Bob Ewell Essay
Bob Ewell is a character in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Bob Ewell is the head of the Ewell family, a poor family who lives in the town dump. Bob Ewell has many children, but his wife is deceased. Bob Ewell’s racist attitude, fecklessness and vengefulness make him one of the most hated and wicked characters in the book.
Bob Ewell is thought of as the most despicable man in all of Maycomb, except for its black residents, who the racists of the town think are worse than anyone else. Bob Ewell is one of these racists, and throughout the novel he shows that he thinks himself better than any black man. He shows his racist attitude many times at his trial. For example Bob Ewell does not refer to Tom Robinson by his name, instead he states "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!". In addition to not calling him by name; he also uses language associated with animals, “ruttin” as well as later saying “I've asked this county for fifteen years to clean out that nest down yon- der, they're dangerous to live around 'sides devaluin' my property-". In the previous quote Bob Ewell also shows he believes in the stereotype that all black men are criminals, and states his belief that they are devaluing his property more than the nearby dump. Finally, he tells Atticus “ I'm real sorry they picked you to defend that nigger that raped my Mayella. I don't know why I didn't kill him myself instead of goin' to the sheriff. That would have saved you and the sheriff and the taxpayers lots of trouble.”. He shows his racism here in that he believes that the law would be on his side against a black man no matter what happend, even if he had killed Tom. While it is clear that Bob Ewell was born into a poor and troubled family, he shows no ambition to improve his state of being. He is so lazy that he is known for being the only man to be fired from the WPA for laziness. Moreover, Ewell does not give his children an education, nor does he have one himself. He
Bob Ewell is thought of as the most despicable man in all of Maycomb, except for its black residents, who the racists of the town think are worse than anyone else. Bob Ewell is one of these racists, and throughout the novel he shows that he thinks himself better than any black man. He shows his racist attitude many times at his trial. For example Bob Ewell does not refer to Tom Robinson by his name, instead he states "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!". In addition to not calling him by name; he also uses language associated with animals, “ruttin” as well as later saying “I've asked this county for fifteen years to clean out that nest down yon- der, they're dangerous to live around 'sides devaluin' my property-". In the previous quote Bob Ewell also shows he believes in the stereotype that all black men are criminals, and states his belief that they are devaluing his property more than the nearby dump. Finally, he tells Atticus “ I'm real sorry they picked you to defend that nigger that raped my Mayella. I don't know why I didn't kill him myself instead of goin' to the sheriff. That would have saved you and the sheriff and the taxpayers lots of trouble.”. He shows his racism here in that he believes that the law would be on his side against a black man no matter what happend, even if he had killed Tom. While it is clear that Bob Ewell was born into a poor and troubled family, he shows no ambition to improve his state of being. He is so lazy that he is known for being the only man to be fired from the WPA for laziness. Moreover, Ewell does not give his children an education, nor does he have one himself. He