Throughout the story of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout Finch and her brother, Jem, encounter the many trials of living in the small county of Maycomb, Alabama. Within their society, the ingrained principle is that those of lighter colored skin are superior to those of darker skin; Robert E. Lee Ewell is a man who strongly believes in this idea. Bob Ewell lacks compassion and love for his own daughter, leading him to beat her and force her to conceal the truth about her injuries; Additionally, Scout realizes the true corruption that lies within Mr. Ewell. He is a dishonest man who blatantly lies during the court trial, framing black man, Tom, who is likely to be seen as guilty due to the color of his skin; However, Scout is able to conclude that Tom is innocent. Although an adult, Bob Ewell never takes …show more content…
He instills fear in Mayella, therefore she feels obligated to lie during the court trial, blaming Tom Robinson for raping and choking her, causing the bruises along her neck and face. Mayella stutters when being interrogated by Atticus, almost revealing a sliver of truth when she says, “No I don’t recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me” (Lee 248). This proves to Atticus and those viewing the trial that Mayella is indeed untruthful and nervous to deliver answers with her father overseeing her. Because she was present for the court trial, Scout Finch learns that Bob Ewell is guilty, especially after Atticus reveals that Bob is left handed. Scout realizes that if Mayella’s “right eye was blacked and she was beaten mostly on the left side of the face, it would tend to show that a left handed person did it” (Lee 238). Although the court is not a place for young children, Scout’s views change when she is exposed to Bob Ewell’s cruelty and she determines that he is truly a heartless
In society, people would usually associate with others who are the most similar to them since they tend to feel more comfortable around them. For instance, in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, is a story of Mayella Ewell who is a poor, white woman living in a racist environment during the 1930s. Some people will say that Mayella isn’t sincerely powerful and others might disagree. On the contrary, Mayella doesn’t have much capability when it comes down to her low financial status and her gender; however, her race is what makes her highly powerful. Mayella lives in a tremendously poor neighborhood since she “lived behind the town garbage dump”.
Tom Robinson is caught kissing a white woman from Maycomb named Mayella Ewell. To prevent being frowned upon by the local citizens, she instead said that Tom Robinson raped her even though that was far from the truth. He’s taken into trial with the help of Atticus, and the case is unarguably one of the factors that help further the theme of innocence in Scout’s view. Atticus is determined to help Tom, even if it means that the citizens will turn against his own family because “killing a mockingbird is a sin.” As events progress, Scout is taught that discrimination solely because someone is “different” is
The Ewell’s were the kind of people in the county that should never be trusted, but once they were put in a situation regarding a black man, suddenly they were the truthful ones. Furthermore, during a conversation with Calpurnia on page 164, Scout thought about how believable the Ewells were, “‘It’s because of what folks say Tom’s done,” she said… ‘Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail…’ ‘Why, Atticus said they were absolute trash - I never heard Atticus talk about folks the way he talked about the Ewells…’” The Ewell family had the reputation of being terrible people, and even Atticus said that. However, a majority of people in town still thought Bob Ewell to be speaking the truth because he was accusing an African American, and they are always below everyone
During the trial of Tom Robinson, Atticus is the defending lawyer. He tries to turn the jury towards Bob Ewell the father of the rape victim. Atticus shows the jury that Mr. Ewell could have easily beat his daughter. The main idea that Atticus uses is that Tom Robinson didn’t hurt Mayella Ewell it was Bob Ewell. Although, at the end of the trial, Tom is found guilty and Bob Ewell grows a personal vendetta against Atticus.
Mayella lied about Tom Robinson raping her because she was scared and embarrassed to tell the truth. Tom Robinson felt sorry for her and throughout this trial, Scout came to the conclusion that “Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world”(256). Mayella was a lonely, miserable character who made a bad decision that costed someone’s life. Mayella is afraid of her father and she doesn’t tell the truth at the trial for fear that her father will beat her again. Bob Ewell and Mayella Ewell are too worried about their social standing in their community to tell the truth and this just goes to show that they hunger for acceptance in Maycomb.
After the supposed crime, Mr. Ewell and Sheriff Tate, the sheriff, said that Mayella had many bruises on the right side of her body, indicating the person hurting her must have been left-handed. Atticus, Tom's lawyer, later revealed that Tom's “left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side” (Lee 211). Due to his left arm's impairment, he could not have possibly hit Mayella and left her with all those bruises and wounds, which indicated that another person had abused her. If Tom was not the one who had maltreated her, who would be able to, Mr. Ewell, who had been embarrassed and ashamed of his daughter's behavior, had assaulted her and assigned blame to Tom. If Mayella had told the truth about what happened, she would have received a much more severe beating at home and possibly even death or exile at the hands of her father.
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.
Atticus states how Bob Ewell beat his children evidenced by “He had to take it out on somebody and I'd rather it be me than that houseful of children out there.”(pg) Mayella was afraid of her father beating her if the truth came out that she was the one who made advances toward Tom Robison. Using Atticus’s advice Scout could’ve saw a different side to the case and not only see Mayella as being guilty of all
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the Maycomb court system is totally biased in a discriminatory way. The case of Tom Robinson, if it had not been in this court with its racist jurors, would certainly have not ended the way it did. It only ended the way it did because of peer-pressure, a scared victim being manipulated and believed, and an honest man not. Through her testimony, Mayella Ewell constantly lied.
Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, explores concepts such as social inequality, racism, morals and values, coming of age, and perspective. The story follows two children, Jem and Scout, as they experience being raised in Maycomb County, Alabama. So why did Lee choose the title: To Kill a Mockingbird?
100) Scout soon learns that Bob Ewell is the prosecutor in the case. In chapter 18, Atticus proves that Bob was actually the person who beat up mayella. It takes an enormous amount of courage to beat you daughter and then blame it on someone else. At first, he said Tom assaulted her, but then changed the charge to rape.
In chapters 17-24 in To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem and Scout observe their father in court defending Tom Robinson (a black man) from the accusations of the Bob Ewell (a "low grade ' ' white man). Bob Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of sexually assaulting his daughter; Mayella Ewell. Before the fate of Tom Robinson is given in the possession of the jury, both lawyers have a final attempt at convincing the jury that Tom Robinson should/shouldn 't be prosecuted. Atticus starts off his closing remarks with the fact that he believes that the case should have never come to trial and that the case "”is as simple as black and white."
Mayella Ewell is a victim. Mayella is a victim of her father, Bob Ewell, because he is an alcoholic that abuses her. During the Tom Robinson trial, Atticus proved Bob Ewell to be left-handed. Based on Bob and Heck Tate’s testimonies, Mayella’s right eye was blackened
Blue Jays and Mockingbirds Who are the blue jays and mockingbirds of To Kill A Mockingbird? Set in the early 1930’s of America, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is a coming-of-age book that tells the story of an innocent, naive child becoming an adult through the experience and intake of racism, discrimination, and social injustice throughout the book. Harper Lee’s development, usage and characterization of her characters throughout To Kill A Mockingbird help establish two of her most important themes of the book, which are the presence of social injustice and the coexistence of good and evil. Social injustice is consistently seen throughout To Kill A Mockingbird.
To Kill A Mockingbird [Bob Ewell] Bob Ewell is a critical character in To Kill a Mockingbird, his malicious ways would not only bring turmoil to Scout and Jem's life but all of Maycomb County . The Ewells were the lowest thing next to negros no education, money or a superior social status. Mr.Ewell would often have a slight desire to change this, but the power of laziness always overcame the desire to do so. The only form of income that the family acquired was a welfare check from the government.