In describing Mayella, on the first page of chapter 18 Lee
says of her,
"she seemed somehow fragile-looking, but when
she sat facing us in the witness chair she became what she was, a thick-bodied girl
accustomed to strenuous labor... Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean, and I was
reminded of the row of red geraniums in the Ewell
yard."
These descriptors
demonstrate that Mayella maybe lived in a circumstance that was certainly not of her
choosing. She seems as if she wanted to be feminine, but had to play a role that gave
her great work. She made effort to be presentable and fit as best she could the
definition of "woman" but unfortunately, that wasn't really
possible.
Her responses in the courtroom further
demonstrate an inability to endure common courtesy, something a regular Southern woman
would handle quite well. When Atticus used "ma'am" and "Miss Mayella" she took it
offensively. She had practiced her responses and got confused between the truth and
lies. This is a lonely girl, who due to her father's poor choices lacked friends,
intellect and love.
Robinson was as honest as he could be.
Chapter 19's first paragraph describes Tom with these
words:
"Thomas
Robinson reached around, ran his fingers under his left arm and lifted it. He guided his
arm to the Bible and his rubber-like left hand sought contact with the black binding. As
he raised his right hand, the useless one slipped off the Bible and hit the clerk’s
table."
Tom's obvious flaw is
that he is a cripple. In this circumstance his flaw should arise as a benefit. But the
jury doesn't seem to see it that way.
Trial chapters are
17-20 if you want to dig for some good quotes.
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