james braddock

Cinderella Man 

Adrienne Hill 

The movie “Cinderella Man” accurately depicts the 1930’s and the Great Depression because it shows how far the father figure would go to save his family.

Before The Great Depression a lot of people were doing well and in the high point of their life in the roaring 20’s. James J Braddock is shown in the movie after his fight so happy with a steady cash flow and a very nice home and very happy with his wife and kids. Then movie moves into the 1930’s and him and his wife are getting letters saying “payment due” and “final notice”. They also were getting in arguments about wether they should move their kids out of the house so they could pay the bills. A lot of families during The Great Depression had a lot of family problems because of the stress of having no money and not being able to afford the essentials.

During The Great Depression the man of the family always took responsibility for the family and felt as if they were a failure if their family wasn't supported. A lot of the men wouldn't want their wife or kids to get a job because than they failed as a husband and father. Just as James J Braddock felt. He did anything he could to keep his family going and even went and begged for money which is the last thing he wanted to do. This made him feel a lot of shame but was all worth it since he got his family back. He also went to get money from the Federal Relief Fund which was also embarrassing but he did what he had to do to save his family. The father did anything to get money and even worked on a broken hand because he had no other choice. The movie accurately showed that only so many people would get a job and so many people were just turned away and wouldn't work that day. The dad went through a lot of pain to get back into fighting and even broke some ribs but kept going so he could make more money than he was making at the docks. Also some of the older kids believed they needed to take the responsibility and help out for example in the movie his eldest son stole the meat from the butcher just so they could eat. The dad went back and returned the meat instead of keeping it because he did not want to except the charity and wanted to set a good example for his children. The mother also wanted to help the family but the James Braddock wouldn't let her, she wanted to get some money by sewing which a lot of women in the 1930’s did to pick up some extra change for the family. 

The dad in the movie did everything to keep his family going and went through a lot of pain and hardships but through handwork and love he made it out just like a lot of men went through in The Great Depression.