Friday, June 26, 2015

What does Mayella think of Atticus in the book To Kill A Mockingbird?

One of the highlights of the novel is the cross examination by attorney Atticus Finch of Mayella Ewell, who has accused the young black man Tom Robinson of raping her. Atticus begins his questions in an almost gentle, condescending manner before later questioning the honesty and intentions of Mayella. But Mayella finally breaks, and in one short, fiery response, she fires back at Atticus before refusing to answer any more questions:


"...if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, stinkin' cowards, the lot of you. You're fancy airs don't come to nothin'--your ma'amin' and Miss Mayellerin' don't come to nothin', Mr. Finch."


Because the Ewells are a family of outcasts in Maycomb, Mayella realizes that she will get little special treatment from the townspeople, even though she is white and Tom is black. To her, the honest-to-a-fault Atticus is just another man who looks down his nose at the Ewells.

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