From the time she takes the witness stand, Mayella Ewell is an unsteady and
unbelievable witness. She takes the kind respect ofas an effort to insult her and admits with a
nod that when her father is drinking, things can get tough.
At one point
during Mayella's testimony, Atticus asks Tom to rise and then asks Mayella if this is the man
who raped her.
She replies, "It most certainly is."
This testimony is a clear fabrication, as it is clear even toandthat Tom could could
not have assaulted Mayella in the ways she has testified because of the injuries he sustained to
one arm when he was a boy.
Atticus simply responds with a one-word question:
"How?"
Mayella defends her testimony, saying, "I don't know
how he done it, but he done itI said it all happened so fast I"
Try as
he might, Atticus cannot get Mayella to modify her testimony to reflect the facts of the case,
and she finally ends her time on the stand with a vocal outburst that is both racially
inflammatory and...
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