Class, Gender, and Race in ​To Kill a Mockingbird​: Is Mayella powerful?

Throughout Harper Lee’s ​To Kill a Mockingbird ​we see the buildup to the trial of ​Mayella
Ewell v.s. Tom Robinson​. Mayella claims that she was raped by Tom Robinson and must use
her power to have the jury in her favor. In some ways, Mayella has power in society, but is in
some ways weak. This essay will assess how Mayella’s power is affected by both her race
positively and class negatively.

One of the greatest ways that Mayella has power over Tom is through her race.
Maycomb, a racist Southern town, immediately gives power to Mayella, a white person, over
Tom, a black person. When Tom tries to show he is innocent, it is easily ignored by the jury due
to his race. In the book we hear Reverend Sykes state that he “ain’t ever seen any jury ever
decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Document D). We further see how this
jury is directly against Tom due to his race. We see that the “damage was done” when Tom
feels sorry for a white woman (Document E). Furthermore, Atticus explains how people will evilly
assume that “​all ​Negroes lie... are immoral beings” and “are not to be trusted” (Document D). All
of this explains how Mayella, as a white person, will have the power over Tom in public opinion.

We see in some ways Mayella is seen as better than others, but not in all ways. Mayella
is lower in class then the rest of society which gives her a disadvantage while on trial. In
Document A, he home is described as a dump causing the rest of society to look down on her.
To show she is of lower class, we see her awful reaction to being treated with respect. When
Atticus refers to her as ma’am and Miss Mayela, she responds believing Atticus is mocking her
and she isn't “called upon to take it” (Document C). Due to her lower class, she is not treated
with the same respect as other members of society. It is said that “white people wouldn’t have
anything to do with her because she lived among pigs” (Document E). This lack of respect
shows her lack of power in this way in both society and the trial.

In conclusion, Mayella Ewell is in some ways powerful and in some ways not in society.
While her race puts her above black people, her lower class still makes her lower than the
average white woman. Due to this, Mayella is able to win the trial against Tom but must then
“get back to (her) dump” (Document A). Due to everything shown in this essay we can asses
that Mayella is slightly powerful, such as being higher that black people, but is still seen as weak
compared to the average person.