58 pages • 1 hour read
Laura HillenbrandSeabiscuit
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit can be seen as a symbol of American pluck and can-do spirit, of which the Horatio Alger tales are an example. This author, mentioned briefly in the book, wrote numerous young adult books in the latter half of the 19th century with protagonists that rose from disadvantaged positions to success through hard work or an act of courage. His book Ragged Dick exemplifies this and was the first of many to utilize this theme.
The horse can also be thought of as a symbol of America during the Great Depression: down but not out. His many trials and tribulations to become a champion and come back after a leg injury mirrors what the American people were going through in the 1930s. Unemployment reached 25% at its worst and people were in desperate straits. Dust storms in the West resulted in millions of “Dust Bowl” refugees, many seeking a better life in California. It was these kinds of experiences that led people to relate to Seabiscuit, and, as Hillenbrand writes, he provided a heroic tale that many were seeking. Like Seabiscuit, America would return after the “injury” of the Depression and once again enjoy prosperity with the war economy in the next decade.
Imposts
Imposts are the weights assigned to horses when racing, which vary in handicap races to level the playing field. As Hillenbrand writes, they “consisted of the jockey, his roughly four and a half pounds of saddle, boots, pants, and silks, and, if necessary, lead pads inserted into the saddle” (54). The purpose is to prevent the best horses from dominating the field, keeping the race closer so the outcome is less certain. It also encourages more betting since long shots are given a better chance to win. As a gifted and successful horse, Seabiscuit was often assigned the highest impost in a given race. It was, quite literally, a physical burden he had to bear and overcome to win. But imposts can also be seen as a motif running throughout the book representing the many other kinds of burdens Seabiscuit had to bear in his career, such as incorrect training and injury. It thus ties in with the book’s themes that heart is paramount in a situation and that “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Automobiles
Automobiles played a central role in the rise of Charles Howard and the source of his fortune. They symbolize progress and modernity in the United States, of the kind that led to the demise of the horse as transportation. They also played a role in the decline of the Old West in which Tom Smith made his living. Thus, they had a hand in displacing him from his long-time work, which ultimately led him to work for Howard. Hillenbrand indicates the irony of this as she juxtaposes the new and old. Howard eagerly promoted the future as a young man and then relied on an authority of the traditional, older ways to train his horses when he got older.
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