Determination Have you ever thought about what it would have been like in the 1930’s, living in Chicago, and not being one of the wealthy? Well think about it, this is a little summary of two men’s lives and their families. One character is Jurgis Rudkus, from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, and another is James Braddock, Cinderella Man. Both characters have many differences and similarities in their physical traits, family traits, and values. Both very strong and uplifting men who try everything in their power for their families. In both the book and the film both men endure many hardships throughout the short period of time, even though both men were physically different they both had enough build for a job. For example “Jurgis Rudkus, he …show more content…
Both Jurgis and James had different views of how to handle their family but they both had a plan to try and help save them. As both the film and book state their biggest thing was their families. "Jimmy—" Mae began, but he silenced her with a kiss. You can't work on an empty stomach, her eyes said to him. Jim's answer was simple. "You're my girls“ (longman el at 8). And in the book “Jurgis walked him with his pittance of pay in his pocket, heartbroken, overwhelmed. One more bandage had been torn from his eyes, one more pitfall was revealed to him!” (Sinclair 200). Both men had put aside many things and made many sacrifices for their family, but they had both done it in different ways, and showed their love in different ways. In the book Jurgis lost his family, “Jurgis’s brain was so confused that he could not grasp the situation. It was as if his family had been wiped out of existence: as if they were proving to be dream people, who never had existed at all” (Sinclair 176). Losing his family Jurgis had nothing to fight for anymore. James on the other hand had lost his family as well, "Here's my promise." Jim was eye to eye with his son. "We're never going to send you away, son“(Longman el at 12). Even though he had lost his children he continued to fight for them and do the things he thought he would never have to do in order to get them back, he begged for …show more content…
This is what it was about right? Being able to have money to make it. Without the money there was no food, no warmth, there was nothing left for them when they had run out of money. In the book it states “Ona was a working girl, and did not own waterproofs and such things, and so Jurgis took her and put her on the street-car” (Sinclair 78). Because they needed the money, Jurgis did everything he could in order to make sure his family was working. James on the other hand worked on his own. Still making money, but never let his family beg, steal or do anything within those lines. Later fighting had become a part of James’ life again. Going back to fighting he made a comeback. Not making a whole lot of money but enough to keep them going till the next fight. Family had always become a big part of James’ life, but him putting his life on the line so his family could have money and he could pay back everything he owed was a lot for James. Both men put their life on the line so their families had enough food on the table. Even if it meant having to work in the worst
Considering the environment in which James grew up certainly had an impact on his life. Some of the influences in his life were being poor, racism, his parents and the church. The areas that affected his moral development stem from when he grew up, doing the time of segregation. Segregation had an impact on how he viewed the world. He felt that everyone should be treated equally. James’s moral belief was that blacks should have a choice, and have the same opportunities as others. When he saw the separate drinking fountains for whites and blacks, he recalls the mental pain, but for him only God could take care of. He used his music as away to communicate how he felt. Growing up poor affected James’s emotional development. He never wanted any handouts.
During the great depression, everyone had lost everything that they owned, this is represented by the movie, “Cinderella Man”. James Braddock was fighter that much like everyone else had lost everything they owned in the depression. He was down on his luck and happen been winning many fights in the past until he got something better than the motivation to get a title, his family was his new found motive to fight. Braddock was a true symbol of the time period that he was fighting in because every American was trying to fight their way back to where they had previously been and get out of the pit they were in. There were a few historical inaccuracies and many historical accuracies that were added to give general effect. “Cinderella Man” was an
Cinderella Man is a flim based on the rise of World Championship boxer James Braddock. Braddock's life was affected heavily by the great depression, and the film does well to show this. The film also does a good job of chronicling the life of the everyday man during the great depression. This essay aims to discuss the role of the stock market crash in the beginning of the great depression, the effects of the depression on the life of the everyday man, and the effects of the depression on the life of James J Braddock and his family.
In this story, there are times when James pays more attention to his family, and times where he pays more attention to his little brother, Isaac. In the beginning, James thinks a little bit about taking Isaac out to see the K-bones. James is kind of nervous, but not to the point where he would leave Isaac at home. So, James decides to bring Isaac along, when he and Isaac are really supposed to be at home. At this time, James doesn’t really worry to think about the danger that he could only put himself in, but he could also put Isaac in a peril, too. So, James cares more about his friends than Isaac. Another example that proves this is when James starts to go out. For example, he says “ Kris says they’re just a bunch of kids who hang out and do cool stuff. Like a club. Tonight, I have to prove myself so I can be in their club, too.” This shows me that James is more focused on his friends because instead of watching Isaac like he’s supposed to, he wants to
James grew up in a racist and segregated part of history. Often times racial slurs were used to describe people of African descent during the time James was growing up. Even during school James would be called these horrendous names: “...someone in the back of the class whispered, “James is ni**er!” followed by a ripple of tittering and giggling across the room” (McBride 89). The fact that small school children call blacks these names shows how racist the many people are and the hatred and discrimination that blacks face. These experience taught James how people treat those that appear to be different. Another experience that taught James this was when he and his family went to the Jewish store and were discriminated against. McBride had many experiences in which he and his family were discriminated against whether it was by the police or store owners: “Some of these Jews can’t stand you” (86). All in all, incidents with people who have a particular dislike for blacks shaped James into the way
One of the themes was the burden of secrets that were kept. As a young boy, James knew very little about his mother’s childhood background. James’s mother Ruth discouraged his curiosity about her past and her background. She really never wanted her kids to know the things that she went through as a child and as a young adult. She was ashamed of the things that she went through, so she kept everything inside.What I think is going to happen is that James is that he is gonna have to realize that he can not be out doing drugs and skipping school. also he is going to have to grow up really fast.
