Mayella Ewell Dbq

Power is the amount of control someone has over his/her life and the lives of others. The book To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb Alabama in the 1930s. The character Mayella Ewell, a nineteen-year-old, poor, white girl, accuses Tom Robinson, a black man, of rape. Back in the 1930s, racial discrimination was prominent in the South. The story is mainly centered on the court case, which causes many people to question whether Mayella Ewell is actually powerful. The court case, how she lives, and her gender all influence the way she is perceived. Mayella Ewell is perceived as powerless due to her class and gender, however, she is seen as powerful due to her race. Mayella Ewell is powerless because of her class. In Document A, “Get Back to Your Dump”, chapter 17 states, “Maycomb Ewells lived behind the town

Document B “Except when he’s drinking” states that, “Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone...” The quote is an example of physical abuse. Since Mayella was beaten by a man and she is a woman she could not get away. In the 1930s, women were not supposed to stand up to men therefore, Mayella being a woman makes her more powerless against them. In the same source, when Mayella was looking “at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer.” Mayella was intimidated by her father. Her gender influences this because if it were a man in Mayella’s position they would not be intimidated. A man would not feel inferior to other men. Back then, men had more power than women. Her gender further makes her powerless when Tom was explaining that Mr. Ewell said, “He says you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya.” (Document B). Mr. Ewell would only refer to a woman like that because the word is mainly used against women. Mayella’s gender negatively impacts her power by causing her to be more vulnerable and regarded