How Does Mayella Have A Lot Of Power In To Kill A Mockingbird

Mayella is not powerful under the circumstances of her race. In the trial Atticus Finch is questioning Mayella by calling her Ma’am and Miss Mayella. She says, “...He keeps on callin’ me ma’am and sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don’t hafta take his sass…”. (“DBQ is Mayella Ewell Powerful?” 17) Later in the trial Mr. Gilmer is speaking to Tom Robinson and calls him “boy” ,even though Tom is a grown man that should be called sir. Tom knows how to be treated though being black. Mayella did not understand how to be treated formally. Mayella is white and does not get treated fairly though being white, and Tom knows how to be treated and does not dispute about it being black. This shows how Mayella is not powerful, even within the standards of race.

Since Mayella was a female, she has some power when it came to gender. It was a lot easier for her to make a big deal out of being raped, but since it was a African American they had to make a much larger deal

Mayella Ewell’s race significantly contributes to the reason why she has power. Mayella is white, which in Maycomb makes her better than Tom Robinson since he is black. Mayella accused Tom of raping her, even though Tom testified that Mayella tried to make a move on him, but since Mayella was a white woman it made Tom look guilty, and he knew that. During the trial when Mr. Gilmer who is the prosecutor, is interrogating Tom Robinson, he asks Tom why he had fled the house so fast Tom answered that he was scared to be in a “fix” like that. Mr. Gilmer keeps insisting that Tom was afraid because he was guilty, “No,suh, scared I’d have to face up to what I did not do.”(DBQ The”evil assumption”19), Tom knew that just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time he was going to be blamed for something he didn’t do. The

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 has power even though Atticus shut down everything, she said. Mayella’s words, being a white woman, have more power than anything that Tom Robinson says. If Tom Robinson was a white man, this case would be a massacre in favor of Tom and Atticus. But since Tom Robinson is a man of colored skin, Mayella has all the power in the situation. Mayella also uses her womanhood to seem more frail, which she uses to warm the hearts of the jury and brainwash them into thinking she is on the right.

Mayella obtain power throughout the trial in regards To her race because it would be more believable to hear from a white woman rather than a black man. Thus, Tom is afraid of Mayella’s power because she is white. While the jury is still deciding, Reverend Sykes tells Jem “don't you be so confident, Mr. Jem,” because he is not certain that the jury will not convict a black man (Lee Document D). There is doubt with everyone who is on Tom's side because a black person has never won a case against a white man. Therefore, Mayella's power is demonstrated through her race because Tom and the black community feel threatened by her racial

Mayella’s race gives her a big advantage over Tom. When the jury decided “Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty…”(Lee 282). The fact that Tom was black and Mayella was white was already almost a given that Mayella was going to win. It is not rare for a black man to get accused of something he did not do “A petit jury found the youth's admitted abductors not guilty of murder. In November, in Greenwood, a grand jury declined to indict them for kidnapping” (Document II). The same accusation happened to Tom where a black man was accused of raping a white women. They were both innocent; however, because of they were black they were guilty. Because Mayella is white the jury is more likely to say that Tom is guilty.

For centuries, the formula for power has been forever-changing. Three crucial components that have determined a massive portion of power are gender, race, and social class. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the theme of power is portrayed as a character by the name of Mayella Ewell falsely accuses a black man of rape. This situation displays the struggle for power that is seen throughout the novel. Mayella Ewell may not have power in regards to her social class or gender; however, she does have power in regards to her race.

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

Mayella had a great amount of power in the courtroom during the trial of Tom Robinson. This completely classless manipulative woman used the disadvantages she was dealt in life to her benefit. She made advances toward this black man, when he did not reciprocate those feelings she accused him of rape. He is convicted and sent to prison because of her. Through this, she also gains power that removes her from her father’s sexual abuse. He does not want her because of the relations with a

Just like gender, Mayella has power when it comes to her social class. Throughout the trial, Mayella was always called Ma’am. “I will not answer a word you say, as long as you keep mocking me.” (“DBQ: Is Mayella Powerful?” 17) Mayella was not used to being called Ma’am, which is why she thought that she was being mocked by Atticus. This shows that Mayella is usually not respected by anyone, including her father. In addition with Mayella being called Ma’am, the judge calls Tom Robinson by a certain name, which shows that he is from a lower class. “That old Mr. Gilmer doing him thataway, talking so hateful to him, the way that man called him “boy” all the time and sneered at him.” (“DBQ: Is Mayella Powerful?” 17) When considering the social class factor, Mayella is very powerful. Mayella’s social class gives her power because with her class, she is well respected by others, and especially by Negros. People respect her more than they do Tom Robinson, which gives her an advantage in the trial. At another point in the trial, Tom was asked why he

As Tom was being questioned by Mr. Gilmer, he was asked why he decided to help Mayella and he said that he felt sorry for her. Gilmer reacted by saying, “The witness realized his mistake and shifted uncomfortably in the chair” (Lee). For a black male to say that he felt bad for a white person back in those times is a sign of saying that he feels pity and saying he is has more power but with that reaction, we can infer that it was wrong for a black person to think they have more power than a white person. When Jem felt very good about winning the case Reverend Sykes had to intervene, ““Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…”” (Lee). Even with very good evidence and a very good case, black people have a huge disadvantage, and that is their skin color. With Mayella being white, it is impossible to deny that she has a lack of power in the time when she

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Mayella Ewell is someone you would not expect to have any power in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. The Ewells are the considered the poorest family in all of Maycomb, and considered the lowest of the low in the social ladder. Mayella Ewell, regardless of her social status, was still a white woman in the 1930's, a time of segregation and discrimination against African Americans, which gave her the upper hand when it came to race. Mayella is also still a woman in the 1930's when women did not have many rights or even viewed as powerful but Mayella found a way to exploit even her gender. If Mayella with her low class and terrible background could have indeed reached a level of power how could she have done it ? She was clever, cunning, and sneaky when it came to framing Tom Robinson but why did she do it what did she expect in the end of all of this ?

Mayella has no power in her gender. In the 1930’s being a women was not going to to help anyone. Mayella lacks this power since she also

In Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Mayella Ewell has power when it comes to race, class, and gender. Mayella is ranked socially as lower classed and poor. She is living in an abandoned home on the poor side of town next to the colored housing areas. Mayella tries to gain power during the trial of Tom Robinson, Tom is a poor colored man that was on trial for the rape of Mayella Ewell. Tom and Mayella both fight for power during the trial. Does Mayella have more power over the jury? Did Tom lie, did he rape Mayella? Is Mayella socially ranked higher than Tom?