After watching clips of Seabiscuit and discovering how much of a hero he and Red Pollard were to America at the time, please explain why so many average Americans were identifying with a sports hero - and one that wasn't even human!Check out "American Experience: Seabiscuit" and how Charles Howard turned the Biscuit's name into a brand name: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/seabiscuit/mammalsevents/e_branding.html
The radio calls for Seabiscuit's greatest races: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/seabiscuit/sfeature/sf_radio.html
Interview with the author, Laura Hillenbrand, who wrote the book that the movie is based upon:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/seabiscuit/sfeature/sf_hillenbrand.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/seabiscuit/sfeature/sf_hillenbrand.html
Big Brown, the current Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, is battling a hoof injury and has taken a few days off before the Belmont Stakes that will be held on June 7th. Big Brown is the 4th horse since 2002 to come close to winning the Triple Crown (having come to Belmont after winning the first two races). You can even buy T-shirts and hats w/ Big Brown on them http://horsehats.com/BigBrown.html .
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing hasn't been won since Affirmed last did it in 1978. Affirmed also happens to be the great-great-grandson of War Admiral who we saw in the film. Other famous horses include Secretariat (1973 Triple Crown winner) and Seattle Slew (1977 Triple Crown winner and the only undefeated horse to win the TC).
Due Thursday, May 29 - 150 words minimum (in brown in honor of BB).
57 comments:
The movie represents the Great Depression because Sea biscuit represent the poor people. Sea biscuit represents a nation that, at the time, was at an all-time high of poverty. There were poor people everywhere and it seemed like there was no hope. This is similar to Sea Biscuit being the messed up horse that he was. But after some hard work and additional spirit Sea Biscuit was able to come back. It was also perseverance that helped Sea Biscuit when he lost his hundred thousand dollar race, but still came back to beat the Admiral. This is the same in all of the poor people of America in the depression. They had to persevere through the hard times and keep trying to get their lives back on track. And in the end Sea Biscuit wins. Just how all the people of America won when they got the New Deal and worked hard enough to end the depression.
Ben Tredwell
5th
The great depression was a hard, bitter time for everyone. No one in America wasn’t possibly affected in one way or another. In a time where people were holding on to everything they possibly could, why were they all “grasping the bit” of a horse? Simple, the horse wasn’t just a racing animal. It was the symbol of everything that is the American dream. Seabiscut was looked upon as nothing more than a small colt thriving its youth away under the sycamore trees dozing off the lazy hours of the afternoon. Small and looked down upon no one gave him a second chance. To make a long story short Seabiscut started as nothing and turned into champion. This remarkable animal rose up from the ashes; he was kicked down time and time again, much like many Americans during this point in history, the American people reflected their own problems onto the image of Seabiscut and undoubtedly couldn’t help but cheer for the little pony that could. When Seabiscut won in the end, the crowd couldn’t have been more ecstatic, for one thing the underdog finally pulled through, but for another, his winning and triumph gave hope to many of his fans who saw his winning as one of their won.
-Angelina Bertoni 5th
Seabiscut reflects the Great Depression by, proving that you can still be on top even if you start very low. In the movie Seabiscut was loosing every single race, and was basically trained to loose but in the end he beat out America’s top horse. As in the Great Depression, America started out by being in a very bad economical crisis. Franklin Roosevelt used a lot of perseverance to help us get through the tough times and created the New Deal Acts. These allowed people that needed money to get it by simple means. After putting ourselves through tough situations, but staying determined and committed we came out on top. Seabiscut did go through a lot but so did Red Pollard. He started out living a terrible life and wasn’t much of a success. He committed to bringing Seabiscut to the top and he did it by whispering a few words into his ear which helped motivate them both.
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I think that people were identifying with the horse because he started out as a horse that wasn’t that good at racing. Some people knew that he had the potential to become a great racer, and with a lot of training and practice he ended up winning the race. People could also identify with the horse because he was just an average horse, and it gave them hope for themselves. It helped them get through the Great Depression because they were more optimistic. The horse going from average, to a winner probably helped the people become more positive about making it through the Great Depression.
Megan k.
How does Seabiscuit reflect the Great Depression?
Seabiscuit reflects the Great Depression by how many people are unemployed and at the bottom. Many unemployed people are ignored and people don’t pay much attention to helping them. And that’s the same with Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit was always overlooked and not really important to the society or races. They said Seabiscuit was too small to be a racehorse. But the car sales men in the movie noticed Seabiscuit for who he really was, a racehorse. They gave the horse a chance and he turned out to be the best. He went from nothing to getting everything. And that’s how the depression was.
jourdan g 4th
Seabiscut represented the depression by being the little guy and succeeding. Seabiscut rider “red” was told he was too tall to be a jockey and was blind in one eye. Seabiscut was a small horse that had a bad leg and wheezed when he breathed. They were the underdogs and were thought to not be able to succeed and win. Like the depression all the people suffered. The unemployed especially. But when they tried to survive and get out of a depression they did. Like Seabiscut, who won the race and stunned everyone. People ended up getting out of the depression as well as the economy got out of the depression. Even the underdogs can win have their time to succeed. You don’t need to be perfect to be successful.
