To Kill A Mockingbird Character Analysis

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

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”

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.

As a result of the Ewell’s living behind the Maycomb county dump, Mayella is looked down on. “We’ll convict this Negro but get back to your dump (Doc A).” This quote shows that though Mayella had won the case against Tom Robinson, the Ewells were still thought of as nothing. “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 was white (Doc E).” Powerful white people looked down on Mayella because she lived in filth; black people would not either because she was white. “Long as he keeps callin’ me Ma’am and sayin’ Miss Mayella, I don’t hafta take his sass (Doc C).” Mayella is not used to being respected as she is poor and is not treated fairly. This shows how Mayella’s class ties with her power.

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

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

Race, gender, and class are all possessions people have that can make them powerful, but at the same time they can make themselves a powerless person too. Mayella Ewell is a white female who comes from a poor family living in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, an African American man by the name of Tom robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell won the case and the trial which sent Mr. Robinson to jail where he eventually got killed. Mayella Ewell’s race was powerful enough to kill a man that was accused of a crime he never did; however, her gender and class power make her to a point where she is not a powerful person at all.

She was able to use her class, race, and gender in different ways to help win over the jury in her case with Tom Robinson (DBQ Project, p.7). Her class showed her vulnerability, but it did not show that by going through this process it would change her class, gender, and race. It brought to attention that no matter her win or loss in court, she was still going back to her bad home life (DBQ Document A). Her race helped her being that she was white, Tom was African American, and the jury was white (DBQ Document A). No black man had been able to win a case with a white jury (DBQ Document A). Mayella's gender allowed her to be vulnerable and a victim of falling for a man that just interacting with on a normal basis could get her in trouble in which she went over that boundary (DBQ Project p.7). Her gender in court puts her in the spot of looking like a victim of a crime that she lied about in order to save herself (Lee, p.252). In either case an innocent man was wrongly accused of a crime and the one accusing him would be going straight back to a life filled with misery (DBQ Document B). In reality nobody won the

Mayella Ewell’s race significantly contributes to the reason why she has power. Mayella is white, which in Maycomb makes her better than Tom Robinson since he is black. Mayella accused Tom of raping her, even though Tom testified that Mayella tried to make a move on him, but since Mayella was a white woman it made Tom look guilty, and he knew that. During the trial when Mr. Gilmer who is the prosecutor, is interrogating Tom Robinson, he asks Tom why he had fled the house so fast Tom answered that he was scared to be in a “fix” like that. Mr. Gilmer keeps insisting that Tom was afraid because he was guilty, “No,suh, scared I’d have to face up to what I did not do.”(DBQ The”evil assumption”19), Tom knew that just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time he was going to be blamed for something he didn’t do. The

Mayella Ewell was white, giving her a great amount of power in race over Tom Robinson. In the courtroom, Tom Robinson was called “boy”, which was completely inappropriate because he was a young man, not at all a “boy”. On the other hand, Mayella was politely called “ma’am”, and “Miss” (Doc C). This type of language shows how much power your skin color meant in the 1930’s. Tom Robinson was not even able to say he felt sorry for Mayella without putting the case at risk, however he did that. Mayella Ewell didn’t win the case because she was telling the truth, she won because the color of her skin. Her story is believed because she was simply

Mayella is powerful in regards to her race; however, she is not powerful in regards to her gender and social class. One of the many challenges Mayella Ewell faces dealing with power is her social class. Mayella is far from wealthy and her father has a bad reputation. While at Tom Robinson’s trial, Scout explains, “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin” (Lee Document A).

Mayella Ewell has just accused Tom Robinson of rape in a little town of Alabama called Maycomb. Mayella is a white teenaged female while Tom is a black male. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper will display if Mayella has power or no power related to her trial, with the help of class, race, and gender.

As stated before Mayella’s class is particularly important, but her race proves uttermost important in deciding that she is not powerful. She is white and should have more rights than African Americans, but she has such a low social status, she is almost at the level of a Negro. A quote from the story will prove that Mayella has degraded herself to kissing a black man, just to attempt to get away from her abusive father. “‘She reached up an’ kissed me’ side of th’ face. She says she never kissed a grown man before…. She says what her papa do to her don’t count…. I didn’t wanta harm her, Mr.Finch, an’ I say lemme pass, but just when I say it Mr.Ewell yonder hollered through th’ window’....Tom Robinson shut his eyes tight. ‘He says you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya.’” (DBQ Is Mayella powerful? 15) Mr.Ewell was clearly not talking to Tom Robinson, instead he was talking to Mayella meaning that he does not care

Mayella does not have any friends due to her situation. The people of Maycomb have trouble identifying who she truly is. Therefore, Mayella has clear racial power, but her class does not overrule it. During the trial, Tom Robinson is explaining that he did some work for Mayella. For example, he helped out with chopping wood and other chores.