Ms. Jean Louise Finch, also known as Scout Finch, narrates the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. There are two parts in To Kill a Mockingbird; part one is Scout when she was a child and her thoughts as a kid. Part two is Scout as a mature young lady and how she reflects on what had happened in her childhood, such as the Tom Robinson case where Tom was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell is the daughter of an abusive and alcoholic father, Bob Ewell, who she is dying to get away from. 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.
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Class is what Mayella lacks a lot, although Mayella’s race is a power to her, Mayella is still disrespected due to her social standing in class. “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin. Enclosed by this barricade was a dirty yard”, the only beautiful thing in their yard was the red geraniums that the citizens of Maycomb believed Mayella cared for (Lee 1960 Chapter 17). With being low class, Mayella has never been respected before, and when Atticus Finch called Mayella “ma’am”, Mayella had taken offense to it not knowing Mr. Finch was only being respectful.
Overall, power as a whole is important in To Kill A Mockingbird. Class, gender, and race are the three main points in defining power. Mayella as a single person in Maycomb has no powers what so ever. When Mayella uses these three points to get her way, Mayella uses it by going against an African American, someone lower than her and if it was not for a colored person Mayella would have not won the case. Therefore, Mayella’s true powers are not shown and does not define Mayella as a powerful
Class is what Mayella lacks a lot, although Mayella’s race is a power to her, Mayella is still disrespected due to her social standing in class. “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin. Enclosed by this barricade was a dirty yard”, the only beautiful thing in their yard was the red geraniums that the citizens of Maycomb believed Mayella cared for (Lee 1960 Chapter 17). With being low class, Mayella has never been respected before, and when Atticus Finch called Mayella “ma’am”, Mayella had taken offense to it not knowing Mr. Finch was only being respectful.
Overall, power as a whole is important in To Kill A Mockingbird. Class, gender, and race are the three main points in defining power. Mayella as a single person in Maycomb has no powers what so ever. When Mayella uses these three points to get her way, Mayella uses it by going against an African American, someone lower than her and if it was not for a colored person Mayella would have not won the case. Therefore, Mayella’s true powers are not shown and does not define Mayella as a powerful