Sin In To Kill A Mockingbird

For example, when Atticus addresses Mayella as “ma'am” or “miss,” she believes it is a sign of Atticus mocking her. Proving that Mayella was never greatly respected or at all throughout her life. Mayella owns geranium flowers that Scout emphasizes for being so well cared for, because she realizes that Mayella looks like she is trying to keep clean, and one may believe that Mayella wanted more than to live in a Negro cabin where its windows were spaces in the wall with a dirt yard behind the town’s garbage dump. Scout also notes the geraniums because she believes that Mayella uses them to separate herself from the rest of the Ewell family. Bob Ewell is an alcoholic and an abusive father. Presented in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus says “he thought he’d be a hero, but all he got for his pain was… okay, we’ll convict this Negro but get back to your dump.” (Lee, Chapter 27) Stating that although Bob is white, he is still unwanted by others even after Tom Robinson’s conviction. Mayella suffers from her life at home by being abused, let alone is thought of and expected to be lower than everyone else as a reflection of her polluted appearance, her family’s low income, and her father’s

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

Mockingbirds bring beauty and happiness into the world. Miss. Maudie said, "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."(119). This is referring to Tom Robinson and Boo Radley who are both portrayed as mockingbirds in the book. They both brought happiness into the world and did nothing wrong, but were punished and in Tom’s case, killed.

In chapter 24 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee satirizes Aunt Alexandra and the ladies missionary society by focusing on Mrs. Grace Merriweather, Lee characterizes her as being hypocritical. The satire is demonstrated when Mrs. Merriweather contradicts herself while scolding Sophy for not being Christian-like, when she isn’t either. “‘You are simply not being a Christian today. Jesus Christ never went around grumbling and complaining,’” (Chunk 3). She complains of her servant’s attitude and quotes “...there’s nothing more distracting than a sulky darky,”. Meanwhile, she’s in a missionary society meeting talking poorly of the woman who helps her life function orderly. At the same time, Lee also brings in the tribe, Mrunas and brings in horation

Whatever respect or sympathy the reader might have had for Bob Ewell is dispelled by his behaviour in the courtroom and the evidence that Atticus produces that he was the cause of Mayella's beating. Not only is he a self-righteous bully but he is prepared to sacrifice Tom Robinson's life for his own selfish ends. The reader is more likely to feel sympathy for Mayella as the trial progresses. Her loneliness and need for simple human contact are made painfully evident as Scout comes to understand that she is 'the loneliest

When Atticus asks Mayella ‘who are your friends?’ (p.245) she is perplexed by the question demonstrating to us how she must be ‘the loneliest person in the world’ (p. 256). Furthermore, Lee clearly explains to us she is accustomed to being treated poorly as when Atticus refers to her as ‘ma’am’ and speaks to her politely she believes initially that he is ‘mockin’ me’ (p.243). Reflecting on how Mayella is trapped in her improvised, friendless state with nobody who respects her, we realise it would not have been difficult for her to become fixated on and fantasise about Tom Robinson, as he ‘was probably the only person who was ever decent to her’ (p.257). We are also able to understand why she lies about Tom raping her during the trial when we take into consideration that Mayella is living in fear of what her drunk and abusive father, Bob Ewell, would do to her if she was truthful. As she has already been ‘beaten savagely’ (p.272) and possibly raped by her father, after she ‘kissed a black man’ (p.272), her trepidation is unsurprising. By climbing into Mayella’s skin and walking around in it we see Lee is helping us to learn the importance of considering people’s circumstances before judging their actions.

The characters in, To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, often use prejudice against people of controversial issues. Many of the townspeople of Maycomb use prejudice on the families who are on the less wealthy end of the spectrum. Issues are still displayed because of the racial prejudice used against African Americans and those of other races. Lastly, gender is a clear issue in Maycomb because of women’s and girl’s rights and lack of respect towards them because they are female. All of the types of prejudice show that Maycomb has many problems all throughout the town between other families and townspeople.

