To Kill a Mockingbird?

Question

In the court scene of the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird", I will be glad to get answer to my following questions;

(1) The criminal (a boy) says, "She said she'd never kissed a grown man before ....and she might as well kiss me."

In this sentence, the last sentence "she might as well kiss me" has different meaning from "she wanted to kiss me."?

(2)The lawyer (Gregory Peck) speaks to the victim "Miss Mayella ...." The accused also calls her "Miss Mayella ...." Why do they put Miss on her first name. It sound strange to me, because I am a Japanese.

Thanks

Answer 1

The main reason she says "might as well kiss me" is due to the severe racial prejudice of the time. No white woman would admit to wanting to kiss a black man. Further no black man would insinuate that a white woman would want to kiss him.

"Miss" was a term of respect. Even though Mayella may not have deserved respect she was entitled to it by social norms of the time.

Answer 2

1) In this scene, the language used has a slightly different meaning, but does mean basically the same thing. The way it was stated in the movie means that she does not have any better option, where "she wanted to kiss me" indicates a desire to kiss him.

2) "Miss" is the formal title used with unmarried women. It would be the proper greeting to use with an unmarried woman that you were not familiar with.

Answer 3

Welcome to the South.

1 translates into him saying "she sure did kiss me." Might in this case means she knowingly and willingly did with force of will kiss that man. In short, she threw herself at him.

2 is a custom of respect given in the South to older ladies. In fact in some parts of the South it is still legally requires theat the terme Miss amd Mr preceed an adults name when a child is addressing them or else that child may be punished in school.

Answer 4

2nd question first: The "Miss" in front of anyone's name is an old fashioned sign of respect, especially in the American South. the story takes place in the 1930's in Georgia, so that was typical of the day. Still used in the south, mostly when addressing older people.

The first question: I think maybe she did "want" to kiss him, but did not want to let him know that. By saying "may as well" she was bringing him down to a lower level than he should have been. She wanted him to think it was sort of resignation rather than desire. She was white, he was black...she wanted him to "remember" where he stood with her.

Answer 5

u went thu all that to ask y did they call her miss its how they do it in the south. we r polite and respectfull to out elders. its a form of respect. just like if u introduce a child to an adult u say now this is ms angie or mr terry thats all it is a form of respect

Answer 6

yes its different because he was a black man and she was basically white trash so why would it matter if she kissed him. and he calls her miss because he is being polite and she treated it as if he was making fun of her when he wasn't he was just acting courteous.

Answer 7

that's just the way it is if your married it would be Mrs Mayella