The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic
Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James brown
one marylanD one booK
2015
Teacher's Guide
Nonfiction © 2013 Viking
JOIN IN
We invite you to join our Honorary Chair,
Laura Lippman, and thousands of other
Marylanders at one of the many book
discussions and related events happening
around the state in September and October.
If you’re out and about, you might nd
copies of The Boys in the Boat in unexpected
places. Our Wandering Books can be found
in public spaces such as parks, buses, malls,
county fairs, and doctors’ oces. If you nd
a copy, it’s yours for a short time. Register the
book online so we can see how far it travels
(instructions are included inside the book),
read it, review it, and then leave it behind for
someone else to enjoy.
To find One Maryland One Book programs in your
area, go to www.onemarylandonebook.org and
click on the Calendar.
For all the latest information, Like or Follow us:
MdCenterfortheBook
@MDHumanities
Look for Daniel James Brown at venues across the
state in late September, including the Baltimore
Book Festival on Sunday, September 27.
Scan this code on your smartphone to view the
book trailer for The Boys in the Boat.
WHAT NEW THINGS WOULD WE HAVE TO
TALK ABOUT WITH EACH OTHER?
In its eighth year, One Maryland One
Book remains Maryland’s only statewide
community reading program. It brings
together diverse people in communities
across the state through a shared experience:
the reading and thoughtful discussion of the
same book. Each year, the selection process
is guided by a common theme, which this
year is “sports.” e Maryland Center for
the Book at the Maryland Humanities
Council partners with public libraries, high
schools, colleges and universities, museums,
bookstores, correctional facilities, and
other organizations to bring book-centered
discussions and other related events to
communities across Maryland.
e Maryland Humanities Council has at
the core of its mission the deep commitment
to provide Marylanders with an opportunity
to gather and discuss issues important to
their lives and communities, believing that a
great work of literature provides an excellent
springboard to do so. One Maryland One
Book is not just about reading or literature,
though; it is also about bringing people
together for meaningful dialogue.
e book selected for 2015 is The Boys in
the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic
Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
by Daniel James Brown.
GET THE BOOK
Pick up a copy of The Boys in the Boat at
your local public library or bookstore and
start a conversation with your family, friends,
coworkers, or even the person sitting next to
you as you ride the bus or train. is is your
chance to take a moment to have a great
conversation with an old friend or to make
a new one.
1
LETTER FROM HONORARY CHAIR
LAuRA LIppMAN
ank you for joining me and the Maryland Humanities Council for One Maryland One Book,
our state’s community reading project. I am delighted to step into the role of honorary chair this
year to support reading and great literature. e concept of bringing people together from around
the state through the reading of one book, selected by a devoted group of literary enthusiasts, has
been wholeheartedly embraced by Marylanders since its launch in 2008. ere is joy and learning
to be found in exploring with other avid readers a book that you simply could not put down. at
experience lies at the heart of One Maryland One Book. Whether you’ve read with us every year
or are new to the program, welcome!
is year’s book, e Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, is inevitably a favorite of mine,
centering as it does on the sport of rowing. But the book would not have become such a
runaway success if it appealed only to rowing fans. It is the kind of story that we like to think is
quintessentially American, in which underestimated people work hard and succeed. I’m not sure
that the United States owns such stories, but I know this book will appeal to anyone who has ever
felt like an underdog. It celebrates hard work by modest men. It is utterly irresistible.
We encourage you to pick up a copy of e Boys in the Boatand join the conversation. A program
of the Maryland Humanities Council’s Maryland Center for the Book, One Maryland One Book is
made possible each year through the generosity of our sponsors and community partners. We greatly
thank them for their support. Find out how to get involved at www.onemarylandonebook.org.
Sincerely,
Laura Lippman
imagine if everyone read the same book at the same time
photo by Jan Cobb
AbOuT THE AuTHOR
Daniel James Brown grew up in the San Francisco Bay
Area and attended Diablo Valley College, the University of
California at Berkeley, and UCLA. Brown taught writing
at San Jose State University and Stanford before becoming
a technical writer and editor. He now writes narrative
nonction books full time. Brown’s primary interest as a
writer is in bringing compelling historical events to life as
vividly and accurately as possible.
