Summary Of Daniel James Brown's The Boys In The Boat

In the first two beginning chapters of The Boys in the Boats by Daniel James Brown, Joe Rantz is described as “[Understanding] cold reality” (pg 3) as Brown describes how he couldn’t stand living a proper college life and his life may be fruitless if he doesn’t get accepted to the rowing team as a freshman. Joe recalls his early childhood as being a kaleidoscope of broken images which starts with him remembering his mother spewing up blood in a handkerchief with every cough she took—which ultimately led to her death. Being alone is a common reoccurrence for Joe as he head out east to Pennsylvania on a train—sans mother, father or brother. As a five-year-old Joe suffered from scarlet fever, his mother was dead, his father fled to Canada and his brother took off to finish college. Joe was completely alone. Joe Rantz slowly had his life put back together as his family returned and rejoiced. Nothing was as normal, but it resembled a broken image of his former family life which he could develop much needed bonds with. Harry, Joe’s father, married a woman named Thula, who eventually became an absolute terror in the house as she was treasured by her family for her beauty

The secure attachment style is given to a child when they have comforting and consoling parents, that way the child can later go to them when they are in need. On the other side of the spectrum, Ainsworth names another attachment style insecure avoidant; a child is insecure avoidant when they receive no response or concern from their mother or father figures and they learn that they need to rely mostly on themselves in times of need. A mix of the two is given the name insecure preoccupied, or insecure anxious, and this attachment style happens when sometimes the mother or father are present when the child needs help, so they receive some contact; the child yearns for attention, but rarely gets a reciprocating