Emma Schwartz
4th Hour
Emily Corless
2nd Hour
Seabiscuit and Red Pollard are identified as the sports hero. They were considered the sports hero because they were the underdog. At first no one thought that Seabiscuit could be this amazing horse. Seabiscuit came from out of no where and surprised everyone. Seabiscuit and Red Pollard gave the people hope during the Great Depression. The saying “if you set your mind to it, anything can happen” represented what Red Pollard and Seabiscuit did. The races that Seabiscuit ran gave people the motivation to fight the depression. Many people favored him because he represented the majority of the people, which were the poor and unemployed. He helped them stay positive and encouraged them to keep trying. The people who watched his races allowed themselves to escape from their everyday lives. When Seabiscuit won the races, it also represented the people winning as well. The whole story of Seabiscuit represents the people of the Great Depression.
Lorne Carter/ May 28, 2008/ 2nd hour
Sea biscuit reflects the Depression by making people believe in hope. Sea biscuit a small, that wasn’t any ones top pick as a racing horse, reflects their hope in making it and overcoming by winning the race. This horse lifted up people from their sadness and let them believe. This horse distracted them from their dismal lives. Sea biscuit was the icon at the time. By becoming this major icon, it raised people spirits in the scariest time in American history. American citizens had nothing to believe in. Sea biscuit showed with unmatched determination that anyone can make despite the circumstances. It showed that even though you are counted out you can still triumph. This horse showed the American people you can win with a significant amount of adversity against you. Sea biscuit proved that if you were a fighter you could beat the odds. Americans stood behind sea biscuit only because he was the underdog.
People were identifying with the sports hero horse, Seabiscuit, during the Great Depression for many quite obvious reasons. During the Great Depression, people were broke, could not support their wives and children, and everybody was living in terrible conditions. While big companies (except for banks) were doing better than the poor people, the citizens of the United States were being looked down upon, and in many ways the people were the little guy. In Seabiscuit, the little horse named Seabiscuit was always looked down upon. People said that he was to slow to race, and could never win a big race. With lots of training, Seabiscuit stepped up and defeated his larger, superior competitors, this is where the United States people were identifying themselves with Seabiscuit. It was like David versus Goliath, and the little guy beat the big guy. After the depression the American people knew that they were the little guys, and this gave them the encouragement that they could step up and defeat the bigger guys.
Jacob Trunsky
4th hour
I think that it is obvious why so many Americans living in the Great Depression could identify with Seabiscuit and Red. A lot of people saw themselves in the pair. The American people were down on their luck; millions were unemployed and in poverty and Seabiscuit and Red gave them hope. Seabiscuit had been given up on and I think a lot of people in this time gave up on themselves. However, the story showed that all it takes to be great is for someone to give you a chance. I think the people really liked believing in the pair because believing in them meant there was hope. It was suddenly possible again to achieve greatness. They felt so strongly about Seabiscuit and Red because they probably felt like part of their victories. Seabiscuit represented a large part of the American population, even if he was a completely different species.
Sarah Zamler
5th
I think that Seabiscuit, in the movie was seen as the under-horse (I guess) in the movie because he lost a big race before and the upper-horse (War Admiral) was treated better and was expected to triumph but as time goes by and Seabiscuit is trained and he fights harder he eventually wins and perseveres. And that represented all the lower class people or underdogs ¬¬and they were poor and didn’t have anything and the upper-class men we being arrogant and were being treated better than the average person but after years of harder work and dedication they were no longer underdogs and they were seen now as upper-class men. So it shows that hard work always pays off and the rich is not going to always stay rich forever and the poor isn’t going to always stay poor forever. Things aren’t always as expected. As they say you gotta lose some to win some.
Nikita Charles
4th hour
Michael Guz
4th Hour
During the great depression people were poor and low in society. In fact all of society was low at that point. Seabiscuit represents all of the people who were at the bottom, and during the great depression just about everyone was at the bottom. Seabiscuit was raised to have no hope of winning, but he somehow pulled through and went against all odds. What Seabiscuit actually contributed to the great depression was that it gave people hope in order to get through. Though many people did pull through in the great depression, I disagree with this symbolism in one part. The thing I disagree with is that Seabiscuit represented people who made a comeback, but many people in the depression just suffered and didn't make it through. There are so many people who died and lost loved ones and were mentally traumatized by the conditions they faced and the symbol of Seabiscuit doesn't take those people into account at all. The symbol of Seabiscuit is like looking at the depression through rose colored glasses.
