How Is Mayella's Power Related To The Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, a young white woman from Maycomb, Alabama, named Mayella Ewell is charging Tom Robinson a black man of rape. Mayella Ewell is not powerful in the sense that she is classified within class, race, and gender.

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

One small gesture that Tom Robinson made was immediately questioned by the majority of the court room; being a black man in a white society, he was supposedly in no situation to feel sorry for Mayella who is a white woman. He does not know much about her situation, but he has the ability to understand where she is coming from and see that she deserves help. “Looked like she didn’t have nobody to help her… yes suh. I felt right sorry for her.” Pg. 217.

This statement is extremely noticeable and it becomes clear as the novel progresses that racism among the white characters is a result of fearfulness and concern for their own interests. Examples of this is apparent where a group of men go to where Tom Robinson is detained, with the intention to beat him up, rationalizing that this is the right thing to do because he “raped” a white woman. This can also be seen when Mayella attempts to reconcile herself with the fact that she will be sending an innocent man to prison by justifying this as being a victim herself, in reference to her social stance in society, her father’s abusiveness towards her and the ridicule she would endure if she told the

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.

Mayella does not have power because she is a white female, being the lowest class. Mayella is a white female living in Maycomb, Alabama. Mayella has some power being white, but not in her class and gender prevents her from having any power. Mayella is an eighteen year old taking care of her younger siblings. She does not have any power.

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.

During the trial, Mr. Gilmer begins to question Tom and his actions. Mr.Gilmer does so by asking, “Were you... scared of arrest, scared you have to face up to what you did? No, suh, scared I have to say something I didn't do,” (Doc D). Privileges are only given to those who are born into them. In most cases, it would be white people. White people will always be given priority because they are seen as innocent human beings. Preconceived notions have caused white people to devalue the lives of blacks and allow them to formulate assumptions that are not necessarily precise. This affected Tom because he had no power to get himself out of the lies that the Ewell has thrown upon him. Tom comprehends that in a dark, corrupted society there is little to no chance to achieve justice. This trial was self-contradictory because racism was utilized to cloud their judgment. Mayella’s filthy white skin has poisoned the eyes of justice. In addition to that, Tom Robinson was yet again demeaned and belittled. Mr. Gilmer emphasizes, “You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her? ”(Document E). Tom’s sympathy for Mayella leads him into more trouble. Blacks and whites are not socially equal. Therefore, they should not assimilate accordingly. White people have blind spots that cause them to misinterpret Tom’s actions. Thus, Tom’s acts of innocence were taken as

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

While she is white, Tom Robinson is black. And this means that people have never seen a judge rule for a colored person before. The excerpt states, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Lee 19). Since Mayella is white she has more power than Tom because he is black.

As Tom was being questioned by Mr. Gilmer, he was asked why he decided to help Mayella and he said that he felt sorry for her. Gilmer reacted by saying, “The witness realized his mistake and shifted uncomfortably in the chair” (Lee). For a black male to say that he felt bad for a white person back in those times is a sign of saying that he feels pity and saying he is has more power but with that reaction, we can infer that it was wrong for a black person to think they have more power than a white person. When Jem felt very good about winning the case Reverend Sykes had to intervene, ““Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…”” (Lee). Even with very good evidence and a very good case, black people have a huge disadvantage, and that is their skin color. With Mayella being white, it is impossible to deny that she has a lack of power in the time when she

Aside from being open, Tom is also a deeply good-natured man. He is exceedingly polite at all times, even above the bounds of the time period’s Jim Crow laws. During his testimony, Tom mentions the fact that he always tipped his hat to Mayella when he passed. He could have just avoided eye contact and hurried by, but instead he took the time to stop and acknowledge this woman who, to the rest of Maycomb, was considered no better than trash. It is also mentioned that when Mayella began to make advances, Tom wanted to get away, but he also “didn’t wanta be ugly... didn’t wanta push her or nothin’” (Lee 197). Granted, according to the Jim Crow laws, Tom could have been punished severely for striking a white woman. However, I believe that the way in which Tom repeatedly states he did not want to harm her seems to suggest a higher, more gentlemanly motive. I believe that even had Mayella not been white, or this particular piece of the Jim Crow laws not a threat, Tom would have wanted to avoid striking her if he could. It is just a part of who he is as a respectable man. As Scout indicates, in many ways his “manners were as good as Atticus’s” (Lee

Mayella has more power against these people and that gives her a little bit of an advantage. If she is going against an African American male she get’s a little more empathy from other people than he does. Being white she has more rights than Tom. The town is segregated and everyone hates on the colored. Even Tom gets disrespected because during the session at one point he gets called “boy” by Mr. Gilmer.