Monday, October 1, 2018
Chapter 18-19: What do you make of Mayella Ewell's testimony? Pay close attention to her physical appearance, speech, and attitude.
Mayella Ewell's testimony is unlike any other because she is attacking Atticus and continuously correcting herself. Mayella Ewell’s father Bob Ewell accused Tom Robinson an African American Man of raping Mayella. Mayella Ewell was called to the witness stand and had to make her testimony. Throughout the evidence and questioning from Atticus Mayella was defensive and hesitant. Mayella was hesitant when she said, “no I don’t recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me”(Lee 248). What shows that she is hesitant is that she said one thing and then took it back to tell another something that was completely different. Her speech was very tense and planed out. Mayella Ewell was indicated that she was using remarks that were not genuine. Mayella Ewell was very hesitant meaning that her testimony wasn’t truthful and she was lying about Tom Robinson raping her.
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I agree that Mayella Ewell's testimony was different to everyone else's. Mayella Ewell seems controlled by her father, whenever she was unsure she would stutter and she would look in her fathers direction. I have the feeling that Mayella doesn't have a very safe household, and I think that her father abuses her. A moment in chapter eighteen that I found especially interesting was when Atticus asked Mayella "Do you love your father, Miss Mayella?" (Lee 245). When she says “He does tollable, ‘cept when—” (Lee 245). This picture of the court room silent as Mayella begins to give the reader a hint of the decision that she has to make, between her father, and the truth. I also get a feeling that Mayella and her father are not very close, and this case is putting more tension on their relationship. When Mayella begins to tell her story as a witness, through Harper Lee's writing I was able to walk in Mayella Ewell's shoes.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Mayella structured her testimony very differently than others. She decided to fight Atticus rather than comply with him. Mayella was also heavily influenced by her father. Clearly, Mayella’s father abused Mayella and used that power to make sure she lied to make it seem like Tom Robinson raped her. She is always looking over at her father and correcting her story. “Don’t recollect if he hit me, I mean, yes he do hit me” (Lee 248). Aside from that, Mayella’s physical appearance is the opposite of the Ewells. Mayella seems to bath regularly and tries to make herself look orderly. In her testimony, Mayella is hinting that her father abused her and that she doesn’t want to be a part of the Ewell clan.
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