Sea biscuit not only was a spectacular and legendary racehorse he was a symbol of hope to the American people. Sea biscuit had been used as a training horse, a horse that was used to boost the confidence of more promising racers by letting them win, because he was small (only 15 hands). He was mentally broken just like the American People, run into the ground by things they had no control over. When he was noticed by his future trainer as having potential he changed. He was still the underdog but he was given a chance, kind of like when the New Deal programs came out in the U.S. it was still bad, but it was worth a shot. Not only was the horse a symbol, but so was his jockey, red, who was very tall and heavy for a jockey: repeatedly having to skip meals to stay under the weight limit. The unlikely pair was welcomed as heroes by the people because they were JUST like them. Down on their luck, unlikely to succeed, yet here they were winners.
Kelsey Kaline
5th hr
I think Seabiscuit reflects on the people of the great depression. During the great depression many people lost their jobs, and struggled to get by. Everyone was down on their luck and losing hope in ever being successful due to the harsh times. When Seabiscuit started off, the horse was not very successful but became good at racing. Seabiscuit was not very good at racing and injured like the people were financially, but seabiscuit gave the people the motivation to never give up. Seabiscuit conquered in his race just like the people conquered the depression. The new deal represented the people’s victory against the great depression just like the victory of seabiscuit. Seabiscuit gave people hope and inspiration because they could relate to the horse even though they were in different situations, but Seabiscuit showed them that anyone could succeed if they try, even if the odds are against them.
Paul Sidlosky
4th Hour
I believe that average Americans were identifying with a sports hero who was a horse because many Americans were going through a tough time doing the era of the Great Depression, and they didn’t have many things to look up to or give them hope. During the Great Depression the country was at an all time high in poverty. A large portion of the employed Americans had lost of their job, and were poor and had to struggle to support their families. Seabiscuit represents that average Americans who were poor and struggling. Many people looked up to Seabiscuit for hope and for inspiration to get by. Seabiscuit was that small racing horse who very little people believed in at first to win races. He was like an underdog and when he won races it gave hope to many people that even though the odds are against you, and that you can still prevail on top.
Stefanos T. 2nd Hour
seabiscuit and Red Palmer are related to the great depression by they both represent the poor people and how hard that they had it during the great depression. From them starting their horse racing career and showing us the downfalls like when they both injured themselves and got back into racing and not giving up, Just like the great depression. a lot of people related to seabiscuits story by he wasn’t a big fancy rich horse he was simple and had nothing like most people during the depression, which is probably wh so many people routed for him and supported him.
The Great Depression was a terrible time for many people, especially those who had no job or could not find a job or who did not have anywhere to live. But there was hope for some people in a way that no one imagined. When they saw Seabiscuit win lots of races and defy the odds many people took that as an inspiration and went out to make a better life. When people saw a small horse that wasn’t even seen as a race horse win so many races people took that in and tried to be successful. It gave them hope, hope for a better future. The Depression took a toll on lots of people, and they had nothing to go forward with, but when they saw Seabiscuit they saw that if a small horse who was never supposed to win, then maybe a person who doesn’t not have much can do so something to have a lot.
-Maher Abou-Rass
4th hour
Seabiscuit was identified with because he was the same as many people during that time. Seabiscuit was the underdog. He was born small, and because of that, he was put down and ignored. Many people were currently poor and disliked because of the depression, or some other reason. Seabiscuit’s enemies were the larger horses who were said to be better, and were cared more for. The larger horses symbolized the richer people. They thought they were superior and should get everything. However, Seabiscuit trained hard and became better than everyone else. Seabiscuit then achieved his goal or dream of being great. That was the one thing people loved the most. That was the perfect example of the American dream. The horse started from nothing, but achieved everything it could want. People thought, “If a horse can do it, why not us?”. They felt the American dream wasn‘t lost. People saw him a shining star and so they thought of him as a hero. I believe those people were right.
Nicole Niezgocki
4th hour
Seabiscuit reflects the Great Depression by he is the "underdog" in the race, but come out on top. The people who lost their jobs, have nothing on their side, they have no luck. Seabiscuit, has too big of jockey, who can't see and too small of horse. In the end, the horse comes out on top, and beats the expected horse to win. The people are the "underdog" and they are just like seabiscuit, and they held on until it was over. It was a long race around the track for the people who lost their jobs. To me Seabiscuit, is a hero, and a role-model to all. People could look up to him and see that not always does the" best" win! Normal people or the "underdog" has their moments too!
I believe in many ways Seabiscuit was a reflection of the Great Depression. Seabiscuit was seen as the poor people or the US during the time. The other stronger and faster horses were seen more as other nations that were doing really well. Everyone thought that Seabiscuit had a slim to none chance of winning the race. This could have been seen in the world as America being looked down by other nations for a long period of time. When Seabiscuit saw the other horses come close to him he sent of running showing that when America saw it was falling far behind that it was a time for change. So Seabiscuit set off on a dash to in the end win the race. Overall, the US was saw as the underdog and had no chance of getting back up but in the end came out in first place after hard work and determination. In Seabiscuit the horse was seen as the underdog and had no chance of winning but again in the end was able to beat the other horse.
