Mayella Power In To Kill A Mockingbird

Mayella’s gender causes her to become a victim because she is unable to leave the abusive house since she has no source of income or potential husband to move in with, the family hardly get enough anyway since “their relief check was far from enough to feed the family” and their father “drank it up

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 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.

Besides from Mayella’s power there are things that make her powerless, such as class and gender. “Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean, and i was reminded of the row of red geraniums in the Ewell’s yard (Doc. A).” is an example of her class making her powerless. Another example might be “Long’s he keep callin’ me ma'am an sayin’ Miss. Mayella (Doc. C.) shows that her class is so low and the white people don’t respect her enough to call her those simple things. “Okay we’ll convict this Negro but get back to your dump (Doc A).” is another example of how low her class is.

While Mayella is powerful in race ,she isn’t powerful in gender, because she is a female..

Third, Mayella lacks power also, because she is a female,and they think little of her. “Mayella

Mayella is a white women, and white women are protected very well in the South during the 1930’s. Some of the women's protection comes from the Jim Crow laws. It is shown that Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, is very protective of her when he says to Tom Robinson, ‘You goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya. ’’’(“DBQ Is Mayella Powerful” 15), when he thinks he has done something to his daughter. This shows that Mayella is very well protected since she is a young girl, yet she isn’t just protected by her father, but she is also protected by the Jim Crow laws as well.

Ever since the beginning of society, there has been many ways power is obtained. There has been three main types of ways in which people have obtained power. Some components that have helped people gain power are social class, race, and gender. Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird , has expressed the three main types of ways in which people obtain power, Mayella Ewell is one such character who obtains her power through race. Mayella Ewell doesn’t gain her power through her social class, and or from her gender, but through her race her power is obtained.

Power is used for control and many times that a person can have power.Many types of different styles that a person can get power. In the novel How to Kill a Mockingbird, power is controlled by the gender, class, and race that they’re in. Power can get a person to take advantage over someone that has less power than anyone else. Many characters have power, but one character is Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell is a woman that is getting abused at home by her father and he does not want anyone to know so she blames it on a black man named Tom Robinson. Mayella Ewell has no power in gender or class, but even though she may have race power, that does not make her more powerful.

This shows that she is looked down upon in the aspects of class. In the area of gender Mayellla is not powerful because she is a female. Like when it states “she says she never kissed a grown man before” “what her papa do to her don’t count” (Doc B). Females are perceived to not be able defend themselves against males and are easily taken over by the dominating gender and

In To Kill A Mockingbird, American Denial, and A Raisin in the Sun, the authors reveal how we as humans value our power in society. Power in society is a very common theme seen throughout many books, and I also found it very prominent in To Kill A Mockingbird, A Raisin in the Sun, and American Denial. People could have different amounts of power for various reasons, often times due to race or money. Both of these are shown in all three works.

The constant struggle for power is a part of our daily lives. From the 1930’s to the 2000’s power is still a everchanging factor. The question ‘who is powerful?’ is based off the factors of race, gender, and class that determine the levels of power that one has over oneself or other people. The struggle of power can been seen in the novel, To Kill a MockingBird by Harper Lee, when Mayella Ewell falsely convicted Tom Robinson of sexual assault. In the courtroom, she displays her power, but also shows her weakness. In regards to her race and gender, Mayella is powerful; however, her weakness lies in social class.

Mayella may come off as an idiot because she “sat silently” when asked what happened (179). She also thinks Atticus is “mockin’ (her)” when he calls her “ma’am” and “miss” (181). But truly, Mayella is just a product of being alone, trapped, and forced to be independent. Without needed care and love she was forced to try to find it herself. Throwing herself onto Tom was an act of desperate need for attention. I think with proper care she could be like everyone else. There is also another side of her, one that does well with what she has. Mayella “tried to keep clean” (179). She also takes care of her flowers. Harper Lee created a character that is slightly relatable but truly understandable. The problems Mayella faces are more severe than needed to be relatable. But what you can understand is her situation. I feel like I understand her need for affection but I would not go to the extremes of throwing myself onto someone. The seemingly logical ways in which Mayella acts at times, make the readers feel sympathy for her. Even though we know she is lying and that the case was racist and unfair, it’s hard to blame her. The lying and