Brown lives in the country outside of Seattle,
Washington with his wife, two daughters, and an
assortment of cats, dogs, chickens, and honeybees.
When he is not writing, he is likely to be birding,
gardening, y shing, reading American history, or
chasing bears away from the bee hives.
AbOuT THE bOOk*
e Boys in the Boat celebrates the 1936 U.S. men’s Olympic
eight-oar rowing team
—working class boys who stormed
the rowing world, transformed the sport, and galvanized the
attention of millions of Americans.
e sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers from the
American West, the boys took on and defeated successive
echelons of privilege and power. ey vanquished the sons
of bankers and senators rowing for elite eastern universities.
ey defeated the sons of British aristocrats rowing for
Oxford and Cambridge. And nally, in an extraordinary
race in Berlin they stunned the Aryan sons of the Nazi state
as they rowed for gold in front of Adolf Hitler.
Against the grim backdrop of the Great Depression, they
rearmed the American notion that merit, in the end,
can outweigh birthright. ey reminded the country of
what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls
together. And they provided hope that in the titanic struggle that lay just ahead, the ruthless
might of the Nazis would not prevail over American grit, determination, and optimism.
And even as it chronicles the boys’ collective achievement, e Boys in the Boat is also the
heartwarming story of one young man in particular. Cast aside by his family at an early age,
abandoned and left to fend for himself, Joe Rantz rows not just for glory, but to regain his
shattered self-regard, to dare again to trust in others, and to nd his way back to a place he can
call home.
*
Description from Penguin Books
MARYLAND STATE DEpARTMENT OF EDuCATION COMMON CORE STANDARDS
RH.11-12.1 Cite specic textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources,
connecting insights gained from specic details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide
an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
RH.11-12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specic
individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
RH.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including
gurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and renes the
meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text.
RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats
and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve
a problem.
RI.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly
as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RI.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course
of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to produce a complex analysis;
provide an objective summary of the text.
RI.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order
in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that
are drawn between them.
RI.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses
rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
SL.11-12.1 Initiate and participate eectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-
one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues,
building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL.11-12.1c Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning
and evidence; ensure a hearing for a full range of positions on a topic or issue; clarify, verify, or
challenge ideas and conclusions; and promote divergent and creative perspectives.
SL.11-12.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing
the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.
W.11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts
and information clearly and accurately through the eective selection, organization, and analysis
of content.
W.11-12.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.11-12.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual
or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or
information.
NOTE: A list of vocabulary for each chapter can be found under the How to Participate link at
www.onemarylandonebook.org.
3
photo by Robin V Brown
and have them research various categories of the teacher’s choosing, such as the impact on
dierent regions of America; household incomes; types of jobs available for men/women;
speakeasies/Prohibition; or education of youth (beyond eighth grade).
• rough research, have students compare and contrast how the Olympics were regarded in the
1930s to how they are regarded now. Consider such aspects as the impact of World War II, and
later, the Cold War. What political signicance do the Olympics Games hold today?
•Students should have background knowledge of the rise of Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, and
Hitler’s reign; however, if the students need to brush up on this background, have them research
these topics and share with the class.
THE SPORT OF ROWING
• Share the following links with students in order to familiarize them with rowing terms
and parts of the rowing shell.
www.usrowing.org/about/rowing101/glossary
www.rowinghistory.net/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_rowing_terms
•Many students will not be familiar with the sport of rowing or the shells. In order to
familiarize them with the images about which they will read, create a ipped lesson
where the students research crew teams, the parts of the rowing shell, the history of
rowing, and the history of University of Washington’s crew teams. e following are some
links to share with the students if necessary:
www.huskycrew.com/1930.htm
hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/07/04/berlin-olympics-rowing
www.seattletimes.com/outdoors/wooden-boat-heritage-gets-
a-boost-with-revival-of- historic-pocock-shell/
www.olympic.org/rowing-equipment-and-history?tab=history
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6APZND4WCd0
•Have students research how the sport of rowing has changed now that synthetic
materials are being used for the boats rather than the handcrafted cedar shells used in
the 1936 Olympics.
pROLOguE
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• Prior to the Prologue, Daniel James Brown references a quotation from Homer: “But I desire
and I long every day to go home and to look upon the day of my return…for already I have
suered and labored at so many things on the waves.” How does this set the tone for the story?