Nick Theisen
4th hour
The horse, Seabiscuit, is said to represents the Great Depression. Seabiscuit was an underdog. He was unusually small for a race horse and he had a tough, hard working trainer. He had a tough life. But after tons of hard work and dedication, he became am extremely fast and impressive race horse. He and his trainer fought their way to the top. They raced the best horse of the time, war admiral. He was a big very big horse and was considered upper class while Seabiscuit was the under dog. Seabiscuit won the race. Seabiscuit and his trainer were not expected to do as well as they have. But they did and this inspired many of the times. This helped people want to work harder and try to do better because they wanted do better. The people were given new hope. This is how the horse, Seabiscuit, represents the Great Depression.
robert g. 5th
Seabiscuit is reflected by the Great Depression is that he became a hero to everyone of the United States. Seabiscuit’s owner Howard would show Seabiscuit off to the press so that he would be a star in the America. Seabiscuit showed everyone that no matter what happens that you should always push forward and to do a lot better. Seabiscuit showed this by his races. In the races, he would start off slow and increase his speed until he was neck and neck with the horses in first and second place; finally he would pass both of them and wins the race by a mile. The reason why he does this is because he looks at his opponents in the eye and once that happens, he gets fired up and wants to win the race no matter what and he always does. His races relate to the Great Depression from him and FDR. They both got fired up to either win the race, or to make the United States Great Depression to be over.
Jake Cramer
Seabuscuit was a race horse that raced during the Great Depression. Seabuscuit started his career losing every race. Seabuscuit symbolize the Great Depression because he was a horse given a second chance. Seabuscuit is an underdog because at his star he was losing races. Seabuscuit was an ordinary horse with no blood line o make him a great horse. Seabuscuit won races because he never gave up. He always tried his hardest. Like the people of he great depression, they never gave up either. Always trying to make a living and survive was the people’s race. I also believe Seabuscuit was a symbol that the people could relate to. That he never looked back, only forward to win the prize. Even today we look back a Seabuscuit and respect how great a horse he was.
Justin Laffer
5th
2. I think that Seabiscuit and Red Pollard are considered hero’s after the Great Depression, because most Americans had given up on the “American Dream.” The idea of the self made man, becoming rich and successful after working hard his whole life, was going away. Especially after they worked hard, and then lost all of their money. I think that Americans needed something, or someone else to look up to. Also sports weren’t televised, and horse races were very popular then. The average American could watch from the outside, or listen to it on the radio. Also Seabiscuit and Red Pollard were like the underdogs, and they worked their way up all the way to the top, defeating some of the best horses. I think some Americans may have viewed them as hero’s because even though Seabiscuit wasn’t the biggest, or even the best, but he had the drive, and he had a love for it that made him unbeatable.
Christy Slowinski
2nd hour
5-28-08
Sea biscuit represents the Great Depression because it shows that people who are even in low poverty and are at rock bottom can even make it to the top. In the movie, Sea biscuit ended up being the top horse. At first, he was seen as the horse that always lost every single race, but he made it through to the top. This horse is relevant towards people living during the Great Depression. This is because it shows that even people who start with little or no faith can succeed in the end if they put their minds to it. People who were in low poverty and were very poor struggled to just make it through the era of the depression. Like Sea biscuit, people had to tough it out and prove to everyone that all they need is a little hope and things can fall back into the right pieces.
Melanie Shaw
4th hour
The Great Depression was one of the hardest time periods for America to go through. During the Great Depression, many people were out of jobs, had no means to support their families, and were living in poverty. To them, it seemed like there was no hope and life would never go back to normal. This relates to Seabiscuit because the horse was also down on his luck. He lived part of his life in a rough situation, just like many Americans during the Great Depression. The movie Seabiscuit is also similar to the Great Depression because both situations (the Americans’ and Seabiscuit’s) eventually turned around. For the people of America, the economy began to grow, and plans were formed to put people back into jobs. For Seabiscuit, he was finally taken care of and given the attention and care that he needed, and he eventually went on to win many races. It was the chances that America and Seabisucit were given that helped turn around their lives.
Bethany Slon 5th hour
Sea biscuit represents the time of The Great Depression and the people during the Great Depression because he was the underdog. Sea biscuit was the one that didn’t have a chance; he had been discarded and had been forgotten about because people thought he wasn’t worth the anything. This is the way many people felt during the Great Depression. The whole nation seemed to be down on their luck and Sea Biscuit represented the nation as a whole because he wasn’t supposed to be able to come back and make anything out of what he was but he did, just like all the people that had lost their money and were poor during the Great Depression supposedly weren’t worth anything and had no chance to make anything out of their lives. And when Sea Biscuit won the race as the underdog, he gave hope to all the people who weren’t supposed to make it because of the Great Depression.
Phil Bolton 5th Hour
The race horse Seabiscuit reflects the time of the Great Depression in many ways. Seabiscuit was seen as too small to be great, he was the minority, kind of like the poor people and the small businesses, and people just expected them all to fail while those bigger and stronger would succeed. However Seabiscuit showed people that anyone can succeed, regardless of size and regardless of how many doubts people have, in a way he gives people hope. Many people thought they could never recover after the Great Depression happened because they weren’t wealthy to begin with or their company wasn’t huge, but it shows them that hard work can get you through it. It’s also very similar in the way that Seabiscuit was rejected his whole life and he came from virtually nothing but he made it all the way to the top, much like people who had nothing and managed to get it all back after the Great Depression hit, it showed you that anything is possible.
