Mayella Ewell is a person who craves attention. She seeks that attention by lying, breaking social codes, and accusing a black man of rape. Her and her father Bob Ewell, seek to improve their social standing and try to get the community to sympathize with them in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."
             One example is when Mayella seeks attention, and looks to raise her social standing by lying and accusing Tom Robinson of rape. She and her father make up a story about Tom Robinson, a black man. In their story Tom overpowers Mayella, rapes her, beats her and runs off. When in reality, Mayella tried to seduce Tom and attempts to kiss him, while this is taking place her father walks in and runs Tom off, this is one example of mayella's lies. Another example is when mayella was at her trial on the stand. When asked by Atticus if her father ever abused her, she seamed the stutter and then say "my pa's never laid a hand on me" when it was very apparent that her father both phycally and sexually abused her. Mayella was a victim of her father's abuse, and also craved sympathy and approval from others.
             During the course of the book Mayella tries to kiss a black man named Tom Robinson. This story takes place around the 1950'S in Maycomb Alabama, when the act of a white woman kissing a black man was considered breaking the social code.
             Mayella had a tendency to ask for Tom's help every time he walked by her house. Mayella had secretly been saving money for so she could send her siblings to go get ice cream one day. That day she asked Tom to come up to the second floor and fix a door, while Tom was on the chair Mayella grabbed him legs and kissed him when her pa walked in, Tom ran as fast as he could for fear of Bob Ewell shooting him. Mayella felt that Tom was some one who paid attention to her and she was attracted to him because of that.
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