How Does Joe Rantz Influence Joe Kinsella

Have you ever heard of anyone with more dedication and determination than Joe Rantz and Ray Kinsella? These two men started from nothing, only having their dreams in the back of their heads. In the books The Boys in the Boat and Shoeless Joe, both Ray Kinsella and Joe Rantz have endless persistence throughout the story with the hope of completing their dreams. One of the main reasons why these two men are so passionate and dedicated to what they want to do is because of their fathers influence on them. Both fathers had a strong work ethic and both worked very hard to set a good example for their kids. The thought of their fathers kept them strong throughout both stories. Joe Rantz, a young man who was left alone by his father while only a

Joe started with a good life, an only child who had a father and mother until disaster struck. His mother passed away almost killing his father emotionally. This was the first time Joe was left alone. Although Joe was upset, he understood what his dad was doing. Joe knew he felt lonely and needed someone. Later in the book, Joe has a new mother named Thula and a few brothers. Joe loved his brothers but he did not like Thula as a mother or person, Thula felt the same about Joe. Since Joe was not her child, she didn’t want anything to do with him. He convinced Joe's father, Harry, to leave Joe by himself. This was the start of the new independent and determined Joe. The young man started to care for himself now, go fishing, gather necessities, and most importantly continue to go to school. During this time Joe worked hard and was able to excel in academics at the same time. After a few months of living alone, Joe’s cousin reached out to him and told him to come to Washington; there he could go to school and have a house and a “family” to support him. In the gym one day after school, the Washington Crew coach saw Joe and was instantly impressed with his skills on the bars. He asked

In the beginning of the book while sitting on his front porch, a voice in the air says “if you build it, he will come” (6), this started Ray on his journey. After hearing this voice, he immediately thinks of Joe Jackson, his and his father’s favorite baseball player of all time; this made him build the left field of the baseball diamond he was soon to create. Ray while talking to J.D. Salinger who he believed he must meet after another voice says “ease his pain” (31) says, “I love to stand in my yard at dawn, smell the dew, and watch the sun come up. I’ve built a magical baseball diamond at the edge of the cornfield, and I spend my evening there watching” (83). Continuing on through the story, Ray and J.D. Salinger work together to find out why they keep hearing these voices and also work on how to keep the baseball field. Throughout the book, Ray, the owner of the farm and baseball field, is constantly confronted by his cousin Mark who is trying to buy his property to benefit himself, knowing that Ray can’t afford the place for much longer. Ray and his wife Annie always decline the offer knowing that one day the debt will be gone and as a family they can live their lives happily. During the cousins last confrontation, Ray pulls a gun and threatens