Why do you suppose the author used a quotation specically from Homer?
•How does Brown’s use of imagery in the Prologue add to the mood? Choose one specic
image and discuss it in regards to the mood it creates for the reader.
•What is the deeper meaning of “the boat” to Joe Rantz, and why is this signicant to learn
about in the Prologue (p. 2)?
CHARACTERS:
• Joe Rantz — the protagonist, Washington University crew member
• Joyce Simdar — Joe Rantz’s girlfriend and future wife
• Harry Rantz
— Joe’s father
• Nellie Rantz
— Joe’s mother who passed away of cancer when Joe was four years old
• Fred; Harry, Jr.; Michael; Rose; Polly — Joe Rantz’s siblings
• Thula LaFollette Rantz — Harry Rantz’s second wife; sister of elma LaFollette, who was
Fred’s wife
•
Al Ulbrickson — Joe’s rowing coach who takes Washington’s team to the 1936 Olympics
• George Yeoman Pocock
— a renowned British oarsman and boat builder who immigrates to
Washington and sculpts shells in his workshop at the University boathouse; Joe’s mentor
• Tom Bolles
— University of Washington’s Freshman rowing coach
• Ky Ebright
— rowing coach of the rival University of California
• Royal Brougham
— journalist who followed the rowing team throughout their journey to
the Olympics
The crew members who competed in the Olympics with Joe:
•
Bobby Moch (coxswain), Don Hume, Shorty Hunt, Roger Morris, Stub McMillin,
Johnny White, Gordy Adam, Chuck Day
THEMES:
Sports, competition, teamwork, perseverance, U.S./world history, poverty, economic distress
bEFORE READINg:
DISCUSSION
1
Describe qualities people need in order to work cooperatively on a team. Does one
have to maintain a group mentality, or can one maintain an individual mentality while
being a part of a team?
2 How can a person’s social and economic status aect the way he/she views and lives
his/her life? Elaborate on your response with examples.
3 How do personal experiences in one’s life inuence how one approaches challenges? Explain
your answer with support.
4 Are people’s motivations to survive internal, external, or both? Explain.
bEFORE READINg ACTIVITIES:
SETTING
•e Boys in the Boat is set during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when millions of Americans
lost their homes and jobs due to the economic downfall. Require students to research several
aspects of this nancial depression and the impact it had on Americans, and more specically,
college and professional sports at that time. One option is to divide the students into groups
5
pART I
1899 – 1933: WHAT SEASONS THEY HAVE bEEN THROugH
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Chapter 1
• What are some examples of economic turmoil in the rst two pages of the book? How does this
depiction of the setting (time and place) set the stage for Joe’s story thus far (p. 9)?
• What is the purpose of the author using President Hoover’s quotation after presenting the
audience with a description of the deplorable conditions of 1933?
• Brown describes a cartoon from e American Weekly, published on October 8, 1933 (see
it at link: www.delanceyplace.com/view_archives.php?2465). Discuss the images depicted
in the cartoon, the caption, and the overall impact of art that is used to express societal
concerns during trying times.
• At the bottom of page 11 through page 13, the reader is presented with a description of the
protagonist, Joe Rantz. List specic examples of diction that the author uses to portray Rantz in
order to support what overall image the author wants to relay to his reader.
• How is the depiction of the University of Washington head coach, Al Ulbrickson, similar to
that of a mythical gure? Why would Brown present him as such (pp. 15-16)?
• What is the eect of Brown juxtaposing the “new freshman at the shell house in Seattle” with the
architect Werner March who is “hunched over a drafting table in an oce somewhere in Berlin?”