Jessica Keyes
4th hour
First, I would like to say that the story of Seabiscuit is a truly inspirational story and does remind me of the Great Depression. The story of Seabiscuit is alike the Great Depression because everyone is out of place. Just like the jockey being to big, the horse being to small, and the trainer being to old; the average man during the Great Depression couldn't make enough income to get by peacefully and was just not average. Also the comeback story of Seabiscuit is alike the economy of America during the Great Depression. Seabiscuit, the trainer, the jockey, and the manager were all underdogs in life and managed to pull themselves up just like the economy. The Great Depression caused America's economy to be down and out for the count but, alike Seabiscuit, it overcame and pulled itself out of depression. Seabiscuit and America's economy were very similar through there comeback stories.
Ryan Bertrand
Hour 2
Seabiscuit represents the people of America during the Great Depression because all the odds were against him. At one point in his life Seabiscuit had hit rock-bottom and it looked like he would never amount to anything. This relates to the era because most of the population at that time thought that everything was going to stay as bad as it currently was for them. The country had given up hope. Seabiscuit brought the hope back to America because it showed them that an underdog could win. Like America everything was working against Seabiscuit, the horse was too small, and the jockey was too big; it did not seem like a winning combination. If Seabiscuit could win then every average American could turn around their economic situation. More people paid listened to this race than I thought imaginable for the time so that alone had to influence many people, but also the fact that Seabiscuit’s opponent was a seemingly “perfect” horse. It almost seemed like the other horse was unbeatable, like the depression seemed unfixable. But Seabiscuit found a way and so did America.
Matt Bergin
4th Hour
The people identified with the horse because it represented hope. It represented second chances. It was what the people needed. They needed hope, and they definitely wanted second chances. They wanted to have a chance of having their dreams come true at a time when everyone’s dream was crushed. The great depression put many people out of jobs and with little or no money at all. This is when the people of America and even around the world needed hope the most, and Seabiscuit represented it. War Admiral represented the snobby, arrogant rich man who thought he/she was better than everyone else. And the best part was when War Admiral lost to the smaller, seemingly less and worse Seabiscuit. This was the importance of and reason why everyone loved the horse and looked to the horse as an example and a sign of hope in their lives sadly filled with crushed dreams.
Trevor Nielsen
2nd Hour
Seabiscuit reflects the Great Depression because he stood for the poor, lower class Americans that had to try to make something out of nothing. Seabiscuit also started out with very little. He was rejected by many owners because of his size. He had to work his way up using only heart. The average Americans at the time were put in similar situations. They also started out with nothing and had to make money through hard work and a bit of optimism. He also showed that the little guy could win during his race with War Admiral. War Admiral represented the rich, the people that owned everything and had everything given to them. When Seabiscuit beat War Admiral it showed that even the poor have a chance at beating the system and getting out of the Great Depression. Though he may not have ended the depression on his own, he was a major inspiration to the people of the time.
Stefan Rush
4th Hour
The movie Seabiscuit reflects the Great Depression because Seabiscuit is like poor people during the time of the Great Depression and since he was taught to lose and couldn’t win any races. Because Seabiscuit was an average horse that wasn’t meant to win, it gave many of the average American people how to make it through the Great Depression and to give these New Deal plans a shot. Seabiscuit had to go through a lot before he became a winning horse which is just like how the American society needed to work with the New Deal plans so we could come out on top and be a superpower again. Also when Seabiscuit lost the one hundred thousand dollar race to War Admiral he persevered even harder to win the next race against him. This perseverance is very much like what Americans had to do to get their lives back on track.
Derek M.
5th Houree
Sea biscuit reflects the Great Depression in the way that it is symbolic of the rise of the underdog. Sea biscuit is representing the common man (he is the common man’s horse) and at first no one believes in him. He loses many races, and does what people predict he is going to do, which is lose. But then, after someone puts the time of day to help Sea biscuit, he becomes the greatest story of an underdog ever. War Admiral, his rival, is representing the wealthy folk of the Great Depression. They were smug, cocky, and thought that there was no way that the common man would be as good as them. When sea biscuit finally races war admiral, he wins. Just as the American people rose up and defeated depression. Sea biscuit gave people hope that the underdog could overcome any obstacle if they just believe in themselves.
TJ Hyland
5th Hour
How did the horse Seabiscuit help out the people during the Great Depression?
The reason that Seabiscuit was so popular I think was because he was winning, mostly. He was the son of the great horse Man-of-War, but no one wanted him because he was so small. And he went from trainer, and stable to a world famous horse. It symbolized the American dream, and life of the average American. At that time the average American was like the young Seabiscuit, nobody wanted/needed him to race/work. He was having a rough life, but when he got his chance he took it and succeeds in his life. This is all the people of the Great Depression wanted, a chance. They liked Seabiscuit because they could relate to him, a horse that was having bad luck and got a chance and took it, people back then prayed for a chance like Seabiscuit got.
