In To Kill A Mockingbird, to what extent is Mayella Ewell like/not like her father and what is meant by "has she got good sense"?Harper Lee's To...

Mayella Ewell is a significant character in Harper Lee's
To Kill a Mockingbird because she, in fact, is the catalyst for
most of the action of the second half of the novel.  In addition, she represents most of
the attitudes of those who have Maycomb's "usual disease."  Mayella is definitely a
Ewell.  She lives in a sordid environment that is characterized by filth and garbage. 
However, she brings one spot of beauty to the hovel where the Ewell family lives:  along
a crumbling wall are six, chipped slop jars from which bloom bright red geraniums.  This
detail suggests that there is something of value in Mayella, something that if it were
nurtured could help her develop as a decent person unlike her father who is a degenerate
man.  He is cruel and sexually perverse and shiftless, refusing to work or parent his
children.  All the work in the household is left to Mayella while he sometimes kills
some animals for food.  With no parental guidance--abuse is all she receives from her
father--Mayella must raise herself and care for her younger siblings, as well.  It is no
wonder that she does not know how to react to the politeness of Atticus Finch in the
classroom, nor does she understand all that goes on in the courtroom.  When she first
comes to the stand, she talks behind her hands and cries before Judge Taylor.  When the
judge tries to reassure her that she has nothing to fear, Mayella says that she does not
want Atticus to "do me like he done Papa, tryin' to make him out left-handed...."  In
response, Judge Taylor tells Mayella to sit up straight and tell the court what
happened.  Because she acts so childishly, Scout whispers to Jem, "Has she got good
sense?"  Her brother replies that Mayella has enough sense to get the judge to feel
sorry for her, but she might just be acting.

Thus, it seems
that Mayella has some of the deviousness of her father; she should still know not to
repay Tom Robinson's kindness with the contempt that she displays in the courtroom. 
Certainly, her accusing lies and behavior which cost Tom his life are as reprehensible
as any act, including his attack upon the children, that her father
commits.