How Does Mayella Ewell Have Power In To Kill A Mockingbird

The famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee deals with Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Throughout the novel, the juvenile Scout Finch transforms into a more mature young lady. There are numerous conflicts that she becomes involved in, such as the trial of Tom Robinson where Tom is wrongfully accused of raping a poor, white woman by the name of Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell, daughter of Bob Ewell, is questioned with having power. Power can be described as one who has control over his or herself. Gender, race, and class are the main points that are used to determine and measure one’s power. Mayella Ewell does not possess power in the three main categories known
as gender, race, and class. Weak and less superior to males defined women during the Great Depression. Cleaning, cooking, and caring for the children were the only responsibilities that women had. Mayella has been abused by her father, and it was not likely that she was going to stand up for herself. She could not defeat her alcoholic father’s physical and sexual abuse. When Mayella was answering Atticus’ question on whether or not she gets along with her father and when he is not tolerable, she hesitated when she answered. She looks to see Mr. Ewell as he is “Sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer.” (Lee 1960 183) which infers that she was being intimidated by him. Therefore, Mayella Ewell has no power when it comes to gender because she is weak and defenseless. Race became a significant factor of 1930’s Maycomb because racial segregation was popular during this time. Although Mayella was white, she is very lonely and isolated from everyone else. Scout states that “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.” (Lee 1960 Chapter 19) about Mayella. African Americans, who were thought to be lower than white people, did not want to associate with Mayella. Mr. Gilmer, the prosecuting attorney in the Ewell vs. Robinson case, said “You felt sorry for her?” (Lee 1960 125) to Tom Robinson because during this time, white people were superior when compared to African Americans. In other words, no one wanted anything to do with Mayella, excluding Tom because he assisted her when she needed help with work around her house and yard because he felt pity towards her. Class pertains to a person’s level of income and education.
Mayella and her family’s income and living condition is poor. Her family lives behind the town garbage dump that used to belong to African Americans. African Americans were considered to be the inferior race during this time. Scout Finch says “Its windows were merely open spaces in the walls...What passed for a fence was bits of tree-limbs, broomsticks and tool shafts.” (Lee 1960 170) to describe the Ewell’s yard. Mayella and her family did not have much education. When Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, addressed Mayella as “Ma’am” and “Miss Mayella”, she thought that Atticus was mocking her. Clear evidence that Mayella has never been shown respect or has been educated enough to know that Atticus was being polite to her. Given these points, poor and uneducated Mayella has never had respect. Overall, power is significant in To Kill a Mockingbird. Gender, race, and class are the three primary factors to determine someone’s power when analyzing a character in the novel. Mayella Ewell in particular is, the less superior gender during this time. She is uneducated academically and has a very low income. Her class and race consequently lead to her loneliness and isolation in Maycomb. Mayella Ewell does not have power in accordance with gender, race, and
class.