Essay About Allegedly by Tiffany D.Jackson

Mary’s role in Alyssa’s murder is clear; It’s a very miniscule role in the grand scheme of things. Mary has admitted to possibly killing Alyssa, however, with her blackouts it’s difficult to believe everything that she says. With an unreliable narrator, relying on the evidence is key, and that evidence points all the arrows in Dawn Copper’s direction. Dawn, Mary’s mother, has been manipulating Mary this entire time and she’s been taking advantage of her daughter's love for her mother.

When looking over Mary’s character, it’s devastatingly clear that she has no motive to kill Alyssa. Mary loved Alyssa like a sister. Sometimes, her love for Alyssa was even a little concerning, but it was never the motive for Mary to kill Alyssa. Dawn, on the other hand, had reason to cause harm to Alyssa. Dawn was jealous. Jealous of Alyssa, jealous of Mrs. Richardson, jealous of the perfect family they had. Dawn always had family issues, from when her younger brother died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) to when her own son died from SIDS. Dawn never recovered mentally from the deaths, hence why she had “days” that she couldn’t do anything on. Dawn just wanted what Alyssa had, she wanted what Mrs. Richardson was going to have in the future, so she acted on her jealousy and ended up doing something drastic. In the novel Mary states, “You [Dawn] never liked Alyssa. You were glad she got hurt…I know she thought about hurting Alyssa”, (Page 369, Jackson). When confronted about her jealousy, Dawn didn’t even try to say otherwise, proving that what Mary said was true. Dawn didn’t like Alyssa, which could be the motive for killing her.

There have been countless scenes in the novel that imply Dawn killed Alyssa. The first time, Mary said, “All I can do is watch, accepting the consequences that I let her go free. Again”, (Page 77, Jackson). As Mary watched her mom walk away, by saying “again”, it’s hinted that this isn’t the first time Dawn is walking away from her problems, like how she walked away from facing her consequences of killing Alyssa. Closer to the end of the story, Dawn says, “A couple of years ain’t nothing. But me, I would’ve died in the prison”, (Page 365, Jackson). By saying this, it is understood that Dawn admits that she should’ve gone to prison, but she let her daughter take the fall. Dawn knew that Mary would be able to survive the consequences. Dawn knew that Mary would come out of it. Dawn knew that Mary would do anything for her momma.

The autopsy done of Alyssa proved that her cause of death was different from what Mary had been saying this entire time. The report said that Alyssa was bruised, severely. Bruises such as the ones found on Alyssa would have only been caused by a beating, not by being thrown. The report states, “Cause of Death: Asphyxia due to strangulation”, (Page 54, Jackson). Being strangled wouldn’t be the reason for her death if she were actually thrown by Mary. The stories don’t line up. Even Mrs. Richardson could agree that her baby looked like she was beaten. “She looked like she’d been beaten…with a cane or stick or something”, (Page 148, Jackson). A baby being beaten with a cane can only happen when the abuser holds a hatred towards the child. Hatred and jealousy such as the one that Dawn had for Alyssa. Later, when Mary gives her explanation of what happened that day, she puts everything on her mom. “Momma was stuffing something inside her [Alyssa’s] mouth…she went in my room with Alyssa and locked the door. I heard noises. Like she was hitting something”, (Page 224, Jackson). Dawn was hitting Alyssa, explaining the bruises and the strangulation marks that were found on Alyssa’s body. According to Mary and all the evidence in the case, Dawn killed Alyssa.

Mary B. Addison has been framed for killing Alyssa, when all along, it’s always been Dawn, her mom. Dawn had enough reason to kill Alyssa, and she didn’t want to take the fall due to selfish reasons, so she let her daughter go to prison for her. Dawn knew that Mary would do anything for her mother in a heartbeat because of the sheer amount of love Mary had for her mom. Mary has been manipulated into thinking that she killed Alyssa, and Dawn Copper is the reason for all of it.