To Kill A Mockingbird Power Essay

Mayella is not powerful under the circumstances of her race. In the trial Atticus Finch is questioning Mayella by calling her Ma’am and Miss Mayella. She says, “...He keeps on callin’ me ma’am and sayin’ Miss Mayella. I don’t hafta take his sass…”. (“DBQ is Mayella Ewell Powerful?” 17) Later in the trial Mr. Gilmer is speaking to Tom Robinson and calls him “boy” ,even though Tom is a grown man that should be called sir. Tom knows how to be treated though being black. Mayella did not understand how to be treated formally. Mayella is white and does not get treated fairly though being white, and Tom knows how to be treated and does not dispute about it being black. This shows how Mayella is not powerful, even within the standards of race.

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

Mayella does not have power because of class and gender. Mayella has power because of race. The result of the verdict was guilty because of the racism between blacks and

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.

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

She goes through obstacles in her life on a daily basis and is believed not to be of much worth. Words such as dirty, poor, victim, and social outcast is used to describe Mayella. In measuring how much power Mayella holds, race, gender, and class shows herself having barely any power at all. Concerning her life at home with her abusive father, the way people see her, and how she is considered inferior as a person compared to males, Mayella cannot control her life the way she wishes. Throughout her life, she has experienced little to no respect and inappropriate actions involving her

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

Tom Robinson’s trial for miscegenistic rape and his ultimate death paralleling in importance Tracy Deen and Nonnie Andersons interracial affair. The Ewells knows that they are the lowest of the among. The whites in Maycomb they have no money, education, and breeding. Bob and Mayella would like to better their station in life. Bob is unwilling to to put forth the effort necessary to change. She suffer from abuse at the hands from her drinking father. Mayella kisses Tom Robinson because of an emotional need to feel loved. She receives beatings and is raped by her father. Mayella

Mayella is a woman, and Tom Robinson is a man. In document B, we all know Mayella is a woman. In their situation, because Mayella is a woman and Tom is a man, it makes the story much different if they were both men. An average woman is much more likely to be physically weaker than an average man. This gives Mayella the advantage in the debate. A man should not touch or lay a hand on a woman. Also in document E, Tom is a man willing to help Mayella. Why would Tom Robinson be so anxious to do a woman's chores? Tom Robinson claims he just felt sorry for Mayella. Based off his answer, no one liked what he had just said. That only made him seem worse than he already

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

Is Mayella powerful in race? She is white, with a white jury, and in a room mostly filled with white people, and no matter what, they will always go in her favor when she is up against Tom Robinson. Mayella tried to seduce Tom so he will convict of rape. In Document D, Mr. Glimmer and Tom were talking, “‘ Like I say before, it weren’t safe… to be in a-fix like that.’ ‘But you weren’t in a fix-you testified that you were

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).

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”. Discuss this quote from Atticus in relation to 3 characters from the novel.

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird a major theme is the loss of innocence. Whether from emotional abuse, racial prejudice or learning, Boo, Tom, and Scout all lose their innocence in one sense or another. The prejudice that each character endures leads to their loss. Through the responses of Boo, Tom, and Scout, Harper Lee shows how each character responded differently to their loss of innocence.

Is Mayella powerful based on her class, gender, and race? Mayella lacks power in class, but she has the upper hand when it comes to gender and race. Mayella Ewell is literally powerless when it comes to the category of class. She is considered to be a very low class citizen. For example, the text shows evidence of her class by saying that the Ewells “lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin.”