Mayella Ewell Character Analysis Essay

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

Claim #1: This novel educates students about the racism and prejudice that was present in the 1930’s (reword claim) Support #1: Firstly, one of the main types of racism seen in the novel is racism towards black people. Evidence #1: “He stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson. ‘—I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!’” **find different quote if possible** Elaboration #1: It is much easier to accuse a black man of committing a crime and have the whole town believe it, rather than a white man. It is Bob Ewell, not Tom Robinson, who had raped Mayella. Mayella does not want to tell the truth because she knows that If her father goes to jail there will be no one to support the family. Also, she is embarrassed of her actions and wishes to protect herself. If she tells the court that she was the one who advanced upon Tom, the people of Maycomb would look down upon her.

As a result of the Ewell’s living behind the Maycomb county dump, Mayella is looked down on. “We’ll convict this Negro but get back to your dump (Doc A).” This quote shows that though Mayella had won the case against Tom Robinson, the Ewells were still thought of as nothing. “White people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes [the Ewell’s nearest neighbors] wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white (Doc E).” Powerful white people looked down on Mayella because she lived in filth; black people would not either because she was white. “Long as he keeps callin’ me Ma’am and sayin’ Miss Mayella, I don’t hafta take his sass (Doc C).” Mayella is not used to being respected as she is poor and is not treated fairly. This shows how Mayella’s class ties with her power.

Mayella Ewell is a tragic character in To Kill a Mockingbird. She is faced with many struggles involving her family and the people around her. Although Mayella is a poor white woman with an abusive father, no mother, and six siblings to take care of she does have power. Mayella Ewell is powerful as a character and continues to gain power in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird when it comes to race, class and gender. Despite Mayella being very poor and in a lower class of the society in Maycomb Alabama she uses her status as a white female to manipulate others into deciding in her favor when dealing with her court case against Tom Robinson regarding him being wrongfully accused of

In the courtroom, Mayella is being asked questions in regards to her father. Based on Scout’s perspective, “Mayella looked at her father who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing he sat up straight and waited for her to answer,”(Document B). Mayella is a victim of violence; as a result, she fears her father because she has no control or dominance over him. Because of society and stereotypical people, females are generally conceived as dependent and fragile human beings. Her father expects her to be obedient and another stereotype in Maycomb. Mayella is left with no choice but to show submission and vulnerability. By doing so, she is acting like a puppet following the orders of her puppeteer. Her father is a constant reminder of her weakness. She is allowing society’s stereotypes to poison and take over her. Mayella conforms to being nothing but weak and invisible. Soon enough these ideals will invade her entirely causing her to feel powerless. All in all, it is evident that Mayella’s gender is another reason she could be classified as

Mayella Ewell is often mentally, physically, and sexually abused by her father Bob Ewell. Even though Mayella takes care of her siblings each day, she is lonely most of the time, considering nobody wants to be around her. Her father abuses her and beats her often, and Mayella wants the abuse to come to an end. Mayella comes up with and fulfills a plan to end the abuse coming from her father. Her plan involved a Negro man named Tom Robinson. Mayella accuses Tom of beating and raping her, and brings Tom to court, and goes up against him in a trial. Her plan was successful and came out in her favor because she was manipulative, and she knew what it took to win the trial. Mayella Ewell, a poor, white woman, who lives on a dump, is seen as

Mayella Ewell was a victim of abuse and neglect. She wasn’t able to go to school or make any friends. She was stuck at home and was beaten and neglected by her drunk father. She tried to have a normal life, but was held back by her father. It was so bad that an African American named Tom Robinson pitied her terrible life. Tom stated that he, “felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n

Even though that she lied Mayella still one the case and everybody knew that Tom Robinson was innocent and the curse of the Maycomb County lives. Adversity takes many shapes and it only takes one mistake to mess it up. Mayella Ewell is a round character because she knows that Tom Robinson is innocent but she keeps insisting that she is right and lying to their face about it

The Ewells, of which Mayella is a member, are the bottom of the white hierarchy in Maycomb because of their laziness, filthiness, and overall impression as white trash. Mayella, who is portrayed as an exception to this trend, most notably when the author describes her germanium plants as beautiful flowers, is stuck in a world she cannot live in. Also, her father both physically and sexually abuses her in the book, which adds to Mayella’s pain and suffering. At one point in the trial though, Mayella, under fierce questioning from Atticus, “became articulate” and states “I’ve got something to say” on page 188, indicating she wants to tell the truth. However, the fear of both her father’s retribution and the town’s reaction prompts her to lambast the jury instead. Furthermore, Mayella faces an internal conflict between her real affection for Tom and the social realities of her time. Mayella is torn between this struggle and her father’s actions, so she accuses Tom of rape as a coping mechanism and under duress. In fact, Mayella can be compared to Ruth in The Color of Water in that both were abused by their fathers and experienced rough childhoods marked by vicious discrimination and a sense of loneliness.