In the small town of Maycomb, Mayella and her family are in the absolute lowest class possible aside of being negro. Mayella is not respected at home and and little respect outside of her “house” either. She's seen as nothing more then “that poor girl from the dump”. As proven in document A, The “loneliest person in the world”, as scout observes…. “As Tom Robinson gave his testimony, it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world…: white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes [the Ewell’s nearest neighbors] wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she’s white....Tom Robinson was probably the only person who was ever decent to her.”.... Mayella has known nothing but disrespect from her father and everyone else in town due to her social class. It has made her feel like she is not worth the respect, as shown i n document C when Atticus is questioning Mayella in court. Atticus is questioning her in a polite manner but Mayella insists Atticus is making fun of her, She says ‘Long’s he keeps callinh’ me ma’am and sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don’t hafta take his sass, i aint called upon to take it”. Mayella and

In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee it is clear that it is “a sin to kill a mockingbird” because they are innocent and nothing but make music for the community to listen too (90).

Therefore, the mockingbird and Robinson's voice commonly are not paid attention to throughout the whole novel. "It couldn't be worse Jack. The only thing we've got is a black man's word against the Ewells. The jury couldn't possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson's word against the Ewells." (88) This quote from Atticus is noteworthy for it implies that regardless of what Tom Robinson claims in the court, the jury is expected to stand on the white man's side. Although the jury at court is supposed to make objective decisions, along the other villagers, he displays a definite bias against the black man. If there is any responsibility that falls upon Tom, it would be the responsibility for chopping wood and providing help for Mayella who is reflected as the loneliest person on earth in the eyes of Scout. However, the mockingbird figure is wrongly accused of things that he has never done or even imagined. Although there is a sufficient amount of proof that Robinson is innocent, it is ignored after all, and he is imprisoned. Emphasizing this, Atticus tells his son Jem: "In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins." (220) This

First, during the trial, it is suggested that Mayella Ewell is sexually abused by her father. Mayella reveals this incriminating evidence when she was making advances towards Tom, as Tom recalls “‘She says what her papa do to her don’t count’” (Lee 260). Sexual abuse can greatly damage one's well being and leads to distrust, low self-esteem and impulsivity. Next, Mayella Ewell is emotionally abused by her father, Bob Ewell. This is evident from the way he talks about Mayella. For instance, when describing the alleged rape, Bob Ewell states “‘(...) I heard Mayella screamin’ like a stuck hog inside the house’” (Lee 230). The comparison of his daughter to a pig is both negative and degrading; a clear sign of emotional abuse. Finally, Mayella was undoubtedly physically assaulted by her father. This is evident to Atticus Finch as well as he declares “‘Why don’t you tell the truth, child, didn’t Bob Ewell beat you up?’” (Lee 251). It is an unavoidable fact that Bob Ewell assaulted his own daughter and likely not for the first time. Thus, the evidence of Mayella’s prolonged abuse by a loved one certainly does not make her virtuous, but it allows readers to experience and gain a better understanding of her thoughts and

Mayella Ewell has been mistreated her whole life, and it has changed her for the worse. “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a negro cabin” (page 227). The Ewells are the most destitute white residents in Maycomb. Mayella is forced to live in a cramped and unkempt shack along with her many siblings and alcoholic father, and that is certainly not acceptable living quarters for any child. Aside from Mr. Ewell’s poor excuse for a home, he abuses Mayella. She knew that it was wrong of her father to beat her, but she would not admit it to anyone. “My paw’s never touched a hair o’ my head in my life” (page 246), was Mayella’s response to Atticus when he questioned her about their relationship. Mayella was lying out of confusion and fear. She worried what might happen to her father, and she worried what Mr. Ewell would do to her if she

Her father was put on the witness stand and was incredibly rude. Everyone already disliked him because he was in the lowest social class white people can be in, so it wouldn’t matter if he was rude. Mayella Ewell accused Tom of rape, but it was made clear that was impossible due to his injured right hand. Mayella had threw herself at him. “As Tom Robinson gave his testimony it occurred to me that Mayella Ewell must have the loneliest person in the world… when Atticus asked if she had any friends she seemed not to know what he meant.”

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 raping her. Mayella uses manipulation as her main form of power.

“Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee 119) Jem and Scout Finch are siblings who grew up in Maycomb, Alabama during the time of segregation. Throughout the book, Jem and Scout are taught many valuable life lessons. Both characters have different outlooks on life. It is important to have more than one outlook on the book because the audience experience the changes Jem and Scout go through. Even though they are from the same family with the same education, their perspectives on life are different.