Examples Of Mayella Powerless In To Kill A Mockingbird

Mayella is so poor that she lived behind the local town dump. The old dump, was once also an old Negro cabin, it was very decrepit and was not very clean. Mr. Ewell and Mayella were just about as poor as the African Americans, sometimes the colored folks would even look down on them. Although, they were still able to afford more them the African Americans could, they could have had better living conditions. “... Okay we’ll convict this Negro but get back to your dump.” ("DBQ: Is Mayella Powerful?" 13 ). This was showing that everyone in Maycomb knew they were very poor and did not seem to care, or offer to help.

Mayella does not have power because she is a white female, being the lowest class. Mayella is a white female living in Maycomb, Alabama. Mayella has some power being white, but not in her class and gender prevents her from having any power. Mayella is an eighteen year old taking care of her younger siblings. She does not have any power.

Mayella Ewell is not powerful in her social class because she is poor. In chapter 17, Scout begins to talk about Mayella and where she lives. While describing their yard and house in the text it states, “ Maycomb's Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a negro cabin” (Lee 17). Since Mayella lives in the “towns garbage dump” she receives no respect. Additionally, they have no money to fix the place up. Also the Ewells were so poor that they could not even have a nice fence surrounding their yard. Scout explains that “what passed as a fence was bits of tree-limbs, broomsticks and tool shafts” (Lee 17). Broomsticks, tool shafts and tree limbs do not show wealth. The

Is Mayella Powerful in “To Kill a Mockingbird”? Mayella is powerful due to the fact she won in court and was able to have the court convict Tom Robinson guilty of raping her. The way she handled court was not a mature thing to do, but it was smart.She did not only win because she was wise about what she said, but because she was a white female. This played a huge roll in the courtroom and was one of the major components why she won. Mayella had to do what was best for her future, because she did not want to reflect her Dad’s lifestyle in any way. “ One corner of the yard, though, bewildered Maycomb. Against the fence, in a line, were six… jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for… tenderly… People said they were Mayella Ewell’s.” This excerpt is from the book and it is trying to explain how Mayella cares for the red geraniums and it shows how she has hope for a better life for herself. She really doesn’t enjoy the way she lives now, with her father harassing her, she wants to be happy. The red geraniums are a symbol for hope. This helps the reader to believe she is not weak, but she is powerful.

She is used to living in a grimy house on an unsanitary property. Mayella selflessly operates at stage 6 when she grows the red geraniums on the Ewell property. Characters that behave at stage 6 operate with a sense of justice because they believe it’s the right thing to do, they may even break the law if they wholeheartedly believe it benefits everyone. In chapter 17, a character describes the Ewell property to be dirty and unsanitary but says, “against the fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums [...] people said the were Mayella Ewell’s (228). Mayella acts beyond her usual stinginess when doing this. She is trying to provide her and her six siblings with beauty so they can experience something out of the ordinary and lovely. Although the action of growing the geraniums isn’t breaking the law, it is going against the everyday filthy life the Ewells live. For once, Mayella isn’t thinking of herself, but of

Mayella is powerful in regards to her race; however, she is not powerful in regards to her gender and social class. One of the many challenges Mayella Ewell faces dealing with power is her social class. Mayella is far from wealthy and her father has a bad reputation. While at Tom Robinson’s trial, Scout explains, “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin” (Lee Document A).

Mayella’s is very poor and is not powerful due to her social class. She lives in an area where blacks once lived by a dump. In the passage, it states,”Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin” (Lee Doc A). There home reflects on Mayella and her family. Her dad, Mr.Ewell, does not look appropriate for court. In the text it states,”Mr.Ewell had a scaled look:as if an overnight soaking had deprived him of protective layers of dirt”(Lee doc A). When Mr. Ewell was at the trial his class reflects on how he looks. He was dirty and presentable. Mayella and her family do not have power in their social class, even though they are white.

