Running head: LITERARY ANALYSIS
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LITERARY ANALYSIS
A Literary Analysis of the Book Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
The book Seabiscuit: An American Legend is a non-fiction book by Hillenbrand Laura about the racing glory and rise to fame of the character, Seabiscuit, who happens to be an American racehorse. The book is set during the stock market crash resulting in the Great Depression, where Seabiscuit rose to international fame as a racehorse. Hence, he becomes a symbol of hope for the American citizens during tough times. The book is a captivating tale of the racehorse and the two men who believed in his potential, Charles Howard and Tom Smith, who bought him from his previous owner Fitzsimmons. Through non-fiction, the author pushes the reader to use narrative elements that are primarily characteristic of fiction tales and novels, as situations and lives diverge and intersect. Thus, this paper seeks to provide a detailed literary analysis of the book by putting forth various features that interact to complete the book. Therefore, the books various stylistic features, characterization, themes, and settings shall be explored in detail to provide a comprehensive analysis.
The books setting is during the stock market crash that caused the Great Depression period in America, between 1929 and 1940, when the worlds economy changed dramatically. The crash of the stock market drove the country into a state of hopelessness and despair. During this period, average American citizens clung to even the smallest piece of hope to offer them even a short escape or diversion from the dark reality. Thus, Seabiscuit showed them what they desired. Here, symbolism as a stylist feature comes into play in the book. The unlikely hero in the book, a short, squat, and seemingly unfit racehorse (Hillenbrand,...
Therefore, he becomes a symbol of hope in these dark times, portraying the idea that despite anything, however challenging and dark, good things can still happen, so people mustnt lose hope. Thus, Seabiscuit becomes a cultural icon, offering hope to the disadvantaged generation by epitomizing the idea of rags to riches to represent the American dream. The story is also a representation of loss and success. Success is evident in Seabiscuit, who rises to fame, and Howard, a successful...
…death of George Woolf is also captured in detail. On Allusion, the book ideally refers to the Great Depression and the consequential need for the American citizens to find a distraction or hope from the dark times. Personification is evident in how Seabiscuit is accorded human traits, yet it is an animal, describing his pride, boredom, and
shame, among others (Hillenbrand, 2002). All these features interact conversantly to bring the tale into perspective. The most memorable
race Seabiscuit participated in is when he goes head0on against his
antagonist, War Admiral. This book section is made fascinating and thrilling by using different words to express the characters feelings. For instance, the phrase wave of voices is used to show the excitement and cheering from the spectators towards the race (Hillenbrand, 2002, p.272-274). Seabiscuits
determination is also evident throughout the book.
Conclusion
This paper sought to establish a literary analysis of the book Seabiscuit by exploring various aspects of literature that interactively bring out multiple themes that represent the storys main ideas. It has employed characterization, articles, and various stylistic features such as symbolism to bring out the books message as described in the body of this…
