To Kill a Mockingbird : Discuss Your Opinion Of The Ewells.

us the prejudice that the Ewells experience from other people in Maycomb because of their low social position in the town. We learn about the Ewells mainly in the court case when Mayella Ewell has accused a black man, Tom Robinson of raping her. From the court case we learn that Bob Ewell is ignorant and quite crude in his use of language and his background: "Every town the size of Maycomb had families like the Ewells. No economic fluctuations changed their status - people like the Ewells lived as guests of the country in prosperity as well as in the depths of a depression." The Ewells lived in dirty conditions, have no money and are unemployed. They are considered to be "White trash"; they are uneducated, full of disease and do not seem to care. The Ewells lived "behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin". When the weather was very cold Ewells could not afford shoes and so cut "dandy ones from strips of old tyres". Tom Robinson asks where are the children and Mayella Ewell "says they all gone to town to get ice-creams. She says, "Took me a slap year to save some nickels, but I done it. They all gone to town." Mr. Gilmer starts to question Robert Ewell and his language is very crude. He talks about how Mayella Ewells screamed like a "stuck hog". This shows us that he had no sympathy for his daughter. Mr. Ewell takes God’s name in vain when he says, "Mayella was screaming fit to beat Jesus". Harper Lee shows Mr. Ewell as a character that we do not have sympathy because he swears; he is rude and does not deserve any respect because he does not show it for anyone else. In his questioning by Atticus we learn that Mr. Ewell does not call a doctor, as he cannot afford the five dollars. We learn that Mayellas's black eye was on the right hand side and Mr. Ewell was left-handed. This is Atticus' defense for Tom Robinson, as he cannot use his left hand. Mayella Violet Ewell is called to the stand and she starts to cry to get sympathy from the court. We learn a lot about her lifestyle, background and that she "tried to keep clean". She is the oldest of the seven children. We learn that her father spends his relief money on drinks and that she and the children have to cut up types in winter for their shoes. We also learn that there is not enough food. She is very lonely and that makes the court have sympathy for her. Mayella does not know how to reactant when Atticus keeps on calling her "miss" and "madam"! "I wondered if anybody had ever called her Miss Mayella in her life; probably not, as she took offence at routine courtesy." When Atticus questions her she appears quite nervous and is not quite nervous and is not quite sure of her story. "No I don’t recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me". This shows us that she is a liar and that the father has beat her and not Tom Robinson. The Ewells, Bob and Mayella, are both shown to be liars and this is why Bob Ewell wants revenge at the end of the story. Tom Robinson, who is a black man, feels sorry for her, which is something in a town of prejudice a black man should have never admitted. Scout sums up Mayella's position in society: "Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world. She was even lonelier than Boo Radley white people would not have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes would not have anything to do with her because she was white". Atticus makes it clear that in kissing a black man, Mayella has broken "a rigid and time-honored code of our society", in other words her loneliness made her turn to somebody that her society also felt was an outsider because of his color. At the end of the story, Bob Ewell tries to kill Scout and Jem to get back at Atticus for the humiliation he showed at the trail. He also has lost his one chance of a respectable job and he constantly taunts and frightens Helen Robinson: Mr. Ewell said, "Don't you look at me, Link Deas, like I was dirt. I ain't jumped your - "First thing you can do, Ewell, is get your stinkin' carcass of my property. You're learnin' on it an' can't afford fresh paint for it. Second thing you can do is stay away from my cook or I will have you up for assault." The community does not show any respect for the Ewells as when Mr. Link stops at the crazy gate he says “Ewell he called. I say Ewell!” This shows that there is no respect for them, as Mr. or Mrs. but just as Ewell does not call them. The Ewells behave the way they do because of the circumstances they find themselves in, the prejudice they suffer from the people of Maycomb and because of this the residents of the town did not expect anything more or less than the stereotype they had created for themselves. An example of this is when Atticus is questioning Heck Tate about what happened to Mayella after the rape had been reported. Atticus asks the sheriff if he had called a doctor and he replied "No". This just shows us how he trusted Mayella despite not having any physical evidence. Due to the abolishment of slavery there is no longer a clear distinction between the lower class whites and blacks and it is because of this that the Ewells felt threatened by the blacks. The verdict was inevitable as the history of slavery meant that the jury was always going to find Tom guilty and Mayella the victim. Whichever way he acted he would have been found guilty in the eyes of white people. If he tried to defend himself against a white woman's advances the situation would be seen to be of his making and therefore his fault. If he ran as he did it would be taken as an admission of guilt. He was in an impossible position. I think the author took the easy way out in dealing with a difficult character, Mr. Ewell. The Ewells are simply reacting to how people and life has treated them. Perhaps after Mr. Ewell’s death there will be light and hope for the future. "Mayella’s flowers at the Ewell residence can now begin to flourish".