"The Boys in the Boat," by Daniel James Brown

Introduction-

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown follows a rowing team from the University of Washington, specifically, a boy named Joe Rantz. Joe Rantz has been abandoned since childhood and had to learn how to survive on his own. However, Joe made the rowing team and must learn how to adapt. The team's main goal is to be the nation's best rowing team. This meant defeating the more experienced East Coast teams and beating their rivals, The University of Berkeley, to qualify for the 1936 Olympics held in Germany. During this time, Germany was changing into a Nazi State led by Adolf Hitler. However, the rowers at the University of Washington went through many hardships and adversity. All members of the team came from a poor blue collar background and had to survive through the Great Depression. They fought with grit and to solidify their names in history. The Boys in the Boat shows that working together and having trust in one another can get you through any obstacle in life.  

Author Introduction-  

According to the author's website, Daniel James Brown is an American author who “grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Diablo Valley College, the University of California at Berkeley, and UCLA. In 2024 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Washington.” Moreover, Brown is a technical writer and editor but was before a professor teaching writing at Stanford and San Jose State University. In present day, Brown lives in Seattle with his wife, his dog, and honey bees. He now writes narrative nonfiction books as a full time job. He makes sure that his book accurately depicts historical events clearly.     

Plot Summary-

The Boys in the Boat mainly follows a boy named Joe Rantz. Joe was born in Washington and had a troubling childhood. His mother died at a young age while his father remarried and his stepmother never truly loved him. This caused him to be abandoned by his family at the age of 15. Joe was forced to learn how to sustain himself while also facing the hardships of the Great Depression. Due to this trauma, Joe learned to never trust anyone and had a hard time developing socially. However, due to his blue collar build, he caught the eyes of the rowing team at the University of Washington. University of Washington had an up and coming rowing team led by the legendary coach Al Ulbrickson. Joe made the team and over the next two years, Joe solidified himself as a top tier rower. He helped beat teams in Poughkeepsie and defeated Ky Ebright’s UC Berkeley rowing team. All of these factors led Joe to be selected in an eight man rowing team for the 1936 Olympics in their aim of getting gold. However, the 1936 rowing team was special and unique as all the rowers came from a working class background and not a prestigious one. 

Conflict-

The Boys in the Boat shows many conflicts throughout the book. For example, in the beginning, Joe Rantz struggled to develop socially as mostly everyone he trusted has let him down or abandoned him. This caused Joe to learn how to survive without relying on anyone else. This made him develop too much self resilience as he started to trust no one. Towards the middle of the book, Joe joined the Washington rowing team and learned how to adapt to his new environment. However, he struggled as he had to learn how to overcome his fear to put trust in his teammates. Towards the end of the book, rowing in Germany was a struggle. Political tensions were rising at the time and the pressure increased. Due to the weather and rules, the U.S.A. team was put at a disadvantage. This forced the team to work even harder to achieve victory. Furthermore, throughout the whole book, Joe and his whole team struggled financially due to the Great Depression. Many of the rowers came from a blue collar background which did not lead to a sustainable wage. Typically, Joe had to work many different jobs to survive. However, Joe recalled that every time they would row against the East Coast, their competition was more sophisticated and had a white collar background. Thus, Joe and his rowing team had to overcome the economic class difference and prove to the world that anyone can win. 

Character Analysis-

Joe's life in the beginning of the book can be characterized as tough. Due to his family abandoning him, Joe never felt true love and had someone to trust. This caused him to become self resilient as he had to work hard at a young age to survive. Joe learned to survive on his own with no one's help but became quiet. Joe believed that if he set his mind to it, he could achieve it, but he often kept it to himself. Every time he tried to socialize, many other people bullied him , like when he would play the guitar. In turn, Joe became socially isolated. However, this all changed when he joined the University of Washington. 

Joe began to change as a person with the help of his girlfriend, named Joyce and George Yeoman Pocock, and Al Ulbrickson. Joyce listened to Joe and genuinely loved him. She supported him through his races and with his family issues. In fact, Joyce wanted Joe to confront his family that what they did to him was wrong. In the end, Joyce helped take care of Joe and turned him into a more confident person. Furthermore, George Yeoman Pocock told Joe that he must trust his teammates and believe in himself. Joe can't be afraid anymore, he must accept. Al Ulbrickson, Joe’s coach, believed in Joe since he set eyes on him. He always had a feeling he was fit for rowing and always gave him advice and encouragement. 

All of these factors had led Joe to become a more cable and confident person. Due to the advice from Joyce, Pocock, and Ulbrickson, Joe put trust in his teammates and the boat had found its “swing.” Joe learned the importance of teamwork and opened up as a person to make himself mentally stronger. Joe began to find self worth and people that genuinely supported and loved him. In the end, Joe changed from a quiet and self resilient kid to a confident and loving person who learned to accept others and be open. 

What I Like-

Overall, I liked how the book was structured and written. I enjoyed how the book started off with Joe’s childhood and moved on in his life with rowing and the 1936 Olympics. Furthermore, I liked how the book had constant updates on how Germany was changing into a Nazi State and preparing to showcase the Olympics. Additionally I enjoyed how the book gave off a “rags to riches” theme which made the book have a good-feeling. It felt like you went on a journey with the characters and witnessed them overcome their personal struggles. Moreover, every rowing race in the book felt intense and suspenseful. This made me become more interested as the book enters a more competitive tone. Lastly, the pictures were nice and descriptive on what the environment was like. 

Recommendations-

I strongly recommend The Boys in the Boat as it is a suspenseful yet heartwarming book about a rowing team fighting for the chance to win gold in the 1936 Olympics. Readers who enjoy seeing a character truly change for the better should read this book. The book is partially going off of the rower, Joe Rantz, which gives a first hand perspective of his life and his emotions during his rowing career at the University of Washington and in life. Historically, the book was good at painting the scene of the Great Depression and what Germany was perceived versus the reality of it. Overall, people should read the book for the lessons and themes it teaches you. 

Conclusion-

The Boys in the Boat is an inspiring tale which teaches the readers life lessons. The book demonstrates that grit can bring success but you need teamwork. People can’t be successful by themselves, they need others to trust and help. Without teamwork and trust, people can’t function properly and achieve certain goals. However, having self resilience is important for one’s pride and self worth. The book does a good job by showing both and having balance. Overall, The Boys in the Boat teaches the reader that resilience is important to survive in life but teamwork is key to overcome in life.