Rowing Race In Poughkeepsie Analysis

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.

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.

Joe Rantz: From abandoned boy to a victor The nonfiction memoir “The Boys in the Boat” explores how Joe Rantz is deeply influenced by positive ideas and actions when in a crew, in love, and in his family. This story talks about the journey of Joe, an abandoned boy from a child had been fighting for life to become a successful man, a member of Olympic gold medal in 1936. In addition the pain which surrounded him; there were also positive factors that helped him to become a victor man in the future. In this essay, I will discuss the roles of three elements which affected directly to Joe; they are his rowing team, his family, and his love. The first important factor to influence to Joe’s life is his rowing crew on the boat. Joe from a child who had nothing to a success man; it thanked his team too much. He stared to join this team when he was a freshman at the University of Washington, from that his life changed a lot. He had more friends, more relationships, a real job; and this also a motivation for Joe to begin an independent life and improving living. However, it was very hard to become the main member of this crew; he had to throughout many selected processes, even there was a once he was eliminated from his team. Therefore, he tried his best too much to get this opportunity to become a part of an Olympic crew. Furthermore, Joe’s team had to experience too many challenges with difficulties to get success. They had to train in very

“The Swimmer” is an allegory that is narrated in third person point of view as someone who is observing Neddy’s journey. This

For the first time in our small rowing club’s history, we made it to the finals in what was our biggest regatta of the season. Unfortunately, our boat came in dead last...by a lot. We felt bad enough, but the last thing I expected was the outburst by one of the veterans. Having only a few months of rowing experience, I assumed his yelling at us was directed at me and my novice teammates. The scenario of confronting him was running through my head. By the time we stacked the boat back on the trailer, the thoughts myriad of thoughts through my mind were spoken. I spoke in a tone that my teammates have never seen before. I even surprised myself with how I stood up and defended myself and the other newer members.

Leaving him to fend for himself at the age of ten. Since then he had always been reserved. When he first joined the crew team he was failing because people did not show him respect and he did not trust anybody. Once he came over his fear of abandonment and the other boys began to trust each other, the boys created a bond where there was no ego or personal gain. Every decision and action was the for the good of the team. “The trick would be to find which few of them had the potential for raw power, the nearly superhuman stamina, the indomitable willpower, and the intellectual capacity necessary to master the details of technique. And which of them coupled improbably with all those other qualities, had the most important one: the ability to disregard his own ambitions, to throw his ego over the gunwales, to leave it swirling in the wake of his shell, and to pull, not just for himself, not just for glory, but for the other boys in the boat” (Barker 23). Even though Joe struggled his entire life, when he was in the boat with his team he put every fiber of his being towards the speed of his boat. Even in old age, Joe made sure that when The Boys in the Boat was written, that it was not just about him but about the boat. “But not just about me. It has to be about the boat.” (Rantz 3). Joe put his mind, body and soul into the boat and left his ego and personal gain at the door. That quality helped pave the way to his Olympic dream.

Baker instills persistence into Holling, allowing him to exceed any limits or constraints put on him. In March, Holling learns that he is required to try out for the cross country team, but at this point, he is unaware of his talent. However, Mrs. Baker, being a medalist in running, teaches Holling to “run like Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics,” giving the reader as assumption that such a grand title would surely motivate Holling (Schmidt). Mrs. Baker taught Holling that running not only involves good form, but determination, and a willingness to push forward and strive. Preparing for a big meet, Holling was training vigorously to use technique, and to compete passionately, and “that night [he] ran like Jesse Owens through the dark March streets. Leaning forward. Arms and legs like pistons. Head straight and still. Hands loose. Breathing controlled” (Schmidt). Holling utilized what was taught to him and used it as motivation to push forward and exceed any limitation imposed on him. The limitations here are public opinions, or someone judging a person based on their appearance, intelligence, etc. Similarly, the eighth graders bullied Holling and the younger seventh graders which made them feel inferior and unable to be better than what they are, which with Mrs. Baker’s help, urges Holling to work harder, using what he learns from his teacher. Essentially, Mrs. Baker successfully teaches Holling to run like a champion, but

