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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 is described in Part 3: The Parts That Really Matter, Chapter 9 as "the savvy little coxswain of what seemed to be shaping up to be the best of the JV boats"?

2. Where were the University of Washington rowing crew tryouts held in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 1?

3. What kind of shop Harry Rantz run in Sequim, Washington in 1925?

4. In what year did the Wright brothers make the first controlled human flight?

5. Who were the two schools that raced against one another in the first intercollegiate rowing crew race in the U.S.?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you describe the language style of Daniel James Brown? What aspects of the author's style stand out in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 1?

2. What were Thula's impressions of the farmhouse by the river that Harry Rantz began building in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 4?

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

4. Why do you think Thula Rantz repeatedly rejected Joe as a part of her family?

5. How does the author depict the changes in Joe and the other University of Washington crew members after Coach Bolles announced the final selections for the rowing team in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 5?

6. How does the author describe the East-West Coast rivalry in crew and other competitive sports in Part 2: Resiliency, Chapter 7?

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

8. How is the theme of "finding value in the discarded" illustrated by the author in Part 2: Resiliency, Chapter 8?

9. What did Joe Rantz's father tell him when he abandoned Joe at the age of fourteen? How did Joe respond to these circumstances?

10. How does the author describe Roger Morris and his family background in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the design and construction of the Olympic Stadium in Berlin for the 1936 Olympics. Why do you think the author focuses on this construction? How is the setting of the Olympic Stadium juxtaposed against other settings in the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Joe Rantz’s friendship with Roger Morris. What did Joe and Roger have in common? How did they differ? What was the foundation of their friendship?

Essay Topic 3

What does “the boat” mean to Joe Rantz? How has the narrative of The Boys in the Boat changed the way you define the meaning of “the boat” in competitive rowing? How did Joe Rantz’s perception of “the boat” evolve in the course of the narrative?

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