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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. What crewman at the University of Washington had spent five brutal months fishing for salmon on the Bering Sea in Alaska to raise money to attend college?

2. The author says in Part 4: Touching the Divine, Chapter 13 that by March 19, 1936, Al Ulbrickson had his best bet for an Olympic boat. Who was at the bow of this boat?

3. Where was Fritz Kreisler born?

4. What is the name of the lakeside community in Berlin where the 1936 Olympic rowing, canoeing, and kayaking events took place?

5. What was the name of Al Ulbrickson's wife?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did fans and reporters respond when Al Ulbrickson made the decision to pull the sophomore team from the varsity lineup at Poughkeepsie in 1935?

2. What function does Part 4: Touching the Divine, Chapter 18 serve in the plot structure of The Boys in the Boat? How?

3. What statement did Al Ulbrickson make via an open letter to the Seattle Times in September of 1935? Why did he make this announcement?

4. Why was Al Ulbrickson concerned about Don Hume and his performance as the University of Washington crew trained in Germany before their trials in Part 4: Touching the Divine, Chapter 17?

5. What position did Joe Rantz take at the Grand Coulee Dam site in the summer after his sophomore year at the University of Washington? How much did the job pay?

6. Why was the 1936 regatta against the University of California at Berkeley significant for Joe Rantz? How did the University of Washington perform in the race?

7. How does the author describe the regatta at Poughkeepsie in 1935? How did the University of Washington perform?

8. How does the author describe Adolf Hitler's reaction when the announcement was made of the outcome of men's eights rowing event at the Olympics?

9. Where did the American rowing crews lodge and train during the 1936 Summer Olympics? How is this setting described by the author?

10. How and why was the 1936 invasion by the Nazis into Rhineland significant to Adolf Hitler's cause and objectives?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Bobby Moch’s style and performance as coxswain for the University of Washington. What size was Bobby Moch and how did his size relate to George Pocock’s boat design? How effective was Bobby Moch at assessing his opponents?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the childhood of Joe Rantz and discuss how Joe’s childhood influenced his rowing career. Do you think Joe would have made it as far as he did in life without having such a troubled upbringing? Why or why not?

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