Bob Ewell Trial

In 1930’s Maycomb Alabama, a young woman is stirring up a sleepy town by accusing an African American man of rape. Mayella Ewell, a poor white woman has wrongly accused Tom Robinson of sexually assaulting her in her own home. Her testimony, as well as her fathers’, have gaping holes in them. Their stories do not coincide, and it is even implied that Mayella’s father may have been sexually abusing her.(DBQ Mayella page 15 Chapters 18 and 20) The lack of sufficient evidence and Tom Robinson’s claim that Mayella had made advances toward him should have been enough for the jury to find Tom not guilty, but unfortunately, that was not the case. Instead, the jury believed Mayella’s deceitful testimony, and Tom was sent to jail, which ultimately led to his death. Mayella used her position in society to manipulate the court, and dispose of the only evidence of her mistake. Mayella Ewell is powerful as defined by class, gender, and especially race.

Have you ever been too filled with hate and pride to see the obvious truth right in front of you? The year was 1935 in the small town of Maycomb Alabama. During this time an important trial would be taking place. The trial of Tom Robinson, an African and American who had been promptly accused of rape by the one man who had seen the incident. Bob Ewell a despised person throughout the community and the father of the victim, Mayella Ewell, Bob’s abused, lonely, unhappy daughter. Though one can pity Mayella because of her overbearing father, one cannot pardon her for her shameful indictment of Tom Robinson.

(“DBQ: Is Mayella Ewell Powerful?” 7). The Jim Crow Laws made Mayella’s accusation of Tom raping her even worse.

Bob Ewell and Mayella both pointed out Mayella's wound the the right side of her face, a wound that would have to have been afflicted with someone's left hand and accused Tom of hitting Mayella. Atticus then asks Tom to sign his name and concludes that he is right handed. The jury thinks nothing of this, after all, most people are right handed and Tom could have just hit her with his left hand instead of his right, but that’s when Atticus asks Tom to raise his left hand, Tom’s left arm was limp and unusable, proving that he couldn’t have hit mayella with his left hand and stated that Bob Ewell had beaten Mayella because she had been with a black man and she tried to cover her embarrassment by saying that he had raped her. In the end of the hearing Tom was found guilty and sent to jail all because he was black and the “victim” of the rape was white. This case ties in perfectly with the theme of Equality because African Americans were sentenced in crimes that they did not commit, just because of the color of their

Lastly, Mayella had bruises on the right side of her face which means that her attacker must have led primary with the left hand. Strangely enough, Tom Robinson doesn't have one. The jury that will be sitting in on Tom's trial is entirely made up of white men and in this time period black people are not treated equally to whites. This means that the jury is going to take Bob Ewell's word over toms but to the unbiased children, they see it differently.

Miss Stephanie said Atticus didn’t bat an eye, just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and stood there and let Mr. Ewell call him names wild horses could not bring her repeat.” (Lee,lP.23) The evidence shown shows physical courage because when Mr.Ewell spits on Atticus he does nothing to fight him back or tell him anything all he does is wipes his faces off and stands still. This shows that Atticus doesn't want to fight with people because he knows that there is no point of fighting and he was picked to defend Tom Robinson that was his job. Atticus in fact didn’t want the trial to end like it did he was a innocent man just simply doing his

The unfairness of the trial that occurred when Tom was falsely charged with rape reveals people’s imprudent prejudice. It was clear that the case was evaluated unjustly–based on Tom’s race–yet there was enough evidence defending him, according to the book, “If her right eye was blacked and she was beaten mostly on the right side of the face, it would tend to show that a left-handed person did it.” (Lee 202). Undeniably, Atticus brought enough evidence to convince the reader that Ewells are dishonest. The final decision of the court can only be

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson has been accused of beating and raping Mayella Ewell. Tom was married and has three kids. He works for Link Deas picking cotton, pecans, and doing work around the yard for him. Tom acquired an injury one day in Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s cotton gin when he was little. Tom passes by the Ewell place every day to get to work. Tom is put on trial for his life because the claim made by the Ewells of rape. The case is basically the Ewell’s word verses Toms. During the case Mayella slips up on what really happen. Because of the type of injury Tom has, Mayella’s slips up on the stand, and the fact that Tom was already married, the jury should acquit Tom- finding him not guilty.

