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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was the coxswain of the varsity boat that raced against the freshmen at the University of Washington in Part 2: Resiliency, Chapter 6?

2. How many acres was the "stump farm" that Harry Rantz purchased in Sequim?

3. On what date did Joyce Simdar's family home burn to the ground?

4. Whose quotations open almost each chapter of The Boys in the Boat?

5. On what date did the University of Washington's freshman and varsity rowing teams board the train for Poughkeepsie in 1934?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the setting of Seattle described in 1933 in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 1?

2. How does the author describe his first meeting with Joe Rantz in the Prologue of The Boys in the Boat?

3. Where did the Rantz family live in Seattle when they moved there in 1924-1925? Where did Harry Rantz work at this time?

4. What was Ky Ebright's relationship to the University of Washington? How did this history influence his actions as coach at the University of California at Berkeley?

5. What irony and symbolism can be seen in the performance of the Washington crew as they prepared for Poughkeepsie in Part 2: Resiliency, Chapter 7?

6. How does the author describe Joseph Goebbels' rise to prominence in Part 2: Resiliency, Chapter 6?

7. What event led to the Rantz family moving to Idaho in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 2? How did Joe like Idaho?

8. How is Harry Rantz described in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 2? What were Harry's ambitions?

9. How would you compare the actions, motivations, and characteristics of Joe Rantz and Thula Rantz?

10. What frustrations did Coach Al Ulbrickson face as the crews prepared for Poughkeepsie in Part 3: The Parts That Really Matter, Chapter 9?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the narrative style of The Boys in the Boat. How does the narrative shift after the Prologue? Is the narrator involved in the action of the story? Why do you think the author chose this narrative style? How would the book differ if related from a different perspective?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the actions, objectives, and obstacles of Thula Rantz in the narrative. How old was Thula when she married Harry Rantz? What attracted Thula to Harry? Was Thula happy in her marriage? Why or why not? What were Thula’s feelings about Joe?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the actions, objectives, and obstacles of Harry Rantz in the narrative. How did Harry respond to the death of his first wife? What was Harry’s relationship like with Joe when Joe was young? How did their relationship evolve over time?

(see the answer keys)

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