• When Adolf Hitler came into power in 1933, the Nazi Party controlled less than 150 of the
4,700 German newspapers; however, by the end of World War II, no more than 1,100
remained in print. Of the enduring newspapers, “[a]pproximately half were still in the hands of
private or institutional owners, but these newspapers operated in strict compliance with
government press laws and published material only in accordance with directives issued
by the Ministry of Propaganda.” How did the inuence of the National Press Law,
as referenced on page 20, change the true intentions of journalism nationwide? What
other forms of propaganda did Nazi Germany utilize? Predict what the journalistic
restrictions and German propaganda could possibly foreshadow in the book.
Source: “e Press in the ird Reich” www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007655
Chapter 2
•Discuss the technological developments of the early 1900s and how Harry Rantz contributed
to those progressions during that time period. How do you think Harry’s tenacity and success
impacted Joe as he was maturing? Provide specic examples for support.
• What impact did Nellie Rantz have on Joe? Explain with details.
• Discuss Harry and ula’s relationship as described by the author. Would this description
change if Joe were narrating the story? If so, how?
• How did Joe use his ingenuity to survive? Do you think children today would be able to survive
at such a young age?
Chapter 3
•
e rst line of Chapter 3 states, “Competitive rowing is an undertaking of extraordinary
beauty preceded by brutal punishment,” which is a seamlessly-written juxtaposition of two
images that set the tone of the chapter. After reading the whole chapter, discuss the tone this
quotation sets and how the concept comes full circle.
• In this chapter the audience is introduced to George Yeoman Pocock, whose quotations
introduce each chapter. What do we learn about Pocock? How does knowing his
background add thematically to the various anecdotal stories in the book thus far?
• Describe the “Conibear stroke” and its origin, drawing parallels to Joe Rantz’s story.
Chapter 4
• Why is Sequim “shaping up to be near paradise” for Joe (p. 56)? Is this “paradise” something
that others would see as such? Why or why not?
• What do the events surrounding the Rantz family reect about the country’s nancial
calamities? Do these events aect Joe’s outlook on life as a child? How do you know?
• Discuss how you would feel if you had to fend for yourself as a young teenager during an
economic crisis. How does the author create empathy for Joe in this situation?
• How and why is Joe “the very embodiment of freedom” to Joyce (p. 65)?
Chapter 5
• roughout the book, Brown uses gurative language in order to allow the reader to visualize
Joe’s experiences in a vivid and imaginative way. For example, in Chapter 5, Brown writes “Joe
gulped huge drafts of the frigid air and sat staring at the scene, watching it turn into a soft
blur of colors as, for the rst time since his family had left him, tears lled his eyes” (p. 78).
What is the eect of the phrases “gulped huge drafts of the frigid air” and “watching it turn
into a soft blur of colors?” What do they help the reader envision and feel? As you read
Chapters 6-8, list other examples of gurative language and the eect of each example.
•What does Joyce’s job reect about the extremes between social classes in the 1930s? Does Joyce
t the stereotype of a young woman of that time period? Support your answer with
specic details.
• roughout the book, Brown occasionally utilizes second person amidst third person point of
view. For example, the author states: “At places like that, you could dance all night to the likes
of the Dorsey Brothers and Guy Lombardo” (p. 75). And earlier in the story: “ere seemed
to be more than a schoolroom science lesson in the discovery of the fungus. If you simply kept
your eyes open, it seemed, you just might nd something valuable in the most unlikely of
places” (p. 37). What is the purpose of Brown subtly altering the point of view from third to
second in various places in the story? What is the eect of the second person pronouns?
• Brown describes the Dust Bowl in November 1933 and juxtaposes it with Hitler’s reign in Nazi
Germany. Compare and contrast the choices of diction used to create an eect on pages 75-77.
What tone is established through these specic images and diction?
pART II
1934: RESILIENCY
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Chapter 6
• Compare and contrast both physical and personality traits of the two rival rowing coaches, Al
Ulbrickson and Ky Ebright. Briey highlight their qualities that reect strong leadership.
• Discuss the team’s issues with synchronization and how this positively and negatively aects the
freshman team.
•Why does Joe continue eating in the cafeteria when his teammates are gibing him? What does
this tell the reader about his character?
7
3
•How does Brown build suspense during the description of the race between the University of
California and the University of Washington? Provide examples for your response.
•Who is Joseph Goebbels and how does he reect the ideologies of the Nazi Party?