Alex Diaczok
In Seabiscuit’s time, he was the underdog. Small, undersized, underweight, people snickered at him being a race horse. And so he was cast away as a failure. Even though he was bred for success and destined for great things, maybe even the chance at a triple crown, he was shot down when no one could seem to make him a good race horse. So he was thrown away, cast into the shadows, until, he was cast back onto his feet, and a new eccentric trainer let Seabiscuit be free, and that’s all he needed. He soon became dominant of all his fellow horse’s. Rising above them to become the best, and eventually beat the one that people would say was “Unbeatable”. So how does Seabiscuit reflect the Great Depression? Seabiscuit was a horse that epitomized those who lived during the Great Depression. People saw him as hope for a brighter tomorrow: if Seabiscuit could do it, then so could they. Seabiscuit proved to these people that they could overcome adversity in order to prosper; and that’s all they needed at that time.
Tyler Friedman
5th Hour
The horse Seabiscuit represents the poor people during the great depression. Seabiscuit is like the nation at the time, at the lowest it could possibly be. There were poor people everywhere, and it seemed like the nation would never get out of the mess it was in. Seabiscuit is just like them because he was such a messed up horse. Nobody ever thought he would come out of it, just like everyone thought the depression would never end. But a lot of determination and hard work made him into what he became known as today. This hard work eventually payed off, he never gave up and he fought till the end. This led him to be the admired horse War Admiral. Just like how the American people fought for the election of Rosevelt, who gave them the New Deal and got them out of the great depression. This shows us to never give up hope, and when times are tough you gotta just keep on movin.
Andrew Littlefield
5th Hour
Seabiscuit was such a great hero because he represented hope for the American people. During the Great Depression, people were broke, could not support their wives and children, and everybody was living in terrible conditions, wealthier people who had almost caused the depression were doing better than the poor people, the poor of the United States were looked down upon. Nobody thought that they would be given a chance. Seabiscuit represented the American people because he was looked at as the little guy who nobody expected to beat the bigger guy. In a way that match race kind of represented the poor America versus the rich America. The fact that Seabiscuit was a come from behind horse also made him represent the American people because it wasn’t what was in his legs, it was what was in his heart. Seabiscuit needed to look his opponent in the eye in order to get the drive he needed. I think that the American people also needed to see their enemies and problems in order to overcome the depression.
Matt B.
4th hour
Seabiscuit reflects the Great Depression by how that horse was an underdog and always trained to be the loser horse in a race but when he was given a chance Seabiscuit grew and became good enough to beat War Admiral, the best horse in the west. This rising of the underdog became a symbol during the great depression. Seabiscuit put hope into many men who were out of work. Seabiscuit inspired these men to overcome their losses and get back on their own track to victory. Seabiscuit also put some money into the economy through bets. People went to the horse races and bet on who they thought would win. This helped some people to get back on their feet after they had been hit by the depression, especially when Seabiscuit beat War Admiral. That race was one of the biggest races in Seabiscuit’s career not only for him but for the American people. That horse’s win brought hope into thousands of Americans’ hearts and inspired them to get though the depression.
Robbie Lewis
5th Hour
Seabiscuit represented the great depression for two things. He represented hope, and he represented second chances. During the Great Depression, the poor and the struggling were looked down upon. Regardless of the time period, there was still mentality of Social Darwinism in rich who were still comfortable and successful with their lives. The Depression crushed a lot of people’s dreams and hopes for the future, suicide and poverty was a common thing. Seabiscuit and Tobey, even though they were constantly looked down upon because they had no money and the rich kept trying to put them down, the common people loved and supported the horse because he was a sign of hope for the future. Despite all of those struggles they went through, they succeeded in the end and won the race. I think Seasbiscuit winning the race showed that if one individual works hard and continues to strive for greatness, anything is possible.
John Cassetta
4th hour/Us History 10B
Wickersham
Seabiscuit reflects the Great Depression by how that horse was an underdog and always trained to be the loser horse in a race but when he was given a chance Seabiscuit grew and became good enough to beat War Admiral, the best horse in the west. This rising of the underdog became a symbol during the great depression. Seabiscuit put hope into many men who were out of work. Seabiscuit inspired these men to overcome their losses and get back on their own track to victory. Seabiscuit also put some money into the economy through bets. People went to the horse races and bet on who they thought would win. This helped some people to get back on their feet after they had been hit by the depression, especially when Seabiscuit beat War Admiral. That race was one of the biggest races in Seabiscuit’s career not only for him but for the American people. That horse’s win brought hope into thousands of Americans’ hearts and inspired them to get though the depression.
Robbie Lewis
5th Hour
Blog #23 How did Seabiscuit reflect America?
