How Does Tom Robinson Use Gender Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird was written to show the Great Depression in the southern United States and what life was like during these times. Maycomb, Alabama is a little town where each person knows who you are, your class, and race. In Maycomb, race was a huge issue. Tom Robinson, a black man, was accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell, a poor white girl. However, Atticus Finch, a white man, who was representing Tom proved to the court and town Tom did not rape or beat Mayella, but Tom did not win the case due to his race. Mayella was one of the poorest people in Maycomb and part of the lower class. For this reason, I do believe that Mayella is powerful due to her class, race, and gender.
Gender in To Kill A Mockingbird had a lot to do with how Mayella was treated. Mayella being a girl, was in charge of all the housework, and taking care of her siblings. For this reason, Mayella hired Tom to help her with the work since she was so busy and her father was never really around. Women in the 1930’s were considered powerless and unintelligent. Mayella being Bob’s oldest daughter, made Bob even more furious. Bob would become very angry at Tom and tried to have him killed many times.
In Maycomb, class determines how you are treated. Mayella being part of the
Tom was threatened to be killed many times during the case. He was told that the court would never pick a colored man over a white man. (The BBQ Project, Document D) He would never be referred to as his name, Tom, but as “Negro”. Because of Mayella’s race, many people would believe her over believing Tom. A black man words were considered untrustworthy, and therefore not be believed, making this one of the reasons Mayella and Bob had an advantage in the case. Tom was never treated fairly over the course of the book because of his race. Race and discrimination helped Mayella and Bob Ewell win the court case and eventually be the reason Tom is