The Development Of Joe Rantz In The Boys In The Boat

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Joe Rantz’s character arc helps him develop over the course of The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Towards the beginning of the book, Joe is very independent and goal oriented. After being abandoned by his dad for the second time 15 year old Joe knew that to be able to feed himself he would need to take every opportunity he could to stay ahead of The Great Depression. “In all all this Joe grew continually stronger and ever more self reliant. Through it all he stayed in school and earned good grades” (Brown 62). Joe stayed determined and was able to make a living for himself. Although it wasn’t a life of luxury it was his life and he was able to persist. One beacon of light in Joes life was Joyce Simdars. Joyce knew what hardships