Teamwork is Key
“When you get the rhythm in an eight, it’s pure pleasure to be in it. It's not hard work when the rhythm comes- that “swing” as they call it. I’ve heard men shriek out with delight when that swing came in an eight, it’s a thing they’ll never forget as long as they live.” -George Pocock The 1936 Olympics was an international multi-sport event held in Berlin where eight young boys, against all odds, managed to row their way to their first gold medal in the eights rowing competition. The Boys in The Boat by Daniel James Brown delves into the stories of Joe Rantz and Washington’s rowing organization before their victory in the Olympics, revealing the many obstacles they had to overcome to gain the coveted gold medal. At the beginning of Chapter 13, the epigraph above describes the beauty and efficiency of the “swing” in rowing, where a team begins to row in sync in an almost magical fashion, leading to an amazing increase in performance. The following chapter described the creation of the rowing crew and their victory at the Pacific Coast Regatta over their rivals in California. Their victory, however, was only possible through the crew’s performance as a team, achieving the ‘swing’ that Pocock’s described in the epigraph. Teamwork is essential to the success of any organization, large or small. The necessity of teamwork was especially emphasized through Pocock’s comparison between a rowing crew and a symphony, stating “If one fellow in an orchestra was
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.
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 Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown is a true story which illustrates the importance of grit and perseverance in the face of challenging situations. Throughout his troubled upbringing, Joe Rantz faces depressing and unfortunate events. When he was young, his mother dies, and his father remarries a harsh woman, Thula, who treats Joe dreadfully. His father can't hold a job, and his family keeps moving from town to town, which negatively impacts his social life. Eventually, Thula threatens to end the marriage with Joe’s father unless Joe leaves the family. Joe’s father accepts Thula’s request, and he abandons Joes when he is only fifteen years old. Yet in the midst of living independently at such a young age, Joe perseveres through the challenges and achieves his life’s dreams. When he is left with almost nothing, his drive to succeed ultimately leads to his triumph at rowing and to his winning of an Olympic gold medal in Berlin.
The Boys In The Boat by Daniel James Brown is a New York Times Bestseller about Joe Rantz and eight other boys on the crew team and the journey they took on the way to win Olympic Gold in 1936. Joe Rantz is the main character who grew up alone and abandoned in Sequim, Washington, and made his way onto the team destined for greatness through his own hard work. The nine boys run into adversity when attempting to become the boat that will make it to the Olympics but they overcome it while one of their teammates attempts to overcome an illness. The climax of the story comes when the nine boys are in the middle of the race for gold and they begin to make a comeback against the German team. The falling action comes as they cross the finish line and
The Boys in the Boat is a nonfiction novel written by Daniel James Brown. This book takes place in 1936 in Germany where the Berlin Olympics were held. Nine American boys from the University of Washington on a eight-oar rowing team entered the Olympics. They were going for the gold and to win it all. They caught the attention of millions of people. Their story of how they got to where they are is very emotional and inspirational.
Katzenbach and Smith (1993a) recognise teams as the basic units of performance in organisations and identify a team as '...a small number of people with complimentary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.'
As a citizen of the wonderful city of Laurel, I believe it is my duty to suggest different ideas to keep this city and its people as bright as possible. That is the reason why I believe that we should have a ‘Laurel Reads’ program. Reading is something every person needs and this program would ensure that the people of this city get what they need. Having a book for the city to read can make the entire community closer.
Success through teamwork is different from individual success. In Daniel James Brown’s “The Boys in the Boat” Joe Rantz and his teammates won the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics by placing the interests of “the boat” over their individual interests, and by doing so, they accomplished a feat that was greater than anything that they could have accomplished individually. This embodies the Belmont Hill motto, “Working Together” by showing how true teamwork leads to success through mutual respect, trust, and friendship.
Brown, Daniel. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. New York: Penguin, 2014. Print.
Throughout all books there is a common characteristic of their theme. This identifies the way this book will be seen by any of the readers. One of the biggest themes within Outliers is Human Nature and Self awareness. These ideas are huge thought this book and also in Boys in the Boat. With these characteristics we could be able to show how we truly are living our lives an how we can do what we dream of but how that is accomplished is a good idea. Within all people there is a level of self awareness that leads us to be who were are this along with our characteristics from human nature create each of us in how we live and how successful we end up being throughout our lives.
This fable was a great way to promote the importance of a team and its functions. This book had many highlights throughout the context and I would highly recommend it to leaders of a corporation or of that of a team like setting. This book offered many great implications of the model and how to use it in many diverse settings when trying to build and manage successful teams.
When observing the social classes in the Boys in the Boat, it helps develop the theme topic of overcoming adversity, showing man’s desire to be like their counterparts. In the Boys in the Boat, Joe Rantz is the definition of the lower class. He was abandoned by his family because his mother couldn’t deal with the pressure of raising multiple kids. This makes Joe resort to the wild for his food, which is vastly different from his counterparts at the University of Washington. He constantly dealt with people on “the library lawn who had glanced appreciatively his way had had to overlook what was painfully obvious to him: that his clothes were not like most of the other students” (Brown 13). Joe was not supposed to make it to college, let alone
“In Buddhist thought, our natural state - the ground of our awareness - is bliss, pure joy” (Finlayson). Most people who row, do it because it is “bliss, pure joy,” and could be a good workout (if rowing for sport). If rowing for the purpose of sport, many row to feel a rhythmic pattern between him and his teammates to work towards a sense of accomplishment.
When Daniel James Brown wrote the book The Boys in the Boat, his main purpose of the book was to entertain but he also ends up persuading the reader. The main character is Joe and he comes from a very rough childhood. His parents abandoned him and he had to be self-sufficient through high school. Nonetheless he was determined and he never gave up, so he rose to the top. This story was meant to entertain the reader because it was a wonderful and interesting story, and it was also a story to persuade the reader that no matter where you come from or what your background is you can always rise above, and that there is always room for improvement. This story also helped show the reader of how being
Explain how the author uses details of sights and sounds to help you picture the setting in your mind as you read.