Throughout her testimony, Mayella does not seem to be confident about her answers. While answering Atticus’ question, in chapter 18 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella is not clear with her words and hesitates : “No, I don’t recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me” (Lee 187). Logical inconsistencies in her version of the incident of the rape can be identified. Considering the fact that she does not “recollect” whether or not Robinson hit her, the reader is forced to question her…
The other part of the story has to do with Scout Finch, whose father is part of the trial. The question brought up is debating whether or not Mayella is powerful. Power is defined as having control of your life, as well as controlling the others around you. There are several different factors that contribute to having power, such as race, gender, and class. Mayella barely has any control over her life due to the fact that she is very poor, and a female.…
Although she had that small advantage she did not gain power. Mayella had no say during the trial. Mayella was a white woman, who was supposedly raped by a black man named Tom Robinson. Race was a huge source of controversy during this time period. Mayella’s father pretended to be upset about it although he was the one that really raped her.…
To Kill a Mockingbird Essay- Summative Assignment In our society, there is still a division between white people and black people. White people tend to think of black people as scary, criminals and captive people. Today, if a coloured person killed someone, they would be killed atomically or sent to prison; however, if a white person killed someone, they would lie and say they had some type of disease or issue.…
During the time that she is in court we can clearly see that Mayella has the advantage of winning the case, not because of her class or gender but of her race, and since Tom Robinson is a black man in court that is run by all whites he has a far disadvantage of being proven innocent. The very obvious reason to why people may view Mayella as powerful is that she’s white.…
“Is Mayella Powerful” In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird there is a big controversial topic about Mayella’s power. So therefore there is many ways to discuss this topic. I strongly believe Mayella’s power comes from her race. For instance even though she lived in a yard behind the town’s garbage dump that was once Negro camp…
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the trial at hand between Mayella and Tom presents a problem: to decide if Tom is innocent or guilty of raping Mayella. The evidence recognized in the book supports the opinion that Tom Robinson is innocent. Supporting details in the case that back the fact that Tom Robinson is innocent includes, Mayella having a consolidated time answering questions, the fact that Tom has a short right arm that was remarkably damaged in a cotton gin, and how there are suggestions that Mayella has a sexual relationship with her father, all help in supporting the opinion of innocence, for Tom Robinson. On the stand, Mayella was having a difficulties answering most of the questions given out to her. She was not really open to admitting confidential information.…
In Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s a young lady named Mayella Ewell is faced with a problem, when the members of her town discriminated against her because of her class, race, and gender. With that being said is she powerful? I believe she is not powerful because of how class, race, and gender affect her greatly. This essay will explain in specific detail why Mayella is not powerful. One reason why she is not powerful is because Mayella and her father, Bob Ewell have very poor class.…
In the novel, Mayella has a plan and succeeds; accusing Tom of raping her, but various readers have not put a lot of thought into whether Mayella has true power in class, gender, and race.…
Mayella’s accusation of Tom raping her comes from her effort to cover her shame of liking a Negro. While saving her honor, she sins by killing a mockingbird in her town. She destroys the life of Tom, a person who is pure, and innocent, and has never harmed her. Atticus makes it clear that Tom “would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances” (195), still the court fails to accept so. They are unwilling to accept that a black man felt pity for a white woman, as they let racial prejudice guide their judgement of pronouncing Tom as guilty.…
The book To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in Maycomb County, an imaginary district in southern Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird is narrated by a double consciousness, alternating between the Finch siblings. The events in the story take place in the early 1930’s, during the Great Depression. The cultural norm during this time allowed, and in some cases, encouraged discrimination based on someone’s social class, race, or gender. In this story Mayella Ewell, a poor white female who lives behind the dump, is often disregarded and forgotten.…
Her loneliness compelled her towards a man who was the recipient of fierce hatred from the citizens of Maycomb, which led her, probably under the guidance of her father, to provide a false testimony in Tom’s case. Had Mayella grown up in a world other than the one her father dictated for her, she might have not felt the need to accuse Tom for committing a false crime. Tom knows the truth of Mayella’s desperate position and we can see it when he says, "Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more 'n the rest of 'em-" in Chapter 19. Atticus knows it too when he presses again and again for Mayella to admit to the jury that her father would violently beat her.…
The jury believed her because she was a young girl. They didn’t even consider that she could have tempted Tom. They just saw a sweet innocent girl and went along with her. Not only was Tom a black man, but he was a strong man. This made Mayella look small and innocent compared to him, and therefore, he was imprisoned because people thought all men were…
One example of the troubles gender causes Mayella is shown when Tom says “Bob threatened to kill her”(Doc B). When Tom says “there is evidence to indicate Mayella was beaten savagely by someone who led with his left”(Doc B) shows the physical abuse Mayella’s gender causes her. The sexual abuse Mayella’s gender causes for her is shown when Mayella says “I never kissed a grown man before… what my papa does to me doesn’t count”(Doc B). Since she is a woman in her time period Mayella’s gender causes problems and makes her powerless.…
Mayella is in a trial up against a black male, Tom Robinson, who she accused of trying to rape her. They were also caught by Mr. Ewell, Mayella's father. Therefore, Tom Robinson has little to no chance of winning the case based off class, gender, and race especially…