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The characters Mayella Ewell, Jeremy Finch, and Arthur Radley show that this theme is present in many different ways. Mayella Ewell is disregarded for being an Ewell, Jeremy Finch handles situations differently than others would. Lastly, Arthur Radley is the mysterious character who no one understands because of the rumors around Maycomb and the way he lives. These characters are all misunderstood by others over the course of the novel and they all have their own story to
One day in Maycomb, Alabama during the great depression a young girl named Mayella Ewell was raped. This shows Mayella is one powerful young girl in the story To Kill A Mockingbird. It will show how she is power through class, race, and gender. First Mayella is powerful through her class ranking. In the story it said that the “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin…”.
Is Mayella Ewell powerful or not? Mayella Ewell, the poorest girl in the town of Maycomb, Alabama, living on a pig farm with her abusive father and in an abandoned Negro shack. The Ewell’s are the lowest of the low in the town of Maycomb, in rank wise and are not respected too much either. Bob Ewell, father of Mayella Ewell is an abusive man, sexually and physically and has an alcoholic problem. Mayella is usually beaten and sexually assaulted by him, especially when he is drinking, but Mayella has a plan that will let her be free from Bob.
Mayella, injured beyond repair by the forces of poverty and by the hatred that surrounds her and her family Mayella’s father forces her to lie about what really happened between her and Tom Robinson Although Mayella knows that she can tell the truth about the trial her father forces her to lie about what Tom Robinson really did. All Mayella wants is attention from someone because she has never felt that feeling before because of the way her father treats her. Although Mayella has her flaws, she does not deserve to be harmed and mistreated because truly she has not harmed anyone. This leads to the ultimate act of innocence displayed by Tom
Then some people thought that Tom was innocent but the judge decided to make Tom go to prison. In the book it said that Mayella hugged and kissed Tom on the cheek. From this I can infer that Mayella is desperate and can get away with this because Tom Robinson is a black person. This reminds me of a couple southern movies I’ve watched where black people are always the first to suspect because of their color. Tom Robinson on trial for his life said Bob Ewell yelled “whore I’ll kill you” when he saw Mayella kiss Tom from the window.
Mayella was not favored by the people in Maycomb. She was extremely poor and never spoke on any harassment she suffered from her father. Tom Robinson attempts to get the truth out in the open when he is giving his testimony, “She said what her papa do to her don’t count” (Doc B). Mayella doesn’t fully understand that her father is physically abusive towards her. To her it’s just love.
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee took the minor character of Mayella Ewell and made her into a sympathetic role to her readers in a latent way. Mayella's life at home is told through the story's background and foreshadowing references. This is how Lee made Mayella memorable enough to the reader to know who she is and her family situation without needing her point of view of her side of the story. Once Mayella enters the storyline, her actions will become understandable to the reader and generate sympathy. One way Lee makes Mayella a sympathetic character is how before entering her into the story, one of Mayella's younger siblings was introduced.
Showing them the harsh reality of life with honesty and fearlessness. During this time the Great Depression was hitting the southern town of Maycomb. This novel compares many of its characters to mockingbirds, a symbol of pure innocence. One summer, Atticus, who is a lawyer, finds himself in the middle of a controversial case, involving a African American man, Tom Robinson and a white woman, Mayella. Despite the town throwing hatred towards Atticus and his family, he doesn’t back down because he takes pride in helping the innocent.
In the successful novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the character, Mayella Ewell, is portrayed as a victim and villain. She is a complex character who can be viewed as a lonely victim of poverty and neglect. She is also a 19 year old adult who falsely accused a man of a crime he didn’t commit. A victim is a person who feels powerless, needs lots of attention, and is passive. A villain is one who is trying to accomplish a mission, acting on personal desires, and is hiding something.
If not for the major characters, the minor characters have played an equally important role in Maycomb with their contrasting views. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is mainly about Jem and Scout growing up under the difficult situations created in Alabama during The Great Depression. Stereotypes and discrimination are major problems in Maycomb. Scout and Jem Finch are raised by Atticus, with the help of Calpurnia, their maid. In the first part of the book, Scout, Jem and Dill are fascinated by Boo Radley because of the rumors they hear about him, and they try everything to make him come out of his house.
The main Characters of the book are Atticus, Scout, and Jem Finch. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the author gives the reader insight into how racial, gender, and religious discrimination, impact the community of Maycomb. There are many times when racial discrimination is shown in the novel, like when Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to her church and Lula tells them many times that she has no business bringin white children to a black church.
Tom Robinson is a mockingbird in that he doesn't do one thing wrong. All he does is provide help to the people he interacts with. That is exactly how he got in trouble. Tom Robinson was helping Mayella with some chores. He was humming a melody and when he chopped up the dresser drawers.
The women in To Kill a Mockingbird have important roles but very few of them. Many women in To Kill a Mockingbird have responsibilities to take care of the children and care for the Orr residents of the house they live in. Calpurnia for example. Calpurnia is the black female cook for the finch household. However, she does not just cook.
To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee. The book took place in the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama. This book was based off the Scottsboro boys. The Scottsboro boys were a group of black men being falsely accused of raping a white women. “They shot him,” said Atticus.
First, she had to make up a story about Tom Robinson because she had kissed a black man, which was frowned upon for a white woman to do. “She was white and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society in unspeakable: she kissed a black man”(272). Mayella is also used as an example when she convinces the jury to convict an innocent black man because of Southern Womanhood. “That n***** took advantage of me, an’ if you fine fancy gentlemen don’t wanna do nothin’ about it then you’re all yellow stinkin’ cowards, stinkin’ cowards, the lot of you”(251).
