Describe the Ewell place. Why do you think there are geraniums in the yard? Wang

The Ewell place is an old cabin behind the town dump. According to Scout, “ The cabin’s plank walls
were supplemented with sheets of corrugated iron, its roof shingled with tin cans hammered flat...Its
windows were merely holes in the wall…” (194). The Ewells are just scraping by. Mr. Ewell said that he could not even go get the doctor for Mayella because it would have cost him too much. However,
there are geraniums in the yard because Harper Lee is trying to show that even though the Ewell’s are poor, they still have more than an African American family. The geraniums show the light and hope
in the dull, falling apart cabin/house. Also at the beginning of the book, Scout describes the Ewells as
animals, but if the geraniums are tended by Mayella, it shows that she is human like the rest of
Maycomb. If Mayella is human, it goes against the Maycomb ways because the Ewells are not
supposed to be civil. The Ewells are supposed to hunt out of season, act like wild animals, and only
go to school one day a year. Scouts growing view of the Ewells have changed because if Miss
Maudie gardens and so does Mayella, the Ewell family might be human.
Are the Ewells significant in the story other than them being involved with the trial?
Are the Ewells human?

Whose side of the trial are you on?

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 24, 2019 at 8:09 PM

    The Ewells are significant in the story because they symbolize White privilege. The Ewells are not very respected in Maycomb. Despite the Maycomb way labelling them as “animals”, the town is on the Ewells’ side for the trial because of their skin color. In Chapter 17, Scout narrates, “All the little man on the witness stand had that made him any better than his nearest neighbors was, that if scrubbed with lye soap in very hot water, his skin was white”(195). This quote symbolizes that even with all the labels, rumors and disrespect for the family, the town is supporting the Ewells based on their race. If Tom Robinson was a white man, the town would most likely be on his side. The Ewells symbolize that the town does not care about a person’s reputation and will base their opinions on race.

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2019 at 5:53 AM

    Throughout the trial, Atticus has made it blatantly clear that Mr. Ewell beat his daughter. Because of Atticus’s evidence, I agree that Mr. Ewell beat his daughter. I also agree with Atticus because how could Tom Robinson, who has two different length arms, have enough strength to choke and beat up Mayella Ewell. I think that Harper Lee included the thought that of Mr. Ewell beating his daughter in the trial because she wanted the readers to see who the Ewells actually were. I also think she included this to show the readers not everybody in Maycomb is perfect, and to also show Scout that not everything in Maycomb is perfect. During the trial, Scout grows from not understanding why there is a trial, to understanding every point her father is trying to make. Overall, I agree with Atticus and the Finch Family, that Tom Robinson isn’t guilty.

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 25, 2019 at 5:55 AM

    The Ewells are the family in Maycomb that are so poor and rebellious to the point that Maycomb allows them to hunt in non-hunting season. The Ewells are significant in this story because they show us how people lived back then. Harper Lee includes the Ewells family to allow the readers to know how families were during the time period, and to allow Scout to grow and realize who the Ewells actually are. I believe the Ewells are human because Mayella has a garden and that’s pretty human. They’re just rebellious humans. I'm on Tom’s side of the trial because the people going up against Tom don’t seem truthful at all. They hesitate a lot when going up to the stand to go against Tom and Atticus.

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