Examples Of Mayella's Power In To Kill A Mockingbird

Mayella is not powerful under the circumstances of her race. In the trial Atticus Finch is questioning Mayella by calling her Ma’am and Miss Mayella. She says, “...He keeps on callin’ me ma’am and sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don’t hafta take his sass…”. (“DBQ is Mayella Ewell Powerful?” 17) Later in the trial Mr. Gilmer is speaking to Tom Robinson and calls him “boy” ,even though Tom is a grown man that should be called sir. Tom knows how to be treated though being black. Mayella did not understand how to be treated formally. Mayella is white and does not get treated fairly though being white, and Tom knows how to be treated and does not dispute about it being black. This shows how Mayella is not powerful, even within the standards of race.

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

Mayella does not have power because of class and gender. Mayella has power because of race. The result of the verdict was guilty because of the racism between blacks and

Since Mayella was a female, she has some power when it came to gender. It was a lot easier for her to make a big deal out of being raped, but since it was a African American they had to make a much larger deal

In addition to Mayella’s race making her powerful her class in society contributed to that power. Even though Mayella was very low in society and looked down upon by the white people in the town of maycomb town, she uses what the people know and think of her to make them feel bad for her and it eventually was what made her win the case against Tom Robinson. For Mayella her class was mostly what started her plan to accuse Tom. This is because she wanted out of her place in society and away from her home where her father was beating and sexualy abussing her. Mayella was gaining power because she had her plan worked out that no matter what happened to Tom she would be able to get away from her father and her home in front of the dump. Mayella was never meant to be placed in that part of society and it is made clear when Scout talks about her appearance “Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean, and i was reminded of the row of red geraniums in the Ewell yard”. (“DBQ: Is Mayella Ewell Powerful?” 13) While Mayella has a low place in society she is still thought to be better than the colored people and it is looked to be a crime for a African American to think or even consider being better than a white person. This thought and viewpoint is really what made Mayella win the

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella is powerful based on class, gender, and race. The book shows us how she does have power, and gives supporting evidence. In this time period, in a small racist Southern community during the 1930’s, all of the categories listed are very important and contributes a lot to a person. Each category has its own reasoning why Mayella is powerful. Mayella has much more power than the other person in their situation, because of all of the listed evidence. 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 during this time period.

Just like gender, Mayella has power when it comes to her social class. Throughout the trial, Mayella was always called Ma’am. “I will not answer a word you say, as long as you keep mocking me.” (“DBQ: Is Mayella Powerful?” 17) Mayella was not used to being called Ma’am, which is why she thought that she was being mocked by Atticus. This shows that Mayella is usually not respected by anyone, including her father. In addition with Mayella being called Ma’am, the judge calls Tom Robinson by a certain name, which shows that he is from a lower class. “That old Mr. Gilmer doing him thataway, talking so hateful to him, the way that man called him “boy” all the time and sneered at him.” (“DBQ: Is Mayella Powerful?” 17) When considering the social class factor, Mayella is very powerful. Mayella’s social class gives her power because with her class, she is well respected by others, and especially by Negros. People respect her more than they do Tom Robinson, which gives her an advantage in the trial. At another point in the trial, Tom was asked why he

In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Mayella Ewell is the conflict of the story. To challenge herself to see if she is powerful based on class, gender, and race. Mayella is powerful due to her race; however, she would not be powerful due to her class and gender. One might think she is powerful over all; however, she does not have power in the eyes of some readers. Proceeding on to see if Mayella has power in race.

An example of her race being powerful is “okay, we’ll convict this Negro (Doc. A).”just because Mayella said this black man raped her with no proof they’d convict him because she’s white and he is black. Another example on how Mayella is powerful is “‘were you… scared of arrest, scared you’d have to face up to what you did?’ ‘no suh, scared i’d have to face up to what i didn’t do’ (Doc. C).” and ironic effect “‘yes, suh. I felt sorry for her’ (Doc. e).” because a black man feeling sorry for a white person was known to be disrespectful, but it shows power for her as a white woman because they had no freedom, and they were usually

Is Mayella ewell powerful?That is the question that is asked and must be answered.Throughout the story” To kill a mockingbird” Mayella shows some glimpses of power but not enough to say she is powerful.For example in the beginning she shows that she can not even control her home life so how can she be powerful.Also she shows that she is just too poor for her to have power.Now in the next three paragraphs I will explain my thinking on why I believe Mayella is not powerful.

In conclusion, Mayella is not a powerful character based on class, gender, and race. Mayella is not powerful because she still has to go back to her dump with her father. Based on gender, Mayella is not powerful because her father is taking advantage of Mayella based on his actions. Mayella is completely powerless when it come to whites and African Americans but, except to Tom Robinson who the only guy who was decent to her. All of the examples show that Mayella is not a power

Mayella has power because of her race, but she wouldn’t be in court if she was black and if she.

How powerful is Mayella in certain situations? Mayela is white but she is poor and equal to the other race, but at trial, she is white, with a white jury, and in a building filled with mostly white people. Mayella is poor, lives behind the dump, at a pig farm, and in an abandoned slave cabin. Mayella is a woman, and when she is crying or being assaulted we feel sorry for her and she uses the sympathy as her advantage during the trial. How powerful is Mayella in class, race, and gender?

As a result of Mayella having such low class and her family being so poor, she did not gain any power in the Tom Robinson trial. She gained no power because of her poor class.The quote “Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean, and I was reminded of the row of red geraniums in the Ewell yard (Doc A)” lets the readers

She has no power because she is female. When Tom is questioned at the trial, he explains how he got into the “situation” in the beginning. Tom repeated to the jury during the court case “she said what her papa do don’t count” (Lee Doc.B). Being a woman, when Tom told this statement to the jury, it showed that Mayella is sexually abused by her father, Bob Ewell. To add, Mayella later in the court case, accidentally showed emotion when Atticus questioned her about physical abuse. For instance, Atticus repeatedly questioned Mayella and ended with “except when he’s drinking”(Lee Doc. B). Mayella is physically abused by her father. Being female, she has no power to fight back, leaving her powerless. Though Mayella has power in her race, she is still powerless in her general because she is