I think the main reason that Seabiscuit reflected America was because America saw themselves in Seabiscuit, a little horse that struggled majorly in the beginning of his career and triumphantly overcame all of the criticism and scrutiny by beating the bully War Admiral. America saw the beginning of his career as the heart of the great depression where they both America and Seabiscuit struggled and were not being respected at all, America was being laughed at and Seabiscuit could not run in a straight line. However when Seabiscuit defeated war Admiral they saw it as “the light at the end of the tunnel” and a sign of hope and eventually America brought itself back up to a world super power and Seabiscuit is seen as one of the greatest Horses ever.
Ryan Gillis
5th Hour
Sea biscuit represents the Great Depression because it shows that people who are in very low poverty or are at rock bottom can even make there way to the top. In the beging of the Sea biscuit movie Sea Biscuit was at the bottom, he was so low that his trainers trained him to be a loser. But in the end he rose to the top and got a better trainer, kind of like how during the great depression we got a new president. The horse ended up being at the top and winning every race instead of losing every race. This horse is relevant towards people living during the Great Depression. This is because it shows that even people who start with little or no faith can succeed in the end if they put their minds and enough effort to pull through. People who were in low poverty and were very poor struggled so much that it put us into a Great depression (latterly). Like Sea biscuit, people had to tough it out and prove to everyone that all they need is a little hope and things can fall back into the right pieces.
Gina
5th Hour
How does Saebiscuit reflect the Great Depression?
I think that Seabisciut reflects the Great Depression because he was an underdog, a normal horse that ended up being famous and having a good life in the Great Depression. He was a symbol to the normal people, proving that someone normal, an underdog, can rise up out of the Depression. People looked up to Seabiucuit because they could relate to him in a way. They were like the horse because they both rose up out of the Depression and they are wanting a better life. They also looked up to Red Pollard because he also rose up out of the Depression and was proving to people that it can be done.
Carleigh Bechtolt
i think that so many people were able to relate to seabiscuit because he was the underdog. i think that a lot of people at the time felt like they, too were the underdog, and they felt as though they should be doing better that they were at the time. Because seabiscuit was a small horse, and his competetor (i'm sorry, ive forgotten his name) was so large and strong, and appeared to be the obvious winner, noone thought he would win. i think that in the movie they portray seabiscuit as the horse who wants it more (though who really knows, they are horses) and the other horse didn't seem like he needed it as much. I think that as a victim of the great depression, many people found an interest in this horse because it must have been nice to see someone in a very similar position as themselves try to win something when it seems there is no hope left for them. i think that it must be the similarities in the people and seabiscuit that gained him so much support.
Megan W.
4th hour
Seabiscuit was one of the greatest racing horses there was at that time. He was seen as too small and not good enough to race. But some people had some faith in him and trained him. He soon was able to beat the best horse out there and was the greatest racing horse. Seabiscuit reflects the great depression in many ways. One way is he reflects the workers. He reflects the workers because they were viewed as small and couldn’t get the job done, and were never given the chance to show their true potential. But if they were given the chance, they performed just like Seabiscuit. He also reflects the businesses of that time. He reflects them because these were also viewed as small and when they were up against other competition they looked them in the eye and passed them and became more successful. Seabiscuit was viewed as a hero and gave many people hope in a time of need.
Jason Schreiber
4th hour
The great depression was a time where many people had nothing and the few things that they had they had to hold on. The most important thing they needed to hold on to was hope! Sea biscuit reflects the great depression because Sea Biscuit started off at the very bottom and then made it to the very top, the best of the best. A horse like Sea Biscuit helps reminds people that there is still hope in the world even if everything seems like its not going to get better. Sea Biscuit is a get example of hope that should help motivate people to never give up or let go of hope. This is why many people in the 1930’s like to track and watch Sea Biscuit because of the accomplishments he had made. Sea biscuit is also a great example of teamwork because Sea Biscuit needed his trainer pushing him to be the best because if his trainer wasn’t pushing him then he probably wouldn’t have been the best. This shows people that if you work together that you can raise above and get out of depression.
Tyler Howe 4th
Seabiscuit shows us how not only People are affected by the great depression. As silly as it sounds animals have things they go through also. But we are always caught up i nourselves to even know. It shows how strong the horse aka Seabiscuit was and he he got through everything. Also how his owner was going through his own trials but still managed to get through it with the help of his horse Seabiscuit
Rae Williams 2nd hour
Seabiscuit was identified with because he was the same as many people during that time. Seabiscuit was the underdog. He was born small, and because of that, he was put down and ignored. Many people were currently poor and disliked because of the depression, or some other reason. Seabiscuit’s enemies were the larger horses who were said to be better, and were cared more for. The larger horses symbolized the richer people. They thought they were superior and should get everything. However, Seabiscuit trained hard and became better than everyone else. Seabiscuit then achieved his goal or dream of being great. That was the one thing people loved the most. That was the perfect example of the American dream. The horse started from nothing, but achieved everything it could want. People thought, “If a horse can do it, why not us?”. They felt the American dream wasn‘t lost. People saw him a shining star and so they thought of him as a hero. I believe those people were right.
