Mayella Ewell Trial Essay

Mayella Ewell: To Pity Or Not To Pity, That Is The Question
Do you not believe that your living conditions can affect who you are? In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main event that occurs is a trial between a black man, Tom Robinson, who is convicted of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. She is age 19, living in a town by the name of Maycomb. Mayella Ewell, who lives in poor conditions and has an unsupportive family, accuses Tom Robinson of forcing himself on top of her, taking advantage of her and abusing her. However, from Tom’s perspective, he passes by the Ewell place every day to get to work and he would do chores for Mayella. One day, Mayella asks him to cut up a chiffarobe, but Mayella forces herself onto Tom,

From his testimony during the court case, he was the first and only official to arrive at the scene of the crime. There, it would be his job to collect the statements of all parties that were involved at the scene. He stated that he collected Mayella’s accusations, “She identified him as the one, so I took him in,” (Lee, p.223). This proves that he brought Tom into custody without taking in his statement, which is his duty. Simply, the acquisition of a white woman was enough to convince Mr.Tate to take Tom Robinson into custody without even considering gathering statements from all perspectives. He proceeded to investigate with his own personal biases, thus causing the situation to escalate. These poor investigating skills lead to Mr Tate also being at fault for the eventual death of Tom Robinson. Furthermore, from the trial, Heck Tate said that Mayella was badly beaten up and blames it on Tom. Heck Tate also explains that Mayella fainted at the scene. However, they failed to provide a doctor to examine her health and prove that she was actually raped by Tom Robinson. Since no doctor was provided because of Heck’s poor investigation, it would lead to an inconclusive investigation, as there is lack of evidence. This leads to a false verdict and later, an innocent man’s death. Also during the trial, Atticus questions Mr. Tate regarding which of Mayella’s eye was

The jury learns that in the Ewell household, they were uneducated, which Mayella says, “There was no need for the rest of them to learn- Papa needed them at home” (Lee, p.245) This proves that they, especially Mayella, did not know literature and laws. If she had learned the laws, she would have known it was illegal for a white woman to kiss a black man. If she were to acknowledge the law, she would not kiss Tom Robinson and this situation would not occur in the first place. Due to her living conditions, she is uneducated on the matter. In addition, in the Ewell’s household, Mayella has no supportive influence to help her with her situation. The jury learns that in their household, “Everyone was for himself,” (Lee, p.245). This proves that they were independent and had no one to help make their decisions. As well, their mother is dead and their father is not concerned. This means they have no other elders to help; Mayella is left to make decisions by herself. Because of her living conditions, her judgement is impaired, leading to conducting wrong resolutions. Also, Mayella was lonely and this is a major factor that contributes to her indecisiveness. This is proven when Scout says, “When Atticus asked had she any friends, any friends, she seemed not to know what it meant.” This reveals she is lonely and Tom