Mayella Prejudice Quotes

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.

if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me." (ch 18). The uncertainness of Mayella's

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.

How Mayella has power because of her race. A quote is “Are you being impudent to me, boy.” this show that Mayella can treat blacks anyway she want. A quote that shows this is “All Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not supposed to be trusted around our women.”(Doc D) this shows Mayella has power because of race is they think Negro men are all animals that rape and abuse people. A quote to show this is “White people would have nothing to do with her because she lived among pigs.” (Doc E) this shows Mayella’s power because of race is controls everyone around her. THis is why I think MAyella has power because of her race.

No one has ever shown Mayella respect or any sign of friendship. Which is the reason why she does not understand routine courtesy and is often lonely and desolate. For example, during Atticus’s cross-examination on pg198 Mayella says, “Won’t answer a word you say as long as you keep on mockin’ me.” In addition, on pg209 Jean Louise states in her realisation. “…Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world” this is because when Atticus asked about her relationships she seemed to not know what he meant. No one besides Tom Robinson has given her an opportunity to establish a relationship; it is obvious from this that the citizens of Maycomb make substantial perceptions towards others because of their lifestyle, therefore, Mayella does not belong to the Maycomb society.

Which if she lives behind the city dump one would think that she would not care what people think of her, but she does which means she wants to have power. But when Tom Robinson is giving his statement he says that when Mayella was all up on him her father catches her and says “ you goddamn whore, i'll kill ya”(Lee, Chapter 19). This means that Bob Ewell could possibly be abusing her

Due to Mayella's race she gains power. Mayella is white, living in the 1930's time period. So she will have very little power. The jury will take the side of a white woman over the side of a negro man. This is the only power that Mayella has and uses her race to her advantage in a bad way.

In the courtroom, Mayella is being asked questions in regards to her father. Based on Scout’s perspective, “Mayella looked at her father who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing he sat up straight and waited for her to answer,”(Document B). Mayella is a victim of violence; as a result, she fears her father because she has no control or dominance over him. Because of society and stereotypical people, females are generally conceived as dependent and fragile human beings. Her father expects her to be obedient and another stereotype in Maycomb. Mayella is left with no choice but to show submission and vulnerability. By doing so, she is acting like a puppet following the orders of her puppeteer. Her father is a constant reminder of her weakness. She is allowing society’s stereotypes to poison and take over her. Mayella conforms to being nothing but weak and invisible. Soon enough these ideals will invade her entirely causing her to feel powerless. All in all, it is evident that Mayella’s gender is another reason she could be classified as

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.

Mayella Ewell is a tragic character in To Kill a Mockingbird. She is faced with many struggles involving her family and the people around her. Although Mayella is a poor white woman with an abusive father, no mother, and six siblings to take care of she does have power. Mayella Ewell is powerful as a character and continues to gain power in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird when it comes to race, class and gender. Despite Mayella being very poor and in a lower class of the society in Maycomb Alabama she uses her status as a white female to manipulate others into deciding in her favor when dealing with her court case against Tom Robinson regarding him being wrongfully accused of

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

Power, it means to have control over your life and others. This story is about the racist trial of Tom Robinson against his accuser a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Considering class, gender, and race how much power did Mayella really have? My paper will be about the effect of Mayella’s power during Tom Robinson’s trial.

We learned that Mayella was on her front porch at dusk that evening. Her father made her chop a chiffarobe, but she felt like she wasn’t strong enough so she called over Tom Robinson to help her out. She offered him a nickel and when she went to go get the nickel the next thing she remembers was him being on her. Mayella quotes, “ I turned around and ‘fore I knew it he was on me. Just run up behind me, he did” (page 241). Then he had her by her neck and was swearing and calling her dirt. Mayella said that she fought and was screaming but then he hit her again and again. She doesn’t remember too well but she does remember her dad in the room asking her who did it, then she fainted.

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