the loneliest girl in the world” was what she had said. Mayella’s loneliness can be clearly seen by anyone who talks to her. Furthermore, she does not know what it feels like to be treated politely. For example, when Atticus Finch calls her ma’am, she asks him to stop giving her attitude and then proceeds to yell at him. Judge Taylor then has to explain to her that Atticus is not giving her attitude and is in fact treating her with respect. This shows her loneliness because she doesn’t understand the difference between being polite and being disrespectful. She deserves sympathy because she has not been exposed to the world and does not have a clear distinction between right and wrong. Last, Mayella makes it clear that she doesn’t have a close relationship with her family.