Cinderella Man Essay Example

When you think of the Roaring Twenties images of Jazz musicians, grand ballrooms, and Flappers, come to mind. They all remind you of joy and prosperity. One man, James J. Braddock, was on top of the world in 1928. Braddock at the time was a lightweight title contender. James was living the life all people in New Jersey wised they could have. He had 3 beautiful children, a loving wife, and a profitable job. Braddock was doing what he loved and he was good at it. In 1929, however, Braddock started to lose everything. James J. Braddock’s loss to Tommy Loughran and his broken hand led to his demise. Braddock became one of the many people that suffered from the stock market crash and the Great Depression. With the loss of all his savings in stocks and no fights for income, he had to face hardships that no one should ever have to face.

James J. Braddock lost his license to be in the boxing league. Braddock’s no contest led to a broken hand and no supplemental income. His career in boxing seemed over at that point. During the Great Depression, hundreds of people would line outside the fences of shipyards hoping they would be one of the few that were selected to work that day. Braddock was forced to become one of these many men hoping to work as a longshore man. However, Braddock had a broken hand due to his last fight. James J. Braddock worried that if the owners of the business saw his broken hand he would never be chosen to work. As an effort to conceal his cast, Braddock’s wife, Mae, covered his white cast in black shoe polish to match the color of his coat. When Braddock was finally chosen to work as a longshore man, he had a hard time at first doing so. With his right hand being broken, he had to use his left hand to compensate for his injury. He persevered through the pain for his family’s well-being. He knew that even without the small amount of money earned from that job, he wouldn’t be able to pay the bills to keep his family warm and fed. Braddock knew this