How Does Mayella Have 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.

In the small town of Maycomb, Alabama lives Miss Mayella Ewell. She is a smart but helpless teen that accuses Tom Robinson of rape to escape from her father's abuse. In “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Mayella is powerful, as defined by class, race, and gender. All though in many circumstances, Mayella's class and gender make her less powerful than most, her race makes her more powerful than substantially all negroes.

The definition about power I think is what rules over what. The plot is three years into the Great Depression. Because of Mayella’s class and gender Mayella lacks power, but ner race makes her powerful.

In Maycomb, Alabama, Mayella Ewell accused an African American man, Tom Robinson with allegations of rape. Mayella was powerful back in the 1930 because of the Jim crow laws, considering that she was a white woman. Although Mayella was so poor that she lived behind the town dump. Mayella was just about as poor as the African Americans, it quotes “White people wouldn't have anything to do with her because she lived among the pigs.” ("DBQ: Is Mayella Powerful?" 21). That explains that Mayella could not afford to live and also have many of the things she wanted. On the other hand, Mayella was an white woman going to court against an African American man.

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

Do you know what it feels like to be powerless? A white nineteen year old woman named Mayella Ewell falsely accuses a black man of raping her in Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s, and rendering her powerless comes from being recessive in her social class, race, and gender. She accuses Tom Robinson of rape in hopes of escaping her abusive father, and a chance to have a better life. Although Mayella is white, African Americans and other white people shun her throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. Mayella is a very young woman that does not own anything nice, nor clean, besides geranium flowers. During the 1930’s, men were the dominant sex, as a female, Mayella has to obey her father, Bob Ewell. As a result, Mayella is mistreated and abused.

In conclusion, Mayella does not have power. Mayella only gains the small amount of power she has from her race. With her being a woman decreases her power, sad well as with her class. Mayella lives in the very lowest class you can be. In conclusion, Mayella does not have power because her gender and class over rule her

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.

She is used to living in a grimy house on an unsanitary property. Mayella selflessly operates at stage 6 when she grows the red geraniums on the Ewell property. Characters that behave at stage 6 operate with a sense of justice because they believe it’s the right thing to do, they may even break the law if they wholeheartedly believe it benefits everyone. In chapter 17, a character describes the Ewell property to be dirty and unsanitary but says, “against the fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums [...] people said the were Mayella Ewell’s (228). Mayella acts beyond her usual stinginess when doing this. She is trying to provide her and her six siblings with beauty so they can experience something out of the ordinary and lovely. Although the action of growing the geraniums isn’t breaking the law, it is going against the everyday filthy life the Ewells live. For once, Mayella isn’t thinking of herself, but of

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

To Kill a Mockingbird was a very influential book in the eyes of a growing young woman in America in the 1930’s from the eyes of Jean Louise as a child and Jean reminiscing or reflecting as an adult about the past. Mayella Ewell was a white woman who was looked down upon by her own race and the African Americans were too scared to talk to her. Mayella was looked at to be powerless over her own life and others. If she is, then why does she win the case against Tom Robinson? In the town of Maycomb race, class, and gender played larger roles than some may think let's determine how.

Power is the ability to influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Power is something Mayella has, and her power helps to give her a big advantage over Tom. The the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Mayella has power because she is trying to convince the jury that Tom is guilty even though he is innocent. Because of her class, race, and gender she succeeds. Mayella has power based on her race, gender, and class.

First of all, Mayella is extremely poor. Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town’s garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin (Doc A). Mayella was very low for being a white woman when it came to class. She was living behind a dump and her windows were open spaces in the wall. She was shunned on because of her class. Mayella’s lower class status also shows when Atticus calls her “ma’am” and “miss” because she takes it as an insult (Doc C). She was so low in class that her own race insulted and shunned her. She and her father were told to go back to their dump (Doc E). Mayella’s class is powerless due to how poor she is.

In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” a local controversy occurs when white girl accuses a innocent black man named Tom Robinson of abuse. Mayella Ewell is a white trash girl that lives behind a junkyard dump with no mother and a abusive father. Bob Ewell physically, mentally, and sexually abuses Mayella to the point of serious injuries. Mayella’s controversial uproar is caused when the town of maycomb has to decide whether to convict a innocent black man for a white man's sins or to convict a abusive father in favor of a negro. Sadly Tom is killed for his “crimes”. In this chaos, the question “Does this mean that Mayella Ewell has power?” comes to mind. There are three main things that show loss and gain of power throughout the novel,

The white people of Maycomb look down on them about as much as they look down on black people. The black people of Maycomb avoid the Ewells because they are white and Bob Ewell is extremely racist. It could easily be proved that Mayella’s power is diminished by her class, but there is evidence to prove that her class helps her power as well. Although Mayella’s family is not powerful in general, she stands out among the Ewells. She lives in an abandoned Negro shack in the woods, and she wants out. “One corner of the yard, though, bewildered Maycomb. Against the fence, in a line, were six… jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for… tenderly…. People said they were Mayella Ewell’s.”(Lee, Chapter 17) These geraniums represent Mayella, standing out and shining brightly in terrible circumstances. She bathed thoroughly before the trial and was happy about it, while her father seemed to resent having to clean himself. Scout calls her the “...loneliest person in the world…”(Lee, Chapter 19), and this is an accurate statement, but she stands out in a terrible family which gives her power over