When Atticus asks Mayella ‘who are your friends?’ (p.245) she is perplexed by the question demonstrating to us how she must be ‘the loneliest person in the world’ (p. 256). Furthermore, Lee clearly explains to us she is accustomed to being treated poorly as when Atticus refers to her as ‘ma’am’ and speaks to her politely she believes initially that he is ‘mockin’ me’ (p.243). Reflecting on how Mayella is trapped in her improvised, friendless state with nobody who respects her, we realise it would not have been difficult for her to become fixated on and fantasise about Tom Robinson, as he ‘was probably the only person who was ever decent to her’ (p.257). We are also able to understand why she lies about Tom raping her during the trial when we take into consideration that Mayella is living in fear of what her drunk and abusive father, Bob Ewell, would do to her if she was truthful. As she has already been ‘beaten savagely’ (p.272) and possibly raped by her father, after she ‘kissed a black man’ (p.272), her trepidation is unsurprising. By climbing into Mayella’s skin and walking around in it we see Lee is helping us to learn the importance of considering people’s circumstances before judging their actions.

Mayella Ewell is beggarded in her class and relies on others to survive since their is no structure in her dirty household. In the city of Maycomb, welfare is given to Mayella’s family because they can not survive on their own. Her home is uncivilized with many dirty kids and a home that resembles a dump. Families of Maycomb try to avoid the Ewell’s home since it has a terrible smell due to the fact they

When Atticus asks her what porch she was on, she says, “Ain’t but one…”. She is uneducated and did not go to school. Not being educated shows when she is testify on the stand, which also shows she does not understand or know much. In addition, she is rude to Atticus when he asks her questions. She is sassy and thinks that Atticus is making fun of her. She has never been treated with respect, so she can not treat others with respect. Also, Mayella would be sassy towards Atticus when she would have to answer a question that was already asked to her. She knows that Atticus has proven her wrong because of all the evidence that goes against what she is saying. Finally, when Atticus ask her who really beat her, she does not answer the question. She probably was beaten by her father because the evidence shows that she was punched by someone who is left-handed. She knows that she did something wrong but she does not want to be the one to get in trouble for it. Even though she tried to being very convincing, the people in the courthouse could tell that she was lying. Mayella is lonely girl who wanted attention from the wrong

Her father was abusive, and she had no one to talk to. Every day, she would do all the work around the house, and take care of the children, with no help. Tom was most likely the only person to ever show her kindness and politeness, the only one to ever stop to help her and talk to her. The black people wouldn’t have anything to do with the Ewells because they were white, and the white people wouldn’t have anything to do with them because they lived like pigs, among the blacks. The prejudices other people held towards them was what caused them to act the way they did in the first place. We see that although what Mayella was doing was horrible, she had reasons to do it. She is a victim of social pressures, of prejudice, and the effects these things have on her family.

Mayella’s race is powerful in the story because during the trial, this question was asked “Why were you so anxious to do that woman's chores?” (Lee, chapter 19) . Tom Robinson responded with this, “tried to help her, I says.’(Lee, chapter 19). Mr. Gilmer smiled grimly at the jury. ‘You're a mighty good fellow, it seems-did all this for not one penny?”(Lee, chapter 19). Tom answered the question with “yes suh, I felt sorry for her” (Lee, chapter 19). The quote gave Mayella even more power because Tom felt sorry for a white woman and during that time period a negro feeling bad for a white person is a big mistake. This gave Mayella an advantage to win the case because she was white.

Mayella may come off as an idiot because she “sat silently” when asked what happened (179). She also thinks Atticus is “mockin’ (her)” when he calls her “ma’am” and “miss” (181). But truly, Mayella is just a product of being alone, trapped, and forced to be independent. Without needed care and love she was forced to try to find it herself. Throwing herself onto Tom was an act of desperate need for attention. I think with proper care she could be like everyone else. There is also another side of her, one that does well with what she has. Mayella “tried to keep clean” (179). She also takes care of her flowers. Harper Lee created a character that is slightly relatable but truly understandable. The problems Mayella faces are more severe than needed to be relatable. But what you can understand is her situation. I feel like I understand her need for affection but I would not go to the extremes of throwing myself onto someone. The seemingly logical ways in which Mayella acts at times, make the readers feel sympathy for her. Even though we know she is lying and that the case was racist and unfair, it’s hard to blame her. The lying and