Mayella is Ultimately Powerless
Race is defined as the physical characteristics that determine a person. Gender is defined as the state of being male or female. Class is defined as the system of society categorizing people into different groups based on economic or financial status. Power is defined as “the ability to control one’s own life or lives of others.” All three race, gender, and class, come together to create power, which is shown in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Mayella Ewell is Bob Ewell’s daughter. She is abused by her father in many ways such as name-calling and being raped. Her father tries to blame a black male named Tom Robinson for the assault, so they go to court and because of the racial inequality Tom …show more content…
Mayella’s inability to follow the socially expected gender roles shows that she does not have any power to begin with. In an excerpt on social conduct by Lillia Eichler, she explains in her Book of Etiquette her opinion on how girls should behave: “A soft voice, a quiet, cultured manner is more to be admired than a pretty face, or an elaborate gown” (The Girl’s Manners 273). Mayella does not follow the gender roles that society expects girls to follow, and in this way Mayella is showing a lack of power. Mayella’s father controls her by raping her and by calling her a negatively connotated gender name such as a whore: “She says what her papa do to her don’t count…‘he says you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya’” (Chapter 19). Bob Ewell is controlling Mayella’s life by taking advantage of her and calling her a negative gender name. Some may say that because the court took Mayella’s word over Tom’s she has power. However, this is not true because she is still looked down upon and in the end she has to go back home to her abusive father. Mayella tries to gain gender power by winning the trial against Tom, but she is still punished by it because after the trial is over Maycomb county does not want anything to do with her or her family. Mayella’s inability to follow society’s gender roles and her father calling her pessimistic words shows her absence of
Race is defined as the physical characteristics that determine a person. Gender is defined as the state of being male or female. Class is defined as the system of society categorizing people into different groups based on economic or financial status. Power is defined as “the ability to control one’s own life or lives of others.” All three race, gender, and class, come together to create power, which is shown in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Mayella Ewell is Bob Ewell’s daughter. She is abused by her father in many ways such as name-calling and being raped. Her father tries to blame a black male named Tom Robinson for the assault, so they go to court and because of the racial inequality Tom …show more content…
Mayella’s inability to follow the socially expected gender roles shows that she does not have any power to begin with. In an excerpt on social conduct by Lillia Eichler, she explains in her Book of Etiquette her opinion on how girls should behave: “A soft voice, a quiet, cultured manner is more to be admired than a pretty face, or an elaborate gown” (The Girl’s Manners 273). Mayella does not follow the gender roles that society expects girls to follow, and in this way Mayella is showing a lack of power. Mayella’s father controls her by raping her and by calling her a negatively connotated gender name such as a whore: “She says what her papa do to her don’t count…‘he says you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya’” (Chapter 19). Bob Ewell is controlling Mayella’s life by taking advantage of her and calling her a negative gender name. Some may say that because the court took Mayella’s word over Tom’s she has power. However, this is not true because she is still looked down upon and in the end she has to go back home to her abusive father. Mayella tries to gain gender power by winning the trial against Tom, but she is still punished by it because after the trial is over Maycomb county does not want anything to do with her or her family. Mayella’s inability to follow society’s gender roles and her father calling her pessimistic words shows her absence of