Tom was accused by the Ewell’s who are evil people and even though everyone knows that the Ewell’s are this kind of people, they still side with him because they are racist. During the trial, Tom was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. She had been beaten on her right side of her face and had bruises on her arm and neck. When she finished her testimony, Atticus then spoke. He proves the innocence of Tom Robinson by providing evidence that Tom’s left arm was too short to reach her and the bruises on Mayella's face were on her right side so therefore he could not have beat her.

The ewells have won the case, and Atticus has gotten over losing. Atticus was coming home from work and was confronted by bob ewell. He was spit on and threatened to be killed by Bob. On the novel Lee stated, “So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take.” (lee 254). Ever since Mayella won the case, Bob has been out to get Atticus and everyone he loves. Jem and Scout went to a play that Scout was in and after the play finished, they made their way home. On the way home, they thought someone was following them, dismissing it as a friend, they ignored it and excused it as having a tricked played on them. They soon found out that it was not their friend and someone was chasing them. They were attacked and Jem and Scout were both hurt. Lee stated, “Then they stopped. He was running, running toward us with no child’s steps. “Run, Scout! Run! Run!” Jem screamed.” (Lee 203). Though this is not Atticus in particularly in danger, it does affect him majorly. By becoming involved in this case, Atticus is putting both of his kids in danger. This could have been resolved and not have been worried about if he did not take part in the case for Tom Robinson. For becoming involved, he is putting danger and constant worry among many other people’s shoulders. At the beginning of the case before the trial, the word had

There was no doubt in my mind about the verdict. Although I have done no wrong, I will be accused due to the color of my skin. Listening to Bob and Mayella’s lies made me infuriated. If Bob had done a better job raising his children, there would be no reason for this case to take place. As many hours passed after the final statement, my hope for this case grew. However, I was found guilty of rape, even after solid evidence. Mr. Finch believes there is still a chance I may be able to be released, as he requested an appeal. Mr. Finch is the most respectable man that I know. Even while being criticized and pressure for defending me, he continues to do so. However, I have accepted the fact that this may be the last few moments of my life. This means I will not be able to see my family or my friends again. Although I knew I was surely gone, I worry for Helen and how she will continue without me. My mind still replays the first time I had ever helped Mayella. If I had never agreed to do so in the first place, I would not be in

Throughout this journal, it can be assumed that Mr. Ewell lied about his daughter’s attack so his daughter would stay away from Tom Robinson and so he could blame someone other than him for beating his daughter. To begin, Bob Ewell did not want his daughter to be around Tom Robinson for fear of her becoming like Mr. Dolphus Raymond, the man who had children with a black woman. One example of Bob Ewell not wanting Mayella to be the future Mr. Dolphus Raymond is his reaction to her kissing and hugging Tom. In the text it says, “She reached up an’ kissed me ‘side of ‘th face’ … ‘Mr. Ewell yonder hollered through th’ window’ ‘What did he say?’ … ‘He says you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya” (Lee 260). Mr. Ewell clearly did not approve of Mayella kissing and hugging a black man because he did not want the entire

To begin, Mayella lied about the rape to cover up matters of her life that she keeps secret, such as her father's beatings and her seclusion from the outside world. Until now, nobody had any idea what Mayella’s home life was like, her father beats her up when he gets drunk. Even if no one knows exactly what happened, the evidence shows Mayella had bruises on the left side of her face. In spite of what Officer Heck states, Atticus proves Mr. Ewell is, in fact left handed, he proves this by having Bob Ewell write his name in an envelope. On the contrary, Thomas Robinson cannot have possibly hit Mayella on the left side of her face. This is not possible because he got his arm caught in a cotton gin when he was young, and he has no use of his left

In To Kill a Mockingbird, the antagonist, Bob Ewell played a prominent role in the accusations from his daughter against African American, Tom Robinson, in a rape trial. During the 1930s, many held extreme prejudices against African Americans due to the color of the skin. Mr. Ewell accuses Tom Robinson, a young African American man, of raping his daughter. He showcases his personality prominently through his actions during the case trial. For example, the Judge of the trial asks Mr. Ewell to speak more respectfully. The author states his response: “his mouth struggled silently with htem- ut their import registered on this face (233).” His reaction to the scolding shows ignorance in his personality. He is unaware of his actions because he was

Rape, racism, Robinson. This is the charge being pressed against this innocent compassionate man. He has done nothing morally or legally wrong, but only help a woman in need. Miss Mayella Ewells. The testimonies given today throughout the trial proves without a reasonable doubt that this man is not guilty. The testimony given by Miss Mayella Ewell's clearly reveals that she been not just physically, but mentally abused. Miss Mayella has been abused, but not by Tom Robinson.