Boys In The Boat Analysis

In front of Hitler, the Washington rowing team was the victor the 1936 Olympics. The Washington team was a handful of boys who had come from the Wild West during the Great Depression. They didn’t have money, but they had power and a willingness to work hard. Joe, the main character, had innumerable experiences in his life that he could of used to destroy him, but they only made him stronger. Conversely, plenty others would have given up. The boys on the Washington rowing team were not in the latter category and they worked arduously through everything to achieve their goals. “Boys in the Boat”, by Daniel James Brown, proves that anyone can overcome disadvantages using hard work, trust, and teamwork.

Hard work can help overcome even the most

Joe was still having problems rowing, and Pokock gave him some more advice. “He suggested that Joe think of a well-rowed race as a symphony, and himself as just one player in the orchestra. If one fellow in an orchestra was playing out of tune, or playing at a different tempo, the whole piece would naturally be ruined” (Brown 234-235). Even though in rowing it is important to have strength, it is more important to all be together rowing as one team. Your strokes need to be in perfect rhythm to propel the sleek shell forward. Consequently, you can use your strength as if you were a living, breathing machine. “Their oars were bending like bows, the blades entering and leaving the water cleanly, smoothly, efficiently, the shell’s whale-oil-slick hull ghosting forward between pulls, its sharp cedar prow slicing through the dark water, boat and men forged together, bounding fiercely forward like a living thing” (Brown 348). In the final race, Washington was in the worst lane with wind howling and waves splashing and they missed the start. However, they were able to settle into a groove and barely edge against even Germany, which was in the lane that was protected from all weather, in the final second and win a gold for the U.S. Nevertheless, using teamwork, the Washington team was able to overcome their