Survival is an interesting topic, because everyone has a series of unique trials to endure in life, and our choices in those situations are simply the result of an attempt to ensure our own survival. At the end of the day, whatever survival means for the individual they will fight for it with all they have, sometimes at the expense of others. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the 1930’s – a time when racism, class struggle, prejudice, sexism and the great depression made life a constant struggle for survival. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird understood the human desire for survival at any cost, and used the characters of Mayella Ewell, Atticus Finch and Dolphus Raymon to illustrate how individuals have independent struggles and fight for their survival in seperate ways. Burdened by different issues present in the 1930’s these characters acted and lived in ways that made survival possible and life a little more bearable.
Lee understood the precarious balance of human life, as well as the uniqueness of each individual’s position and used the adverse setting of the 1930’s to illustrate how each character conducted their survival.

Mayella Ewell was made defenceless, silent and powerless by the oppression that women faced in the 1930’s. She lived in a home where she was abused and had the responsibility of keeping herself, as well as her siblings alive. In today’s modern society women are able to speak up when the are in abusive, abhorrent situations like Miss Ewells, but Mayella had no power and no choices as a woman in the 1930’s. It was because of this setting that Lee was able to create the oppressed, desperate character of Mayella Ewell, and show how she condemned Tom in order to survive in the time period. Mayella kissed To out of necessity for human companionship – deprived and friendless as she was.
When Bob saw the two of them through the window he “hollered” “you goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya.” Lee uses his vulgar and aggressive use of language to give the reader insight to the abusive way Mayella is treated as a defenceless woman in the 1930’s. As Tom fled the house Bob proceeded to beat Mayella, she was “beaten around the head” and had “bruises comin‘ on her arms”. It is clear from the fact that “Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely” that she was not safe in her own home, and to admit publicly to her actions would have lowered the Ewell’s status still further and provoke her father’s anger, as relations with coloured people made you trash in the 1930’s. She was facing death at the hands of her father, so she did the only thing she could in order to survive. She accused Tom of rape, and in this way she “put the evidence of her offense away from her”
Her decision exhibits the human tendency for survival at any cost, even if that cost was “Tom Robinson, a human being”
Because the novel To Kill a Mockingbird was based in the sexist setting of the 1930’s, Mayella’s situation of helplessness was possible – she was lonely and deprived of human contact, so she kissed a black man out of desire to make her survival a little more endurable. When she was caught in the act she lied and accused Tom of rape, as “She must destroy the evidence of her offense”, because admitting to being attracted to Tom would have made her even more worthless than she already was.
Lee understood the oppression women were under in the 1930’s, as well as the code between black and white people “a code so severe that anyone who breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with”. She used this setting to create the trapped character of Mayella Ewell and illustrate the human tendency for survival at any cost.

Atticus acts as the moral backbone within the novel of To Kill a Mockingbird. Unfortunately for him, his life was lived in the 1930’s, when racism and prejudice were accepted facts of life. Atticus recognized the flaws in the 1930’s society and fought to never waver from his path of integrity. His need to retain his moral equilibrium was so strong that he fought for righteousness at any cost in order to survive with himself in a time of discrimination. Atticus believed that  “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” Because of this he fought for Tom Robinson’s basic rights of humanity, despite “majority rule”, or the rest of society believing he should give up, as it was a lost cause. In fact, Atticus knew that the case was  “licked a hundred years before” it began, but put up a battle against the racism of the 1930’s out of principle. Through the novel being set in the 1930’s, the extreme climate of racism meant that Atticus’ morals were constantly being challenged and tested. This made it possible for Lee to show the reader his reaction to the issues in the 1930’s, and his constant struggle for survival with his conscience.
The racists in Maycomb displayed behavior consistent with that found in the 1930’s. When they heard Atticus was defending a black man, him and his children faced significant backlash. Mrs Dubose calls out to Jem that Atticus “is no better than the n— and trash he works for!” In this way Lee is illustrating how Atticus’ decision to defend Tom has lowered his social standing, as he is now ‘no better’ than a black man. This is a reference to the class struggle found in the 1930’s, however, Atticus believes that staying true to his morals is worth any repercussions he is facing from the abundant racists of the 1930’s. He morally objects to the racism found in Maycomb and defends Tom, as it is a case that goes down to the “essence of a man’s conscience.”
Atticus says “I do my best to love everybody” – which he holds himself to regardless of the consequences, such as being called a “nigger lover”, a “disgrace” and lowering his social standing. In his mind he must treat everyone equally, regardless of the discrimination found in the 1930’s, in order to look himself in the mirror, his children in the eye and generally survive in a time of racism and prejudice.

Men and women in the 1930’s were oppressed. Prejudice and racism were the foundations on which life was built. Even with white skin and a wealthy family Dolphus Raymon was not exempt from judgement. Mr Raymon preferred the company of his coloured wife and children, however at the time interracial relationships made you “trash”, and in some cases put you and your family in danger. To protect himself, his family, the people of Maycomb and generally survive, Dolphus pretend to be the town drunk. When Scout, Dill and Jem see Mr Raymon outside the courthouse on the day of Tom’s trial, He was sitting with the coloured folks and drinking out of a paper bag. Jem tells the younger children who he is, and about his coloured wife and mixed children, commenting “He’s got a Co-Cola bottle full of whiskey in there”. Later during the trial, when a crying Dill and Scout leave the courthouse, Dolphus calls them over and offers Dill a drink from his paper bag. When Dill, informs Scout that the contents of the bag is nothing more than Cocola she is confused and asks Mr Raymon  “Why do you do like you do?” He explains his realisation about human nature, saying “ It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason.” In Dolphus saying this Lee is showing us that he is accepting and anticipating the racial prejudices people held in the 1930’s, and letting them believe and easier truth. “folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey—that’s why he won’t change his ways” By “weaving a little” and drinking from his paper sack, Dolphus has the town fooled into believing that he is no more than a drunk who “can’t help himself”.
As a white man in the 1930’s, to have it known that he prefers the company of coloured people would have made his life harder, as it meant he had to bear the judgement of the racist citizens of Maycomb.
Mr Raymon understands that if he is perceived as a drunk his actions – in the form of preferring the company of black people – hold less weight, and therefore will be judged less harshly. Under the guise of drunkenness Dolphus is able to survive easier, as the racist townspeople of Maycomb can forgive his actions, as he is not in control of his mind.
Lee chose the setting of the 1930’s because in that time Dolphus was unable to lead the life he wanted to live due to the climate of racism. She then showed us that in order to survive with such prejudices he pretends that he cannot control himself or his actions, which alleviates some judgement from him. This highlights a ironic flaw within human nature at the time: People are more comfortable with an undisciplined, useless drunk making poor choices, than a loving white man choosing to spend his time among black people simply because “that’s the way I want to live”, as he says.

Survival is unique to the individual, and everyone fights for their survival in their own way. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, was purposely set in 1930’s America where there was a climate of adversity, which made survival a struggle that we can hardly even contemplate. Because of the racism, class struggle, sexism, oppression and prejudice acting on the characters, they had to adapt and make certain choices to ensure their own survival. Lee used this oppressive setting to create the struggle for her characters that many people in the 1930’s would have faced. They then reacted in different and unique ways in order to survive the hardships of the time. At the end of the day each individuals path is different, and can not be judged from the safe position which we view it, as their lives were merely a struggle for survival in a era of racism and adversity.