There are several things in Mayella's testimony that
actually aid Atticus' case, despite Mayella not being one of Atticus'
witnesses.
Firstly, Mayella is cross-examined by
Atticus, but she seems to be very unsure of what happened/what she has to say. This
gives the audience reason to believe that Mayella Ewell is lying about what actually
happened in the Ewell home with Tom.
Secondly, Mayella
unwittingly paints a picture of life at the Ewells' home. It is made clear that she is
incredibly lonely and sad with her life; she has no friends and even thinks that Atticus
is mocking her when he asks her about this. It also shows that Tom Robinson really did
'feel sorry for her' when he came in to help her with her
work.
Thirdly, Mayella herself casts doubt on the fact
that Tom Robinson beat her, by accidentally revealing facts about her father. Mayella
mentions that her father gets very mad when he's drunk (which we know happens very
often) and this implies that he has beaten her before. This means that it is likely that
Bob Ewell beat his own daughter, not Tom Robinson.
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