Similarities Between Mayella Ewell And To Kill A Mockingbird

Despite being two young girls living in the same town, Scout and Mayella have many differences. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird follows Scout, a young girl experiences the life of a time where racism, injustice, and prejudice is very evident. One of the characters she encounters is Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell is introduced during the trial of Tom Robinston, a black man who has been accused of raping her. Harper Lee explores the impact of family, community, and education has an effect on a person's personality. The way Scout and Mayella’s father’s parenting, community, and education affect their personalities.

Scout and Mayella have a similar family structure, with only a father and a dead mother, the difference in their father's parenting

Scout is raised in a close-knit neighborhood with friends and neighbors who look out for her: “neighbors bring food with death, and flowers with sickness, and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives."(278). This close-knit and supportive community helped her develop a strong sense of empathy and compassion. For example, Scout learns to understand and care for Boo Radley. At first, Scout and her brother, Jem, had feared Boo Radley because of the rumors spread of him like “he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows”(9) or “when people’s azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them”(9). However, Scout and Jem begin to learn more of Boo Radley and his life, they begin to see him as a human when Scout says “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough”(279). This shows that Scout and Jem have come to understand Boo’s perspective and have developed empathy for him. Mayella, on the other hand, grew up in a poor and lonely setting without her father or friends: “when Atticus asked had she any friends, she seemed not to know what he meant, then she thought he was making fun of her”(192). She did not get the

Scout grows up in a home where learning is important, and she is encouraged to read and explore. This has helped her become curious and intelligent. An example of Scout’s intelligence is when she describes her experience on the first day of school and says, “I was bored, so I began a letter to Dill”(18). In the first grade, Miss Caroline says, “we don’t write in the first grade, we print”(18). In contrast, Mayella does not have the same opportunities for education, which have impacted her personality differently. Mayella had only been in school for about “two year–three year”(182). She can not express herself well and has trouble communicating. In the novel, it is obvious that Mayella has a hard time saying what she means and sometimes does not say anything at all. For example, Atticus asks Mayella, “do you remember [Tom Robinson] beating you”(185)? At first, Mayella was “silent”(185). Then, Atticus repeats the question and she responds with “no, I don't recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me”(185). Mayella changes her story several times and contradicts herself. This suggests that she was not telling the truth and was taught by her father to