How Does Mayella Ewell Show Courage

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To Kill a Mockingbird Essay The most prominent, recurring theme shown throughout the entirety of To Kill a Mockingbird was inarguably courage. Displayed quite blatantly from time to time by the likes of Atticus, Scout, Jem, and other main focuses of the novel, it was mainly thanks to a handful of supporting characters that this theme was actually able to remain strong during almost every section of the book. The story of Mrs. Dubose, the fire of Ms Maudie’s home, and the trial stand of Mayella Ewell really define ‘courage’. Mrs. Dubose from the eyes of Scout and Jem had always, in the beginning, been portrayed as nothing more than a sour, and bitter old woman. Without knowing anything about her initially, Mrs Dubose was cast away in their …show more content…
Only 19 and a half years old, motherless, almost solely responsible for caring for several brothers and sisters, and isolated from the rest of society, Mayella Ewell doesn’t have many bright sides to her. During the trial you instantly can tell the one parent she does have doesn’t care much for her, and in any case scares her, seen by the way she couldn’t even finish her statement about his tolerability. It shows her fear for him initially, and that he's controlling, but she’s able to overcome that briefly during Atticus’ next question, where she nodded ‘yes’ in answer to her father’s drunken habits, showing an unconscious decision to overrule him. Although these signs were clear enough, more is uncovered about Mayella’s home state during Tom’s testimony as well, when he quotes Mayella, saying she told him “What my papa do to me don’t count”(260), used in the implied context of rape or other romantic/ sexual activities. To be so young, dealing with this abuse, isolation, and living in her home’s all around awful conditions, Mayella shows courage every day just for living. Though never realized by the likes of Scout and Jem, Mayella was outstandingly brave in her own