Analysis Of The Boys In The Boat

Summary of Chapter 2 of The Boys In the Boat The Boys In The Boat, written by Dan Brown and published in 2013, focuses on the rowing team who won the gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In particular, “Chapter 2” is about the childhood of Joe Rantz, one of the gold medalists of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Harry Rantz, father of Joe Rantz, was an amateur mechanic with a big dream. He married Nellie Rantz in 1899. After Fred, an elder brother of Joe, was born in 1899, they moved to Spokane, WA, in 1914, when Joe was born as their second son.

I had the pleasure of reading an outstanding, best seller book called, The Boys In The Boat Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown. This book is about the life of Joe Rantz, and the “boat.” Joe was born in Spokane. At the age of three his mother passed away. With the start of the Great Depression people had lost their jobs, homes, and had nowhere to go. He went though some hard obstacles including being left behind at the age of fifteen. Joe said “The whole thing was over in five minutes” (www.gritfire.com). Mr. Rantz also becomes self-reliant by finding his own way. He also learns how to rebuild trust with his father, and to others.

Throughout The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Joe Rantz shows the traits of a common protagonist. Joe grows throughout the book as a person and an athlete in order to eventually push himself to win the gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. This book is a great example of how despite his setbacks it didn't stop him from living his life and chasing his dreams in winning the Olympics.

The front cover shows a scene of a rowing crew in the water. The vast amounts of water and tranquil sky prove to the reader that even the things that are most challenging in life, can be calming and enjoyable. Pictures throughout the text help the reader to better understand Rantz’s and the crew’s lives.

“The Boys in the Band”, is a play about male homosexual relationships and the revealing truths of being gay in the 1960s. The play gives audiences a distinct perspective of homosexuality on the stage up until that time. The setting is in a New York City apartment that is owned by Michael. He and his gay friends are preparing a birthday party for Harold. Alan McCarthy, a former college roommate of Michael, also shows up at the party unexpectedly. In this paper, we will focus on Alan and Harold and their behaviors and impacts in the play.

Thoughts of drowning run rampant in every man’s mind on that boat. At dawn, the men decided that their only chance is to row toward the distant shore again and swim when the boat finally capsizes.

People that are able to over come challenges in their life are the ones we most often see succeed in life. They are the ones that have the most determination and drive to put their best foot forward and the capabilities to make it in the real world where you cant let a little thing take you down. In The Boys in the Boat, all of the boys over come many obstacles but the person that over comes the challenges the best and has the most drive to push forward was Joe Rantz.

The short story “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod is narrated by a man who comes from a fishing family. His mother’s side of the family has forever lived and worked by the sea and continues this tradition. The narrator’s father always wanted to be an academic, but worked on the boat to support his family. Through this passage it is evident that the parents’ characters clash in many aspects of their lives and are in constant conflict. MacLeod demonstrates this through the use of repetition, the contrast in other unrelated ideas, and through information that is withheld.

“The Boat” by Nam Le, is a serious of short stories that while representing a number of different themes throughout each story, the central theme regards the complicated relationship between children and their parents, with each story examining this theme in different ways. The opening and closing stories, “Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice”, and “The Boat”, not only develop the relationship between children and parents and how the child attempts to maintain this relationship; but also how they live their lives without their parents.

In the short story, “The Swimmer,” John Cheever uses precise literary devices to emphasize the true meaning behind what the average reader might first gather. Throughout this short story, Neddy’s journey is recorded through what he does and how the time changes. His actions of “jumping from pool to pool” show Neddy’s incapabilities of growing up and the falsehood that he lives in. John Cheever wants the readers to understand that Neddy’s life is only a downfall as the years go by, and that his outlook on life doesn’t change until he realizes all his actions have left him alone. To set the tone of the story, the author uses metaphors of different objects to show Neddy’s changes in life, change of diction to set a tone from excellence to weakness, and Neddy’s life paralleled through the imagery described in this short story.

In the short story, “The Boat” by Alistair Macleod, symbolism is used to represent an abstract idea. The boat, being a major symbol of the story was the way of life for the family. As the story goes on, the boat starts to make the family feel confined giving them a choice to leave or stay with the boat. There were symbols that impacted the story that had connection towards the boat. Chain bracelets, the father’s clothes, the books that the father read are all symbols that tied to the boat. The father's chain bracelets and clothes represent the father feeling trapped as a fisherman since he never changes out of them. We find out more about the characters and their personal connection with the boat and the other symbols and what it means to them. The family starts to fall apart due to the kids learning about the father’s books leading to them moving away from home. Symbolism is used when one thing is meant to represent something else adding meaning and emotion to the story which is well represented throughout the story.

The Boys in The Boat takes place in the midst of the Great Depression, Joe Rantz, a young boy who struggled to live his whole life after his family abandoned him, tried out for the University of Washington rowing team. Little did he or any of the other boys in the boat know that what they had just stepped into would push them to their physical and mental breaking point to reach the Berlin Olympics and the Olympic gold medal. Most men that tried to enter the rowing team failed while Joe Rantz succeeded and became a champion because of two important qualities that all champions must have, enduring will power and being part of a team.

Justin Rollins, raised in the streets of South-London, was deprived of a childhood where he fought for purpose in a world filled with racism and violence. In his book “The Lost Boyz” he tells us the crucial events which occurred throughout his upbringing which shaped his journey through his teenage years. This essay will critically evaluate the theories and explanations for Rollins’ offending behaviour using a wide range of criminological perspectives.

“Free will and determinism are like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt is determinism. The way you play your hand is free will.” (Norman Cousins) “The Lost Boyz” by Justin Rollins, is a remarkable, personal recount of the author’s dejected youth as well as a deep, raw and vivid insight into the ways and consequences of a broken youths’ mind (Rollins, 2011). Throughout his book, Rollins depicts the divergent factors responsible for his descend into the criminal lifestyle, ultimately attributing them to two key criminological theories; classicism and positivism (Newburn, 2017). Classicist criminology, or the classical approach to criminal behaviour is centred around the idea of free will and rational thinking, defining the criminal

Alistair Macleod writes of a person who is unable to make a coherent decision of his career path due to the pressures placed on him by his parents in the story, "The Boat". Being the eldest child as well as coming from a family with a history of academic success, the pressures that I face often stem from high standards set in place by my parents with regards to my performance in school. In the story, it is evident that the narrator's father cares deeply about their children. This can be seen when the father says to his son, " 'That is no way to make a decision,' he said, 'and if you are satisfied I am not. It is best that you go back' “(188). He understands the situation that his son is in and wishes for what is he believes to be the best for him; to go to school instead of remaining in his hometown as a fisher. Similarly, I believe that the same case can be made for the source of the expectations set by my parents. Despite my father’s scholastic achievements, due to