There are many times in life where a person’s actions, while dishonest, will not have a large effect on the lives of other people and can therefore be considered insignificant.
However, this is not the case regarding Mayella Ewell, a young girl who lied during the testimony of her own rape case, leading to the wrongful conviction of the defendant, Tom Robinson.
The following arguments will explain why Mayella should be held fully and solely responsible for her actions regarding the Tom Robinson case.
Due to her deliberately dishonest testimony, her intent to act upon a path that would bring the most harm to all persons surrounding the case, and the prolonged harm her actions caused, Mayella Ewell deserves condemnation, not pity.
During
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When Scout first gives the reader an observance about Mayella, she mentions that Mayella owns “six … jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson” (228).
Mayella’s care for her flowers prove that she desires to better her life in some way, to escape the dark life she has always led.
Has Mayella had behaved differently during the trial, her own life and the life of her siblings would have take a large turn for the better.
If Mayella testified against her father instead of covering up for him, Bob Ewell would have been found guilty for both familial abuse and making unsubstantiated accusations against Tom Robinson.
She would then be free from the reaches of her abusive father and would be able to start anew with her life.
While sad, because Mayella allowed circumstances under which she would still have to live with her vicious father, she in a way chose to continue the same life she had always lived.
Even after the trial, Atticus mentions, “So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take”
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A large reason why Tom was convicted was due to Mayella’s testimony, because she was a teen-aged white girl crying on the witness stand.
As Scout explains after his death, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed” (323), proving that Tom’s life had always been in Mayella’s hands.
Mayella’s lies during her testimony led to the death of an innocent man, for which she should be held responsible.
Another consequence of Mayella’s dishonesty, as mentioned above, was the ability for her father to live life as a free man.
After the trial, Bob Ewell swears to Atticus that “he’d get him if it took the rest of his life” (290).
He then attempts to murder both Jem and Scout, succeeds in seriously injuring Jem, and then gets murdered himself.
All of the three events above would have been avoided if Mayella had been honest during the trial, putting the responsibility on Mayella.
Her dishonesty prolonged the aftermath of the trial for much longer than necessary and caused a domino effect of tragic events, none of which were desirable in any way.
As shown above, the actions of Mayella Ewell during the trial of Tom Robinson prove that ultimately, she is more villain than