Mayella and Boo: Class notes
After a discussion in y11 around an essay which asked for ‘children who suffer’ in the novel to be compared, we developed this list. I suggest that students find evidence to support these statements and to extend them.
| Mayella | Boo |
| Single parent family | Single parent family |
| Abusive father (sexually) | Abusive father (neglect) |
| Uneducated (choice of family) | Uneducated beyond a teen years (father) |
| Mother figure to siblings | No siblings but seems to wish to care for the children |
| Coward in the trial (moral) | Brave at end (physical) |
| Tries to improve life for children: geraniums | Gifts in the tree |
| Bigoted –picked up from father | |
| Appalling living conditions clearly described | Home likened to Gothic haunted house. |
I think that the key to this essay might be to look at how the children cope with their ‘suffering’ – in this case Boo rises above it and does what is right, yet Mayella could be said to lack that moral compass. Setting is relevant as well and students might wish to consider the difference between the Radley house which has the best view of all the events in the novel against the house on the dump.
There is much more to find, but this is a start….
English Teaching Resources 