Maycomb County, Alabama during the Great Depression a young lady, Mayella Ewell blamed a black man, Tom Robinson of something incredibly despicable that turned Maycomb upside down. Mayella took advantage of the laws back then so that she could end the aggression her father gave her. Mayella is powerful due to the fact that she is white, her family is the poorest family out there, but because of her color she will always be preferred over African-Americans. In “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee uses class, race, and gender to determine if Mayella has power after all. In this case, power brought her down to be on a negative side. She may be white but because of the way she lives she will never earn the trust of others, even if she is the …show more content…
When it came down to power Mayella Ewell had plenty, not only because she was a woman but because she was white. Gender and race both provided Mayella with power in which she used against Tom Robinson. Gender had some importance but race was the main topic that actually brought Tom Robinson to go to jail. Maycomb County residents all knew about Mayella and the abuse she received from her father but of course they wanted to make an innocent man in charge of something that he did not do. Because of the differences in between Mayella’s and Tom’s skin color he was sentenced to life in prison, which resulted in him trying to flee and getting shot, which resulted in his death. In this quote you can see how Tom Robinson was neglected because of his color of skin ‘“.....-the evil assumption-that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women…..’”(“DBQ: Is Mayella Powerful?”IL, Evanston, 2013.) Mayella Ewell may have gotten away with accusing an innocent man of rape but these actions actually caused the deaths of two people, one being her own father. Mayella Ewell was very powerful, in some cases not as much but she was very powerful. As you can see during the 1930s class, race, and
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Mayella is a white female who has been savagely beaten with a left hand. She is the daughter of Bob Ewell. Mayella Ewell has power in her race. Regarding her race, she doesn’t have power due to her social class or her gender. Mayella Ewell doesn’t have power in her social class since she is poor.
To Kill a Mockingbird was a very influential book in the eyes of a growing young woman in America in the 1930’s from the eyes of Jean Louise as a child and Jean reminiscing or reflecting as an adult about the past. Mayella Ewell was a white woman who was looked down upon by her own race and the African Americans were too scared to talk to her. Mayella was looked at to be powerless over her own life and others. If she is, then why does she win the case against Tom Robinson? In the town of Maycomb race, class, and gender played larger roles than some may think let's determine how.
Mayella Ewell is a powerful person. She uses her race, gender, and class to control,
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.
Is Mayella Powerful? In the past, we lived in a large racial society where many White Americans did not accept African Americans as their equals. In Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, the novel focuses on the story of a rape trial located in a non-existent town of Maycomb, Alabama. It’s about a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a poor white woman, Mayella Ewell.
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.
One way to measure power is to consider the amount of control a person has over his or her own life as well as the lives of others. Tom Robinson is an African American and has been wrongly accused of raping a poor, white woman, Mayella Ewell. Mayella says Tom attacked her and “took advantage” of her. Tom says Mayella asked him to help her with some chores, and was trying to hug and kiss him when her father appeared at the window. In To Kill A Mockingbird Mayella’s power is measured in class, gender, and race.
Understanding a person’s race, class, and gender helps you to determine whether a person has power. The setting in To Kill A Mockingbird is a small town in the south, during the 1930s. Racism is strong in this town, but fortunately Mayella is a white female. Though being white does not get her too far, she is very low class and viewed as white trash. Using these facts and everything else known about Mayella, I have determined that she is powerful.
(“DBQ: Is Mayella Ewell Powerful?” 7). The Jim Crow Laws made Mayella’s accusation of Tom raping her even worse.
The town of Maycomb, Alabama is very much like any southern town at this time. The citizens are racist and are mistrustful of blacks. Even those who were only partially black were thought of as being lesser than whites. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout asked Jem: ‘Well how do you know we ain’t Negroes?’(Lee, Harper 162). Whites would not associate themselves with half bloods because they were black and blacks would not associate themselves with them because they were white. Here, Lee shows that even