During the time of the Great Depression, it was hard to have something to look forward to at the end of the day. Most people during this time were miserable. They did not have the opportunity to eat when they were hungry, could not keep themselves warm when it was cold, and could not afford to buy the clothes they desperately needed. However, the idea that kept people alive was the American Dream. The dream that would allow everything in life to be better. A gorgeous home, a plethora of cars, pockets full of money, and a happy family. Sadly only a few achieve the goal of the American Dream and others are forced to remain in poverty. There are two stories that showcase the clear winners and losers of the Great Depression. In Cinderella Man, the story focuses on a man (James J Braddock) trying to get back to where he was before the Great Depression had occurred and his never-ending battle to keep his family happy. In the …show more content…
Near the end of the excerpt in The Grapes of Wrath, it is seen that the family is going to have to face a catastrophic event. The family is told that they “have to get off the land.” or, “The plows go through the dooryard” (33). At this point, the family is left to question what they are going to have to do. They will no longer have a home to protect them from the elements, they will not have a place to sleep, and they will not have any job. They are facing the worst part of their lives, and they do not know what is to come next. On the other hand, the Braddock family comes into a good bit of luck. Mr. Braddock's manager Joe Gould finds a fight for James which he is told he is not supposed to win because the man he is fighting is number 2 in the nation. However, James Braddock knocks out the fighter and earns himself more fights eventually leading to him and his family getting back to where they were in life and living out their American
He becomes the Light Heavyweight Champion and fight for his belt. He saves up enough money to buy a nice house, marry his wife, and own a New York taxi company. Once the Great Depression hits, it turns his world upside down. During the first part of the Depression, James and his wife have 3 children and are living in an apartment in the basement of a building. They sold their house, taxi service and nearly everything else.
Those who put their money into stocks lost almost everything, including the Braddock family. In the movie Cinderella Man, James Braddock and his family show the struggle of life during the great depression. James, with no work available, struggled to win fights in boxing, in order to put food on the table for his family. Overall, Cinderella Man depicted many of the different aspects of the depression, and can provide a good explanation of what it was like for many families during that time.
The initial paragraphs of John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men introduces Lennie and George, two men living on the road, in search of a job. Both men have dreams of their own and depend on each other in order to achieve them. George takes care of Lennie, who is mentally incapable, while Lennie provides company to George. These men wander around hoping to achieve the American Dream. They continue to go after it, without realizing that they will never be able to obtain it.
James J. Braddock, who is the main character in Cinderella Man, knows the struggle of the Great Depression, and how he did not take any chance for granted. A similar film, Rocky, which shows Rocky Balboa as an underperforming boxer, who gets his one shot at fame and does not squander it. The purpose of these two films were to show social class disparity. Through hard work and a bit of fortune, anyone can make it in the United States, as portrayed in these films. The use of lighting, camera angles, and sounds allowed for the accurate portrayal of these events.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the setting of the story, the motivation of specific characters, and the dialogue between major characters are among the important literary elements in developing the theme of the American Dream. However, by allowing some characters to fail and some to succeed, Steinbeck shows that not all characters bring forth the perseverance to procure the American Dream. Thus, Steinbeck conveys that the American Dream is not achievable by all people including, George, Lennie, and Curley’s wife through the use of setting, character motivation, and dialogue. Without doubt, the setting of the novel supports how difficult the American Dream is to achieve.
Many families suffered from economic hardships as well as emotional distress. Therefore the Braddock family overcame there challenges which are not having much to eat, not having money, and not having a place to live. To start with, one of the problems the Braddock family had was not having enough food to feed the whole family. For example, in
When America was built, its character and identity was established by The Declaration of Independence, providing its citizens equality, liberty, and equal opportunity. The premise of the composition of USA became known as the American Dream, with the aspiration that one’s achievement is not constrained by his/her social class or fortune but is determined by endeavor. This delusion of harmony was greatly contradicted by two novels: The Crucible and The Grapes of Wrath. In The Crucible, under constant hallucination of evil and corruptness, people for their own greediness began making false accusations on each other.
“Cinderella Man”, a movie based on the Great Depression, was released in May 23, 2005. This movie is nonfiction, and is based off James Braddock’s life trying to make a living in devastating times. Will they be able to survive? Although Jurgis and James both have a good work ethic, they have many similarities and differences in their physical traits, family dynamics, and personal
Since the book came out in 1939, everyone has had a opinion on the ending to John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. It has a very controversial ending, that Steinbeck thought would name the last nail into the coffin, so to speak, on how bad the dust bowl and moving west really was. The ending starts when the Joad family is threatened with a flood, so they make their way to a old barn where they find a boy and his old father. The boy says his father is starving, and that he can’t keep anything solid down. He needs something like soup or milk.
The tone of chapter 11 in John Steinbeck's, “The Grapes of Wrath,” is sympathetic, sad and hopeless. His word choice and syntax show how the sad houses were left to decay in the weather. His use of descriptive words paints a picture in the reader's mind. As each paragraph unfolds, new details come to life and adds to the imagery. While it may seem unimportant, this intercalary chapter shows how the effects of the great depression affected common households.
Cinderella Man “Any lack of confidence in the economic future or the basic strength of business in the United States is foolish,” Herbert Hoover stated when addressing the economy in the 1930’s. Sadly, the statement turned out to be false once the economy plummeted. The Great Depression took many americans by surprise, causing havoc wherever it reached. Many citizens of the United States invested everything to the stock market, and in turn were left on the streets with nothing after the economic crash of the 1920’s.
In A Raisin in the Sun, a play written by Lorraine Hansberry, the audience was able to obtain a sense of the struggle for the American dream. We are introduced to the Youngerś a black family living in the Southside of Chicago around the 1950’s. Each member of this family has their own meaning to what is the American dream. A Raisin in the Sun teaches us that even though life might be full of conflicts, it is important to not give up on our dreams.
When Braddock had to fight with a broken hand, that really happened in real life and he did lose the fight. Joe Gould, Braddock’s manager, sold all of his belongings so that he could pay for Braddock to train for boxing. This event happened in both the movie and in real life. It has been said that Gould was like family to Braddock. Another factual aspect of the movie was when there were long lines stretching out of the building, of people waiting for relief money.
The American dream is an illusion that is deeply implanted in the minds of the people, it sets a bar for life achievement and offers hope to work hard to achieve their dreams. As for Americans, they are raised in a society to where they are expected to make lots money and to have a healthy family. After all in our society success is largely based off positions of power and financial stability. For example, in The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there were multiple interpretations of the ideal American dream in the 1920s. In the 1920s, due to the growth of materialism, people advertised and fancied the power of money to fulfilling their dreams.
The American Dream began to grow in popularity in 1931, due to the Great Depression. During the Great Depression, people would take anything to give them a piece of hope; the American Dream granted them that hope. The Great Depression was full of adversity for many people,