I'll bet if Maycomb were a real town, and we could visit there today, we'd still find Cunninghams and Ewells and Haverfords--and they would still have the same reputations as in the novel.
Yes, its quite true. The Ewells did it to gain acceptance from the white. Under the social hierachy system, the Ewells come just above the black community and is labelled as "white trash". Unfortunately for them, their plan backfired on them and rather than gaining acceptance, they are further disliked and look down upon.
As for your question, is a little hard to pronounce a clear answer because tere is no concrete evidence which will lead us only to speculate. Its probably a plan conspired together. But Bob Ewell has definitely a more domineering and authoritative attitude and probably is the one who decided on deceiving the court and claiming the purport rape
i thought about it and i came up with both of the ewells claimed it because the end was a metiphore it was intentional for bob to die he did kill himself just saying
Good question!
The film was on TV today, and I watched just a little of the courtroom scene. The way Mayella testifies suggests to me that the film makers believe the lie was Bob's idea. Mayella stumbles through her testimony and backtracks a lot, as if she is not sure of her story.
I believe the lie is Bob's idea. He calls Mayella a whore, indicating he knows the truth of how Tom came to be in the house, with no children about. After he beats Mayella up, he needs a reason for her to be bruised. Maybe she threatened to tell Heck Tate that he beat her up, so he forced her to lie. This would serve several useful purposes for Bob Ewell: get rid of Tom, i.e. the temptation for Mayella; explain Mayella's bruises; elevate his status in Maycomb, as the father of a white victim of black violence.
Tylorf, your post is confusing. Can you explain what you mean in saying the end is a metaphor and Bob killed himself? You do understand that Arthur killed Bob, don't you?