Mayella Ewell from To Kill a Mockingbird has power associated with and drawn from gender, class, and race. The least amount comes from the genders presented in the trial. Mayella gets more power from her social class because of her perfect red geraniums. People in the courtroom can also see that, compared to the rest of the Ewells, she is clean, so that sets her apart from the rest of her family. Most of Mayella’s power comes from her race. In a white dominated society, people will always believe the word of a victimized white woman over that of an offending African-American man.

The year is 1930 in Maycomb, Alabama and there is a girl named Mayella Ewell who is nineteen years old in the story To Kill a Mockingbird. Mayella and Bob Ewell (Mayella’s father) live in a worn down abandoned negro cabin that is located behind the cities trash dump. Over time Mayella gets aggressively and sexually abused by her father which gives her the wishes of being freed from Mr.Ewell. To do this, Mayella decides to accuse Tom Robinson ( African American man) of rape. After accusing Tom Robinson, Mayella goes to court with her father to further explain the reason for the accusation. Mayella is then given the opportunity to have power for the first time in her life, however Mayella must decide now if she will take this chance of having power and being freed from her father or not be given any power at all. With this Mayella is given power because of her race, class, and gender the main factors of Mayella having power.

Mayella’s Power Power is everywhere in our lives. If one examines one’s actions and motives, one would most likely find that the cause was acquiring power. This continual quest for power is seen in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in Alabama during the 1930s. It follows a young child, Scout, and the story of Tom Robinson, a young,

Mayella has power because of her race, but she wouldn’t be in court if she was black and if she.

Power is something everyone wants. Power is having control over a person’s life or the lives of others. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, power plays an important role. The novel is set in a fictional town named Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930’s. This novel is about a black man, Tom Robinson being accused of rape by a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Mayella ends up winning the case and she gets her point across. On the other hand, Tom gets sent to prison and he is shot when he tries to flee from prison. So is Mayella powerful? Because she is in a lower class and she is a woman she lacks power. However, her privilege as a white person gives her the power to ruin Tom’s life.

In To Kill A Mocking Bird the main character (Mayella Ewell ) in either powerful or powerless in different aspects. Power is the ability to control ones movement or the movement of others. In the story the main character (Mayella Ewell) is accused a man colored (Tom Robinson) of sexual assault, but the man is innocent. I will explain the ways that she is either powerful or powerless in three areas. Mayella may not have been powerful in class and gender, but she was powerful in the area of race.

To Kill a Mocking Bird is a novel that explores prejudice in a small American town in the Deep South. It is set during the depression. One of the main features that the novel explores is the theme of racial prejudice. In the novel Tom Robinson is being persecuted for the rape of a white woman, which he never committed. He is purely being prosecuted for being black but when Atticus who is a white lawyer is defending him in court he becomes somewhat outlawed in the white community. Atticus ignores the comments made by the white

In fact, Mayella’s full name is Mayella Violet Ewell. Not only does her middle name signify a flower, but it also shows that Mayella represents a flower. Her flowers are “cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson” (228). The Ewells’ yard resembles a dump, however only one area stands out among the rest, Mayella’s little garden. Her geraniums are secluded from the rest of the yard likewise Mayella from Maycomb. Furthermore, Mayella usually stays at home alone secluded from the rest of the Maycomb County. Her geraniums stand out among the rest of the yard that looks like a dump. This portrays how Mayella strives on her own and tries to do better. The other area of the yard represents the rest of the Ewell family. Mayella’s geraniums pop out among the rest of the yard, and they are the only plants in the garden carefully tended to. Her flowers are the only beauty in a yard of filth. Moreover, the geraniums are planted inside slop jars, similarly to Mayella compared to the Ewells. The geraniums are grown inside what seem as a waste, also describing Mayella’s home life. She is constantly beaten, sexually harassed by her own father, and the Ewell family live in poverty. Mayella’s home life is already in a wasteland. In addition, between the colors, blue and purple, is violet, Mayella’s middle name. This demonstrates how Mayella is between two societies. The white don’t want to associate