Summary Of Joe Rantz's The Boys In The Boat

I chose the book The Boys in the Boat because the storyline seemed really interesting. Joe Rantz as a young child was abandoned by his parents. He was forced to work for his money, his life, and his education. This makes him into a strong, iron-willed man, which helps him get recruited to row at the University of Washington. Oddly enough, this turns out to be the best thing that could ever happen to him, as his crew goes on a remarkable 4 year run that included three national titles and a gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. But none of this would’ve happened if it wasn’t for the “constant swinging of the axe at the schoolhouse and the hoisting of trays in the cookhouse” then his body would never have been in the great shape it was

in order for him to be a rowing star (Brown 37). This quote shows how Joe’s trials actually became what made him so successful. Joe later has “a fierce determination, a sense of rising resolution” which allows him to work incredibly hard, and put himself in a better situation than what most homeless teenagers would be in. This leads to my GRQ, as most kids who have the same conditions as Joe don’t grow up to be successful. I wondered what relation, if any, was there with the parents’ income at the adolescent years to the salary as an adult. This GRQ interests me because it involves numbers and stats, which have always appealed to me. Plus, I get to see how much the ‘American Dream’ is really true. If I dive into the research and find out that it is very rare to exceed your parents income by large amounts, then I will know how much of a dream the ‘American Dream’ is. The effect of parental income on future income intrigues me, and I am excited to find out about the ‘American Dream’.