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The Ewell Family

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Recommended: To kill a mockingbird chapter comprehension questions 6

In many circumstances, we tend to prematurely decide, for ourselves, the details of people’s lives. As found in this excerpt from the story, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout makes the journey to decipher her mislead beliefs about the Ewell family with the help of her father, Atticus. He helps her understand: why they don’t go to school, hunt out of season, and overall are excused by the township. Scout first questions the necessity of her going to school while the Ewells only come for as long as they wish. Sighting Scout’s disdain for a perceived injustice, Atticus decides to illustrate exactly who the Ewells are: “They were people, but they lived like animals.” Atticus expands by reminding her of the annual Christmas trip, which takes her right past their residence. Therefore, this informs the reader that the Ewells are not some “privileged dynasty” of Maycomb, but rather are in such a state that they are simply “cut some slack” by the rest of the town. As Atticus quaintly puts it: “Sometimes it’s better to bend the law a little in special cases.” Afterall, it seems that they were already punished enough since “the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three …show more content…

In response Atticus explains: “It’s against the law, all right, and it’s certainly bad, but when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains.” Following such a statement the reader might ask himself/herself why the township still persists to allow him to hunt illegally on their lands. Well, Atticus has an answer: “I don’t know of any landowner around here who begrudges these children of any game their father can hit.” In other words, the Ewells are a unique case of needed special privileges. A case to the extent of that which is imperceptible from the young, inexperienced point of view

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“Atticus said the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations” (Lee 33) The reason he told Scout this is because he knew it for a fact, Atticus only said things that he witnessed or knew, and how the Ewells treated people led him to believe that they are bad people. Atticus also said that they live like animals” (Lee 33) Most of the time when people live in a bad place or have been raised negatively they will act differently. People pick up on behaviors, especially from their parents or guardians, the way they are raised really says a lot about the person that they will most likely become. Another thing he told Scout was, “they lived by their own rules because they didn’t care about how it would affect others” (Lee 34).

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The African-American community of Maycomb respects Atticus for doing his best with what he is given and for treating everyone with respect. Scout may not realize at first why she must stand up while her father is leaving, but since she is sitting with the community of African-Americans, she quickly realizes that it is a sign of respect, and it makes the audience feel proud. On the contrary, Mayella Ewell makes a remark that can lead the audience into thinking a variety of things, one of which is terrifying. While Tom Robinson is giving his testimony and explaining what happened while he was in the Ewell house, he states, “She says what her papa do to her don’t count,” (260). Someone could read this and think that her father is raping her, which is very alarming.

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“The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back--no church baskets and no scrip stamps” (Lee 26). Others saw them as poor but they had pride so they didn’t take handouts. “Because that’s the only way he can pay me” (Lee 27). They may not be able to pay with money but they do the best they can to give back what they have taken. The people in Maycomb viewed the Cunninghams as poor people therefore showing social inequality, but how were the Ewells viewed as.

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The Ewell’s were the kind of people in the county that should never be trusted, but once they were put in a situation regarding a black man, suddenly they were the truthful ones. Furthermore, during a conversation with Calpurnia on page 164, Scout thought about how believable the Ewells were, “‘It’s because of what folks say Tom’s done,” she said… ‘Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail…’ ‘Why, Atticus said they were absolute trash - I never heard Atticus talk about folks the way he talked about the Ewells…’” The Ewell family had the reputation of being terrible people, and even Atticus said that. However, a majority of people in town still thought Bob Ewell to be speaking the truth because he was accusing an African American, and they are always below everyone

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Imagine if you changed something to be better but everyone hated you while you were doing it. Then when you finally finished only some people appreciated what you did. This is what Atticus and Boo did to change people’s perspective and Macomb's perspective. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee shows us that Atticus and Boo Radley are teachers by changing people's lives by helping them see different points of view.

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Provincialism People has provincial attitudes are evil and dangerous to varying degrees. Provincialism is a manner of expression beliefs or mindset particular to a special region and not commonly used outside that region, therefore not fashionable or sophisticated. It can be dangerous as time goes by. In To Kill A Mockingbird, there three examples of how provincialism can be dangerous: Mrs. Dubose, Gangs of men, and Bob Ewell. This novel clearly reflects racism that was popular during 1930s.

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Many children have adults in their lives who influence the way they turn out in the future. These people can affect the children in negative or positive ways. Scout learns the importance of respect from Calpurnia, the ways of the world, how to live life to the fullest, and walking in someone else’s shoes to understand them throughout the entirety of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee truly portrays Scout ’s coming of age by using the character’s Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Atticus as very important role models in Scout’s life.

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The protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird Scout is confused and in quite the dreadful state. She had an exhausting 1st day at school and she is contemplating why she is even going to school anymore. From her point of view, her father doesn’t have a degree level education. Young Scout is confused on why others seemingly do as they please; she doesn’t enjoy going to school where her very teacher is not tolerant of Scout. Atticus, her father, has some ideas to share with Scout about seeing from another person’s eyes.

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By analyzing the struggle of these individuals throughout Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader observes that the prejudiced society hurts the mockingbirds; this is important because the author demonstrates it is a sin to harm an innocent being. To start, Mayella Ewell symbolizes a mockingbird that the discriminatory society misjudges as a result of her low social class. When Scout is in first grade, readers see that the Ewells are poor and struggle to survive. Atticus tells Scout, “the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations” (Lee 40).

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It is at this moment that Jem and Scout realize that as much as they want the world to be fair, it is never going to be in favor of them. The morals in Maycomb, no matter how unfair and biased they may be, will not change as the racism and prejudice present in the novel have been in Maycomb for as long as the people living there can remember. This incident is another example of a lesson learned for both Jem and Scout as they see that life is not always perfect, but they have to make out of it what they

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In the town of Maycomb many families and people have a bias towards them. This is portrayed when Scout explains that the Cunninghams are poor and never take what they can’t pay back to their new teacher. Another is when Scout finds out about the Ewells that there kids come the first day of school but then never come back so they have a bias against them that they are all dirty, poor, and uneducated bums. This affects the characters because the families are downgraded because of what they are and people see them that way instead of who the are. It affects the plot because it adds a foreshadowing aspect on the Ewells and what they are.

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Bob Ewell barely had a shred of respect for anyone, and that is all he got in return. Everyone in Maycomb knew he was a man of no dignity, a man who lived in the town dump, without a care for his children. Atticus explains more about the Ewell’s to Scout, “It’s against the law, all right, and it’s certainly bad, but when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains. I don’t know any landowner around here who be grudges those children’s game their father can hit” (Lee 41). Despite living in the dump and having no job to support his children, he does not think once about them

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The theme of injustice shows itself many times throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, as shown by Mr. Ewell’s actions towards the Finches, Tom Robinson’s unjust and false trial and in Aunt Alexandra’s actions towards Calpurnia. Injustice makes its first appearance in Mr. Ewell’s actions towards the Finches. He shows this especially on two occasions, when he spits in Atticus’s face and mocks him and when he attacks Jem and Scout on their way home on Halloween. When Atticus left the post office Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed, spat on him and threatened to kill him. After his encounter with Mr. Ewell, Atticus simply says, “I wish Bob Ewell wouldn’t chew tobacco,” (249).

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Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced” (Lee 329). While this may seem like a useful life lesson, Scout realizes the clear hypocrisy in her lesson. Like every other citizen of Maycomb, she is prejudiced against black people. Even though she is teaching her students that prejudice and persecution is wrong, she is participating in those very activities at home. She heard her third grade teacher after Tom Robinson’s trial, she thought “it’s time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us” (Lee 331).

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