Mayella Ewell Guilty Essay

Mayella Ewell; A Guilty Victim Mayella Ewell, a 19-year-old adult committed a crime, not a crime of ignorance or of innocence. She committed a crime of her own free will. She falsely accused a man of rape, which indirectly led to his death. Mayella Ewell is a character from the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee. The book is set in the small imaginary town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Mayella Ewell attempted to force herself onto a colored man by the name of Tom Robinson. Tom was already married and had multiple children. Mayella knew this, but persisted in what she was going to do anyway. When Tom refused, she accused Tom of rape and assault. He was found guilty by the jury and was sent to prison. Knowing

She was 19 years old, which is considered the age of an adult in Alabama. She wasn’t some little kid committing a crime out of ignorance, she did what she did knowing the possible consequences of her actions. She knew full well what she was doing was wrong when she attempted to kiss a colored man knowing that he was married, had kids, and did not want to, and when in that time period it was considered a sin for a white woman and colored man to do what they were doing. In Tom’s statement, he explains all that Mayella tried to do to him, “ ‘No suh, she—she hugged me. She hugged me round the waist.’ This time Judge Taylor’s gavel came down with a bang, and as it did the overhead lights went on in the courtroom. Darkness had not come, but the afternoon sun had left the windows. Judge Taylor quickly restored order. ‘Then what did she do?’ The witness swallowed. ‘She reached up an kissed me side of th’ face.’ ” (Lee 197). It was evident that Tom Robinson wanted no part in what she was trying to do, he already had a wife and kids and knew what would happen if they got caught. Mayella knew all of this and despite it, kept on trying. Her own selfish actions and desires led to the untimely end of Tom

Tom Robinson had always helped Mayella with chores around the house because she knew that she had no one to help her and he knew that she was quite lonely. He treated her with kindness and respect even though he had no reason to and when he got nothing out of it. His kindness and respect were rewarded with a knife in the back. After everything Tom had done for Mayella, she still backstabbed him. When things started to become inconvenient for Mayella, she sweeped all her mistakes under the rug and pointed her finger at Tom Robinson, accusing him of serious crimes. During Mayella’s cross-examination, she is asked who was the one who beat and raped her, she doesn’t even hesitate to point her finger at Tom Robinson, “ ‘...you’ve testified that the defendant hit you, grabbed you around the neck, choked you, and took advantage of you. I want you to be sure you have the right man. Will you identify the man who raped you?’ ‘I will, that's him right yonder.’ ”(Lee 211). She didn’t even hesitate to betray Tom Robinson’s kindness when it came down to her own innocence on the line. She did what was most convenient at the time and decided to get rid of the last piece of evidence that could possibly refute her. She tried to get Tom Robinson convicted and killed so she could be