Question

Why does Mayella Ewell accuse Tom Robinson of beating her?

Answer 1

Greetings, Gary.

- Why does Mayella Ewell accuse Tom Robinson of beating her?-

Let's go through all of the answer choices to see which one is correct.

A) Because she wants to blackmail Tom's family.

(A) is incorrect because Mayella never mentioned anything about Tom's family, & blackmailing them wouldn't exactly do anything, because remember, Tom's family is black while Mayella's family is white.

B) Because she is ashamed of her own actions and afraid of her father.

(B) is correct because Mayella herself went up and approached Tom. Now remember, in this time-period, black people could not be in relationships with white people, so you would be an outcast if you ever married or had any sexual relations with the opposite color. Her father is also an alcoholic, and is known throughout town for always yelling and being drunk. So, Mayella would most-likely be scared of him, because she is the eldest of 7 children.

C) Because she wants attention from the townspeople.

(C) is incorrect because if I were Mayella, I would never want the townspeople to pay attention to my family, because the Ewell's were dirt-poor & lived by the town dump. Mayella is not the one who wants attention from the townspeople, her father is.

D) Because he did beat her.

(D) is incorrect because the evidence showed that a man who had the use of BOTH arms, and who had a dominant left hand, was the one that beat her. Tom only has the use of one hand, because his left hand was hurt when he was younger when he was using a cotton gin. However, Bob Ewell has access to both hands and has a dominant left hand, so that shows that Tom did not beat Mayella, Bob Ewell did.

So, once again, your answer is B) Because she is ashamed of her own actions and afraid of her father.

~Hope I helped, Gary!~

Answer 2

I believe the answer is B.  She was ashamed because she was the one who "approached" Tom Robinson and he turned her down.  Her father is the one who abused her and she is afraid of him.