Rob S.
Seabiscuit was a glimmer of hope for the people of the United States during the great depression. This horse showed the people that the underdog can win. Excellence and prosperity does not come from being given the genes, you must believe in yourself. It doesn’t matter how small or weak you are, you can accomplish great things if you put your mind to it. Seabiscuit made the rags to riches story tangible. People at this time thought there was no hope, but when Seabiscuit made his way to the top it almost motivated people to be assertive and also try their hardest to get their lives back. People at this time most likely didn’t see Seabiscuit as anything besides a horse, but now we can see how large of an impact he actually had on our society. Our countries escape from the great depression can be directly related to the success of the underdog hero of America, Seabiscuit.
Fred Carington
5th Hour
How does Seabiscuit reflect the Great Depression?
This movie represents the great depression. Although seabiscut is about a horse and the depression deals with real people the message and the theme is the same. The point of seabiscut is that the horse is a symbol of the depression. He is a horse who has to overcome challenges. The people in the great depression also have problems to face and struggles to overcome. People identified with him and his rider because it was a touching story of courage and people thought if a horse can get through bad times so can they.
Marin Haffey 5th hr
seabiscuit reflects the great depression by being the underdog out of a large amount of elites and people related themselves to seabiscuit's upcoming to a type of hero story to themselves. during the great depression, many jobs were lost and as a result many people had little or no income to provide for their families. the fact that people lost jobs and losing their incomes were lost destroyed many peoples investments just to make their payments for food and housing gave them a loss of morale. one of the large accomplishments made by him in his last race was setting a record for fastest time in Santa Anita. another way that seabiscuit might have helped some of the economy in a way is to bring out all the fans to the races and getting the publicity of a Hollywood star. His constant publicity and race sales got him more publicity than adolf Hitler, or even the president, Franklin Roosevelt. seabiscuit growing from a small abandoned horse to becoming a champion and beating horses run by the big companies and the rich people who seemed to run the country showed people that even the underdog can grow to become a champion.
Ryan L.
seabiscuit and Red Palmer are related to the great depression by they both represent the poor people and how hard that they had it during the great depression. From them starting their horse racing career and showing us the downfalls like when they both injured themselves and got back into racing and not giving up, Just like the great depression. a lot of people related to seabiscuits story by he wasn’t a big fancy rich horse he was simple and had nothing like most people during the depression, which is probably wh so many people routed for him and supported him.
Kathy K.
During the time of the Great Depression, people looked towards unlikely heroes to carry their spirits through. One of the most famous heroes during this hard time was not even human. This was Seabiscuit, the amazing racehorse who helped restore hope back into American hearts and minds. Seabiscuit greatly affected the great depression because he was an inspirational racehorse. Seabiscuit emerged onto the racing scene an underdog who no one believed could achieve anything. But what they ended up seeing was truly spectacular. According to Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, An American Legend, “he may in his time have been the most popular athlete that America has ever produced”. Fans looked to Seabiscuit to entertain them in their times of despair, but he was more than just entertainment to them. He represented all the lower-class Americans who were still surviving, the underdogs who were trying to make it big. Seabiscuit was a huge success, and his legend will live on as a symbol of the Great Depression.
Claire Hayes
2nd hour
Seabiscuit along with James Bradic represent great heroes during The Great Depression. During the depression people had no hopes that everything would be alright. But thanks to those two icons people had some happiness in their lives. Both Seabiscuit and James Bradic were entertainment towards the people, and people looked at them as heroes. According to Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit, An American Legend, “he may in his time have been the most popular athlete that America has ever produced”. Also people loved to watch boxing matches and James Bradic was the "Muhammed Ali" of the Great Depression time. Both are icons/legends and they will be remembered as those two things during the great depression.
Tommy Syrkett 2nd hour
Seabiscuit embodied the life of an American during the great depression because he had a similar story. He started off as a struggling horse that didn’t win any races. This paralleled what most Americans were going through. They were struggling and had a hard time keeping themselves well and healthy. When Seabiscuit got a new Jockey (Red) and started winning, it put people in a different mind. In some ways it gave them something to keep there mind off of the depression. It also gave hope, because before, Seabiscuit was a struggling horse, and now he was turning into a success. As Seabiscuit got better, America began pulling itself out of the depression. When Seabiscuit got injured, many people thought that he was never going to be able to race again, but when he got better, and raced again it gave people even more hope for the horse and for the country.
Katie B.
seabisquit reflects the gret depression by having a simple man went from having something to having nothing and all he wnated to prove was that he was a man of strenght and courage that he could ride a horse that could never be taught to listen, but the most amazing part is, is that they both had a stubborn attitude and in the end they both taught themselves to persue and to do and be anything that they wanted to do in life. this may seem like a fake american dream, but this story is a story of hope and a story of truth where you can always perservere to anything that you wanted to do in life, in my conclusion, seabisquite is really a story about the great depression and how it can affect one man to be something bigger than he imagined.
Lydia Gaiters
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