To Kill A Mockingbird Dbq Essay

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.

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.

Mayella Ewell is often mentally, physically, and sexually abused by her father Bob Ewell. Even though Mayella takes care of her siblings each day, she is lonely most of the time, considering nobody wants to be around her. Her father abuses her and beats her often, and Mayella wants the abuse to come to an end. Mayella comes up with and fulfills a plan to end the abuse coming from her father. Her plan involved a Negro man named Tom Robinson. Mayella accuses Tom of beating and raping her, and brings Tom to court, and goes up against him in a trial. Her plan was successful and came out in her favor because she was manipulative, and she knew what it took to win the trial. Mayella Ewell, a poor, white woman, who lives on a dump, is seen 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 is rendered powerless, due to being recessive in her social class, race, and gender. She does so in hopes of escaping her abusive father, and a chance to have a better life. Although Mayella is white, she has been shunned by African Americans and other white people. 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 was mistreated and abused.

In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” Scout Finch is the narrator (DBQ Project, p.7). She tells about the different things that happened in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s (DBQ Project, p.7). She also talked about the people in the town. Scout talked about a specific trial that completely rocked the town. The case involved a white girl named Mayella Ewell and an African American man named Tom Robinson (DBQ Project, p.7). Mayella Ewell had no friends, she was poor, and because of her gender was not looked at as superior, although under those circumstances she was able to have influence within the case based on her class, gender, and race (DBQ Document A, p.13).

robinson said “ tried to help her, I says” when asked “ why were you so anxious to do that woman's chores”. (Lee,chapter 19))This shows how Tom robinson a black man felt sorry for mayella and her circumstances. Showing he thought she needed help. Tom robinson also said that mayella kissed him.” she said she never kissed a man before and what her papa do to her don't count “.(Lee,chapter 18)

Mayella does not have power involving social class, The Ewells are a poor family, and her father, Bob Ewell, is looked down upon by the town. During Tom Robinson’s trial, Bob Ewell thought of himself as “a hero, but all he got for his pain was… okay we’ll convict this Negro, but get back to your dump” (Lee

In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Mayella Ewell is one of the characters that drive the story. Mayella has convicted a black man, Tom Robinson, of rape. In the three aspects of class, race, and gender, Mayella has a lot of power because she is a white woman living in the south during the 1930’s, when blacks did not have a lot of power compared to whites, and she is protected under the Jim Crow laws.     Mayella gets a lot of power from her race. She is a white woman that is living in the south during the 1930’s, which was when colored and white people were separated, and whites had a lot of power over blacks.

On July 11, 1960 , Harper Lee made history by publishing To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel depicts a society filled with racial prejudice and inequality in the 1960s. More specifically, the novel revolves around a court case involving a black man who is wrongly accused of raping a 19 year old white girl. The defense attorney for the black man states that the case has an “inevitable verdict” (253). How could a verdict be inevitable? In fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, cases involving a white victim and a black defendant are solely based on prejudice against blacks; a prejudice founded in fear and sustained by segregation. While some might believe these racial divisions to be a thing of the past, recent events in Ferguson, Missouri suggest otherwise. Both Maycomb County and Ferguson, Missouri suffer not only from deep racial divides, but also from a police force that drives the wedge deeper.

Mayella’s family is really poor, so her class is very low making her powerless. The Ewell’s place use to be a negro cabin with windows that were “merely open spaces in walls” (Doc A). In her yard, everything was dirty and shabby except for “six…jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for tenderly” (Doc A).

"White people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white”. Mayella Ewell is a poor, 19 year old that lives with her father and siblings. She is usually home by herself and has to take care of the house and the younger kids. She gets abused by her father and is mistreated by him often. Class, race , and gender all can limit the amount of power that Nineteen-year old Mayella Ewell, can have.

Mayell is a female who is very lonely. The whites do not want anything to do with her because she lives among pigs, and the negros do not want anything to do with her because she is white. Even though Mayella lives with pigs she still tries to keep herself clean “I was reminded of the red geraniums in the Ewell yard” (Lee, chapter 18). On the corner of the house there is red geraniums that looks as if Mayella has taken good care of. Living in a house that is almost worn down and in a yard that is disgusting Mayalla still tries to keep some of the house looking nice.

One theme of To Kill a Mockingbird, portrayed excellently by Harper Lee, is inequalities due to race and social class. For example, When going to Calpurnia’s church, Scout and Jem quickly noticed that ‘“there [wasn’t] any hymn-books’” (Lee 64). This relates back to the theme of inequalities due to race and social class because most of the black people couldn’t read so hymn-books would have been useless, but Scout and Jem, who are white children, can read and prefer using hymn-books. This shows how the black and white school systems are not fair and how much white education was far more superior to black education. Furthermore, When Tom Robinson went to court, it became clear that he did not rape Mayella Ewell. It was up to the jury to decide

In Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Mayella Ewell has power when it comes to race, class, and gender. Mayella is ranked socially as lower classed and poor. She is living in an abandoned home on the poor side of town next to the colored housing areas. Mayella tries to gain power during the trial of Tom Robinson, Tom is a poor colored man that was on trial for the rape of Mayella Ewell. Tom and Mayella both fight for power during the trial. Does Mayella have more power over the jury? Did Tom lie, did he rape Mayella? Is Mayella socially ranked higher than Tom?