As Joe dedicates himself more to the rowing team that he is a part of, his coaches realize there is a team aspect missing. For a while when the team was rowing together some days Joe would perform wonderfully and other times the

A book’s first sentence can say a lot about what the reader is getting themselves into, which is why Mr. Daniel James Brown had to be very cautious about the first quote to choose in setting the stage for the narrative “The Boys in the Boat”. George Yeoman Pocock was a man who devoted his life to rowing and whose words would inspire others, which made him the perfect candidate for these first few sentences. His words, not only motivated the boys who rowed for the University of Washington, but also to everyone who heard him speak. His words stand the tests of time, and haven’t lost their power and strength through the years. The quotes, written by Mr. Pocock: exemplify, honor, and excite the reader about rowing including the strength and beauty that lies within the sport. The prologue begins with a simple quote, that seems to sum up the entire character, personality, and love of rowing that Joe Rantz and his classmates all have, “In a sport like this—hard work, not much glory, but still popular in every country—well there must be some beauty which ordinary

advised the entire class to look inside a research resource titled Short Stories for Students,

Daniel James Brown manages to awe and inspire readers in his book The Boys in the Boat, which describes the hardships a row crew from Washington underwent to make it to the 1936 Olympics. The story of the nine rowers on the Washington crew teaches lessons about inner confidence, trust, dedication, and the hope that can be found during even the most difficult times. I learned while reading that being the underdog doesn’t mean you’re destined to fail. Readers see that despite the hardships and many disadvantages the Washington crew faced, their dedication allowed them to beat the odds and inspire an entire nation.

The Varsity team lost to the Junior Varsity team because of their individualistic mindset. The coach of the Army Crew team admits to putting together the best crew athletes together on the Varsity team. As “Making Star Teams Out of Star Players” discusses, putting the best individuals together seems appropriate on paper, but often ignores the soft skills necessary to work together as a team. Because the coach focuses on the individual talents of the Varsity Crew team he creates an air of competitiveness within each member, instead of how they can work together. The goal of the team is not greater than that of the individual and no one wants to be the weakest link so they overcompensate their own skills. Every member of the Varsity crew team believes he is compensating for the other members and blames other members for the failure of the team, which shows a lack of team mentality and strong leadership. Through overcompensating, as stated in the case study, that throws off the balance of the boat because one member being off pace causes slower speeds. Also, through pitting the Varsity team against the Junior Varsity team it adds to the divisive culture within the whole Army Crew team.

One day Colby went outside to run his mile. He started on his trek that was too sure be a rough one. After sweat, blood and tears, he began his third lap. Little did he know was that there was a deadly rock lurking around the corner. He came around the bend full speed. He tripped on a rock and ate the ground. This horrific event resulted in a broken ankle, torn ACL, he pulled a hamstring and he got a concussion. Colby never lived another day of his life ever again as a normal kid. The track and practice fields at Havre High School are very terrible.

We watch him for signs. His arms are steady at the catch, his cadent feet tick in the stretch, they know the lesson well.” In these two sentences you can picture what is going on, and in these two sentences the author shows us again how good of technique this swimmer

As I read pages 1-3, I understood that the hardships of Joe Rantz were engraved within his mind and brought him to tears whenever he thought about it and “the boat”. First, as i read this section, Joe talks about having to be on the water on cold nights for a long time to practice. Although this statement didn’t move him to tears, just by reading it, it opens up a new outlook i had on olympic activities back in the 1930’s. My initial thought about the Olympics in this time period was that the participants weren't worked to the extent of being out on cold nights in water. I thought this because i know that medicine supply back then wasn't the best as well as there wasn't much medicine to cure or