In Chapter 19 of To Kill A
Mockingbird, readers learn, through Tom's testimony, that all of Mayella's
siblings were in town getting ice cream at the time of the supposed
attack.
During Atticus's questioning, Tom tells the court
that when he questioned Mayella about her siblings' absence, Mayella told
him,
It took
me a slap year to save seb'm nickels, but I done it. They all gone to
town.
This information is
significant because it shows us that Mayella is the primary caretaker of her siblings
(we know that she keeps a garden despite the fact that the family lives behind the town
dump) and that she cares for them enough to save all the money she got for their
benefit. Further, this plot to send the kids to town was probably an attempt for
Mayella to get time alone with Tom. Ultimately, readers see Mayella as a lonely
character who falsely accuses Tom Robinson of rape in order to cover up the fact that
she made advances toward him.
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