Jurgis always struggled with money even when Ona was on the verge of dying. Jurgis finally convinced the women but Ona didn’t make it on time because it was too late already. Upton Sinclair shows you the struggle Jurgis went through with money and it wasn’t a fair life for him. When Jurgis lost both Ona and his son Antanas he was begging and a drunk man gave him a 100 dollar bill, that next day he enters a bar to receive change but the bartender tells him he has to buy a drink first, once he does the bartender only gives him 97 cents and refuses to give him his change. Jurgis then gets in a fist fight with him but then is sent to Jail. Once he was a prison he realized the life of crime was the best way to survive as an immigrant, then Jurgis finally loses his hope of getting that American dream he always wanted. Jurgis had a good reason to feel like this because he kept getting turned down by jobs and had nowhere to stay, he was homeless.
Today, it is more evident than ever that there are deep divisions within modern society along the lines of race, class and gender. These divides are highlighted by recent protests, riots and movements. These issues are relevant in modern society as well as in two famous stories. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men use character development to make commentary toward these points. Fitzgerald’s novel covers the tumultuous journey of Nick Carraway through the swanky social elite of the 1920’s. Steinbeck’s text covers the opposite end of the spectrum, detailing the experiences of George and Lennie, ranchers during the great depression. While also providing a riveting and captivating plot, these seemingly antithetical tales both develop their respective characters to be normal, everyday people who face difficult problems because of their class.
“I did it alone, waiting in the dark doorway of a barbershop as the women got off the bus, ripping the purses out of their protesting hands as they cried out in fear and shock” (McBride 34). But according to James, he had every right in the world to steal from other people. At that time he was feeling that he “was getting back at the world for injustices I had suffered” (McBride 34). Several years later, James finally realized how wrong he was. He felt horrible about the everything he had done, and completely regretted all the decisions he made things he did as a teenager. James even claimed that “If you sat me down and asked me which injustices I was talking about, I wouldn't be able to name them if my life depended on it” (McBride 34). In the beginning and the end of the book, James perspective on the world is very similar. It took a lot of questioning the world, and him making numerous wrong decisions, but in the end, all he discovered is that he was right all along. James learned that it’s not alright to take out your frustrations on the world and on other people, it’s not fair to them or yourself because it’ll just make you feel worse in the
This is fueled by, not only the changing emotions that teenagers typically endure, but also by the death of his stepfather, whom he saw as his own father. After his death, James cannot bear to see his mother suffer, for she no longer knows how to control the dynamics of the family and "wandered in an emotional stupor for nearly a year." James instead turns to alcohol and drugs, dropping out of school to play music and go around with his friends, which James refers to as "my own process of running, emotionally disconnecting myself from her, as if by doing to I could keep her suffering from touching me." Instead of turning to his family and becoming "the king in the house, the oldest kid," James "spent as much time away from home as possible absolve[ing] [himself] of all responsibility " As a result, Ruth sends James to live with his older half sister and her husband, in an attempt to straighten her out her son's life. James distracts himself with the life he found there, spending the summers on a street corner with his half sister's husband, Big Richard, whom he adores, and the unique men that frequented the area. During these summers, James discovers "[He] could hide. No one knew [him]. No one knew [his] past, [his] white mother, [his] dead father, nothing. It was perfect. [His] problems seemed far, far away." Instead of facing the realities of loss and anger in his family, James seeks distractions
When Jurgis gained his health back, he also gained the ability to provide for his family again. James health was also a big factor for providing for his family. The beginning starts out rough for James. James was a handsome man who dressed nice, with dark hair, and broad shoulders. Then he breaks his hand, becomes out of shape, and cannot fight.
Cinderella Man is a famous, nonfiction film that was directed by Ron Howard and produced in 2005. The timing of the production of this film can strike as interesting, and maybe even odd; this is because the film begins in the times of the roaring 20’s, when the United States experienced a peak in economic successes. However, the 20’s is not the only developed time period, rather, it is the 30’s that most of the action in the film protagonists’ story will take place. Jim Braddock, a well known, wealthy, married man takes the lead position to show audiences the first-hand impact that the Great Depression had on families of all backgrounds. Braddock's riches-to-rags-to-riches story has inspired the value behind family and hard work and brought hope to his neighbors and fans who found themselves also struggling to find work and pay their bills during one of the greatest the economic downturns in history.
In James’ case he knew that if he worked hard at school he could gain his fathers approval. However it seemed that he was in the shadow of his brother, who was also under the same pressure. He had turned to cheating to get better marks to avoid his father’s disapproval. James’ own sense of right and wrong were being clouded by his loyalty to- and competition with his brother, also his need for approval from his father and his sense of duty to protect his frail mother by “not
As consequence James started to use drugs and alcohol to relieve his inner sadness and frustration. And those drugs contributed to James has an unbalanced social life. In addiction. Economic problems are closely related to social problems, since they are the generators of poverty, etc. If there are economic problems, there are also social problems that trigger them. Here is the case of James, he wanted to attend to the university of his dream, but as his parents are in bankruptcy, his family financial issues distort his
Recently viewing the movie, The Jungle Book, decided to convey my thoughts. The movie was adapted from Rudyard Kipling's collective works, as well as Walt Disney's 1967 animated film. Being that, The Jungle Book is one of my favorites, I chose to unveil its three-act structures, setup, confrontation and resolution. Act one reveals the protagonist, Mowgli, an orphan human boy raised by wolves. Antagonist, Sher Khan warns the wolves he would kill the boy and punish them, once the water truce is over. Mowgli then decides to leave to spare everyone by having the Panther, Bagheera takes him back to the human village. Mowgli and Bagheera, eventually attacked by Sher Khan, is separated. Now Mowgli is on his own.