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Mayella Is Powerless In To Kill A Mockingbird

616 Words3 Pages

What is Power? Power means to control yourself and/or others. This story is about a black man named Tom Robinson and a white woman named Mayella Ewell. The story consists of an unfair trial, a lot of racism, and prejudice people. What makes Mayella powerful due to class, gender, and race? Although Mayella is powerless when it comes to class and gender, her race ultimately makers her powerful. When it comes to class Mayella is powerless. Mayella and her father live in a dump and not in opulence. When the trial ended Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father thought he’d be a hero, but instead everything turned back to normal. “He thought he’d be a hero, but all he got for his pain was… okay, we’ll convict this Negro but get back to your dump(DocA).” There …show more content…

Mayella is very loquacious when it comes to talking about her father’s drinking problems. “He’s tollable, ‘cept when-’” and “Except when he’s drinking?” asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded(Doc B).” We know that Mayella’s father beat her, because she was hit on the right side of the face, and her father is left handed. It was reprehensible to accuse Tom of hitting Mayella, when his arm was partially amputated. “‘... What did her father do? We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left(Doc B)....’” Mayella knows that no white man will love her, because she is poor, so she goes to the next best thing which is Tom. “She reached up an’ kissed me’ side of th’ face(Doc B).” Based on the evidence she is powerless based on her …show more content…

Tom was called “boy” by Mr. Gilmer when he was questioning him, which was rude and impolite. “Are you being impudent to me, boy(Doc C).” Reverend Sykes says tells Jem to not get his hopes up, because he has never seen a black man win a court case before. “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man(Doc D)...” It’s wrong for a black man to feel sorry for a white person, ever. Tom did her chores only because he felt sorry for her(Doc E). Mayella won the case because she was white and Tom was black. The jury definitely obliterated Tom’s chances of getting

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793 Words | 4 Pages

Is in perfect condition to beat Mayella using the dominant left side of the body. Having seen Bob seduce Tom and giving her a gruesome beating the only way to save oneself is to blame a low-class black man. Bob is a man of low morality and ethics, having taken an innocent man and setting up to destroy this man’s life solely to be not classified as an unethical moran and not having raised the children properly; which is not the case as by framing this innocent man he is proving thyself as unethical. Despite getting to know the truth of the case the white male jury still had the nerve to rule Tom guilt with the charges of Tom raping and beating Mayella. “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying resentment to the jury box.”(Lee

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492 Words | 2 Pages

This shows that Mayella Ewell is powerful through her class by saying she is the lowest of the low of classes. Mayella and her family are very poor and can not really afford anything extra. They also say that “... white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs…’. This is saying since she was in the lowest class, that she lived wherever and did whatever she needed to do to survive, therefore Mayella Ewell is powerful through class by living life to the fullest and doing everything she can to survive no matter the money or class.

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638 Words | 3 Pages

Although Mayella was powerful, due to her race, she was still a poor and young teenager. “Why were you so anxious to do that woman’s chores? Tried to help her, ‘you’re a mighty good fellow, ‘yes, suh, I felt sorry for her….’ ‘you felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her. (“DBQ Is Mayella Powerful? 21”).

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465 Words | 2 Pages

When thinking of the term power, the upper rich class may come to mind. Mayella definitely does not live in the rich class. She lives in “the town’s garbage dump” (document A). In document E, they say that she lives by blacks, which back in their time was seen as a bad and poor thing to do.

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777 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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773 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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348 Words | 2 Pages

Additionally to Mayella’s power in race, does she have power in class? Mayella lives behind a dump and her nearest neighbors are negroes. “Get back to your dump.” Said in Document A.

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423 Words | 2 Pages

Power isn’t something given it is something earned. Well did Mayella earn her power? Due to Mayella’s class and gender her power may be limited. How do Mayella’s class, gender, and race affect her power? Well maybe she’s powerless, and because of her advantages she earns a limited amount of respect giving her power.

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840 Words | 4 Pages

Truly i think Mayella does lack power because of class, after reading Doc A, i have a quote that might help you understand why she lacks power. “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind a garbage dump in what was one a black cabin it’s windows were nearly open spaces in the walls… what could

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885 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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709 Words | 3 Pages

Mayella was was just a poor girl who had never been to school a day in her life and suffered so much abuse from her father, she didn’t give herself the opportunity to be powerful. In a time of oppression and depression Mayella standing up would have been a monumental change but she never seized it and took advantage, she let everyone else take advantage of

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732 Words | 3 Pages

But she said he took advantage of her, and when she stood up she looked at him as if he were dirt beneath her feet.” Mayella’s loneliness and powerlessness drove her to have an affair with a black man, breaking a societal code. She is a victim of poverty because of the hatred and discrimination occurring in Maycomb. Although some might view Mayella Ewell as a victim, others might view her as a villain because she broke a societal code by attempting to have an affair with a Negro.

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830 Words | 4 Pages

Tom Robinson is a young African-American who's been accused of raping and abusing Mayella Ewell, a young and closeted white woman. Racial discrimination is hinted throughout Tom’s trial as Atticus Finch explains to Jem that a white man’s word will always win over that of a black man’s - "... In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life" (220). Atticus explains to Jem that in the courts of Maycomb, a black man’s state of innocence or guilt is truly determined by a white man’s testimony.

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149 Words | 1 Pages

In the novel: To Kill A Mockingbird, Mayella Ewell, a poor white woman, accused Tom Robinson, an African American, of rape. The Ewell’s are very indigent and her father, Bob Ewell, gets drunk and abuses Mayella. Since Mayella is very poor, this makes her not so powerful. In Maycomb, Alabama, A poor white woman named Mayella Ewell who lives behind the town garbage dump, accuses Tom Robinson, an African American, of rape.

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730 Words | 3 Pages

In Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”, the issue of Southern Womanhood is brought up many times throughout the novel. Lee uses many different characters to help show how she viewed Southern Womanhood. Specifically she uses, Scout, Mayella Ewell, and Scout’s Aunt Alexandra. In "To Kill A Mockingbird", Harper Lee uses specific characters to show how negative of an impact Southern Womanhood used to have. Harper Lee uses Scout in many cases to show how she thought Southern Womanhood used to have a negative impact.

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