Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Where does Bob Ewell say he hates black people in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Often the diction of people indicates their feelings, rather than any overt declaration. Such is the case with Bob Ewell.


When he is on the witness stand in Chapter 17, Ewell claims that he heard his daughter screaming and he ran to the window of his house only to discover "that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella." Here, Ewell's use of a most pejorative term indicates his attitude toward African Americans. Certainly, the black people in the balcony recognize the hateful use of a degrading term from Ewell as "there was an angry muffled groan from the colored people," Scout narrates.


Then, in Chapter 23, as Atticus was leaving the post office, Bob Ewell spits in his face. When Atticus wipes his face with his handkerchief, Ewell asks, "Too proud to fight, you nigger-lovin' bastard?" but Atticus answers, "No, too old." Here Ewell's diction and its implication suggest that there is something terribly wrong with Atticus for wanting to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, whom Ewell has made the scapegoat for his daughter's behavior of which he disapproves.

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