ENG1DB Novel Study Unit: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

BRAINSTORMING/THINKING ACTIVITY: Analyze Mayella Ewell’s Character

  • This brainstorming/thinking activity is meant to effectively prepare students for their upcoming IN-CLASS EVALUATION(a Formal Persuasive Paragraph Evaluation that will be distributed to students on Wednesday November 18th).
  • Please answer the following thinking questions in point form directly on this handout (do not write on a separate sheet of lined paper).These responses will compose your brainstorming/thinking notes for your upcoming paragraph evaluation and they are meant to assist you in establishing your position on the topic question for this assignment (to be given on Wednesday).
  • These planning notes will help you to review the key chapters of the novel in which Mayella Ewell is characterized and in which the impact of her actions is explored in depth (chapters #17-22).
  • Finally, these notes will help you take a position on the assigned topic question; they will assist you with writing your thesis statement (you must have a clear thesis statement that takes a position and is developed throughout the paragraph), and they will aid you in formulating your supporting arguments.

KEY QUESTIONS TOCONSIDER ABOUT MAYELLA EWELL:

  1. Describe in detailwhat important character information readers learn about Mayella Ewell from the testimony of Heck Tate, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson.

Heck Tate’s Testimony:

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Bob Ewell’s Testimony:

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Mayella Ewell’s Testimony:

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Tom Robinson’s Testimony:

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  1. To what degree is the courthouse moved to sympathy for Mayella? Do you feel sorry for her as a reader? Why or why not?

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  1. Why do you think Mayella Ewell pursues a physical relationship with Tom Robinson? Explain using specific detail from the novel.

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  1. Examine Atticus's closing remarks to the jury in reference to Mayella. He says, “She has merely broken a rigid and time honoured code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with...” What code has Mayella broken? Explain clearly and thoughtfully.

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  1. What do you think will happen to Mayellaafter the trial? How will the people in Maycomb treat her? How will her own father treat her? Why would she have been “hounded” from the midst of Maycomb citizens?

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  1. At the beginning of the story Scout says, “I maintain that the Ewellsstarted it all.” Does this statement have greater significance now that you have read the trial? What did the Ewell family ultimately start? Explain.

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  1. Is Mayella Ewell merely a victim of poverty, ignorance, discrimination, bigotry, and alienationOR is Mayella responsible for her own behaviour and her own circumstances? Agree, disagree, and explore!

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  1. As a reader, is your pity for Mayella greater than your contempt for her?

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  1. Should Mayella have known better than to kiss Tom? Should Mayella have known better than to wrongfullyaccuse Tom of a crime that he did not commit?

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