To Kill A Mockingbird Lies Analysis

Baltsaser Gracian, a well-known seventeenth century Spanish philosopher stated, “a single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity.” People in the Maycomb county are burdened by the miserable case of Tom Robison. His death heavily weighs on Mayella Violet Ewell’s heart and the rest of her life is destined to be surrounded by an atmosphere that is filled with sorrow, regrets, and guilt because of the world’s largest falsehood that she made. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, she clearly points out the horror of telling lies. Lies are not the best solutions; they’re like the gifts from Satan, which can cause more troublesome problems that will ruin people’s life and soul. The reasons that arose for Mayella choose to tell lies instead

Born in a low status family, she is stressed to suffer under the underestimation and disdain from other people and furthermore, her dad’s terrible treatments. Mayella tells two separated lies: one is about Tom Robinson raped her; another one is she shields her dad, which means she conceals the truth about her dad beats her. In the trial, Tom states that when Bob saw what did his daughter do to him, he savagely snaps, “you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya” (Harper 221) to Mayella. From this quote, Bob is extremely furious with his daughter when he accidentally saw the scene. That’s because being a white, he cannot accept the thing that her daughter did. From the bruises on her face, it also implies that Bob terrifies Mayella in a violent way, like her life could be easily pulverizes by her dad’s hands. Thus, his action makes her feels reluctant to be just to tell the truth despite she’s guilty about being a liar. That’s because she is afraid of his menace, no one knows what will Bob do to her if she tells the truth of the things that he did. Therefore, she decides to use lies to escape from that dangerous situation. As a matter of fact, Mayella doesn’t volunteer to tell falsehoods. In other words, she is forced to do that. In the novel, she “burst into real tears. Her shoulders shook with angry sobs” (Harper 214) “she answered no more questions, even when Mr. Gilmer

During the trial, she has already received enough tortures from the stress, awkwardness, and embarrassments from the Maycomb people, especially Atticus. In the court, when she cannot tell lies anymore, she said, “your fancy airs don't come to nothin’ –your ma’amin’ and Miss Mayellerin’ don't come to nothin’, Mr. Finch—”(Harper 214), then she started to sob. This statement implies the sorrow and grief that she has for a long period of time, which means no one can fully understand her feelings of being at a loss. Because of her family, Mayella is always alone; no one comes to give her a hand and encourage her to walk out of the pessimism. In the court, she finally abreacts all of her miseries that she endures in the past. Also, to her, Tom Robinson might be the only person that she finds friendly and virtuous. However, she indirectly slaughters him to death. She is destined to carry the heaviness of this case in her entire life, which is miserable. Most importantly, another serious punishment that she needs to bear is the consequence of lying to God. When she’s walking to the witness stand in the court, she swears that she’ll tell the truth, “the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help her God” (Harper 203). Although she vows to God, in the trial, there is no such thing called