Chapter 7
•After nishing Chapter 7, consider the following quotation: “Like so much in life, crew was partly
about condence, partly about knowing your own heart” (p. 106). Discuss how this quotation
reects Joe’s life thus far.
•What is a legacy and what qualities are needed to create one? According to the information
in this chapter, how was the University of Washington’s rowing legacy created? [If necessary,
students can research U of W’s legacy on their own, in groups, or with the whole class and
discuss their ndings.]
•Describe the attributes of an Easterner versus a Westerner. Do these stereotypes t Washington’s
rowing crew? Use support for your response.
•List historical/natural events that occurred as Joe Rantz watched “a fresh new American
calamity begin to unfold” (p. 119), and discuss the impact they had on his character.
Chapter 8
•Why did the game warden hit Joe over the head with a piece of driftwood? What is the
signicance of the outcome for Joe?
•In this chapter Brown describes the cedars that are a major part of Westerners’ lives. What is
the eect of the simile “…and their stumps…rose like ancient monuments from a dense tangle
of salal, huckleberry…” (p. 125)? What is the more signicant meaning of this comparison?
•In reference to learning how to “read wood,” Brown states that Joe was “thrilled as always at the
notion that something valuable could be found in what others had passed over and left behind”
(p. 126). Why is this a signicant belief coming specically from Joe?
•Why did Joe enjoy cutting wood? Can you apply this satisfaction to anything you do or
appreciate in your life? Provide specic examples to support both answers.
•What is somewhat ironic about Joe’s nickname in regards to rowing (p. 129)? Does this
nickname t him thus far? Why or why not?
•What is Joe’s reason he gives Joyce when asked about his feelings surrounding his family?
Describe a time where you felt this way about a person with whom you were close.
•What did Brown mean when he stated “He [George Pocock] didn’t just build racing shells. He
sculpted them” (p. 136)? Elaborate on your analysis.
•What metaphorical meaning does the shell have? Why is this metaphor signicant to the reader?
•Discuss the content of the lm Triumph of the Will, directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Establish why
this is considered “the most successful propaganda lm of all time,” and the impact it had on
Nazi Germany. [e following YouTube link is the lm in its entirety. Teachers should pick a
few scenes to show students: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHs2coAzLJ8]
pART III
1935: THE pARTS THAT REALLY MATTER
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Chapter 9
•What began to happen to Washington’s crew team after Ulbrickson declared the nine of them
“were going to be on the medal podium in Berlin in 1936” (p. 150)? Predict possible
psychological outcomes of the rowers as teammates and as individuals.
•When the struggling boys were called into Ulbrickson’s oce “for a talk,” the author expresses
the coach’s comments with choppy, abbreviated sentence structure: “It looked to him like a case
of laziness. ey weren’t pulling hard enough. ey had no pepper. And they were sloppy….
eir spacing was all o” (p. 153). What is Brown’s purpose for using this syntactical structure?
What is the eect on the reader?
•Shorty Hunt is compared to a Cesar Romero, a famous actor and dancer who made his lm
debut in the early 1930s. How does this comparison (and other comments) make Shorty and
Joe particularly odd companions? What similarities exist between the two? Support your
response with specic examples. See picture and biography of Cesar Romero:
www. zbiography.com/people/cesar-romero-9542350
•What mood is reected throughout this chapter regarding the successes and failures of the
sophomore team? Provide examples for support.
•In what scene of the chapter does the overall mood change? Why does Brown create this shift
in mood?
•When Joe sees his father for the rst time in years, Brown oers the reader Harry Rantz’s
point of view about his relationship with Joe. Does knowing Harry’s feelings cause you to feel
sympathetic toward him? Why or why not?
•Reread the paragraph on page 161 about “swing” and discuss the signicance of the metaphor
Brown creates at the end of the paragraph. Write your own metaphor or simile for “swing”
based on Brown’s description of it.
•What is the “dance of doom” (p. 164), and what does it tell us about the rival coaches?
•Why was Joe humbled at the end of the chapter? What does this tell the reader about his
character?
Chapter 10
•Discuss the three “fundamental paradoxes” in rowing. Where do we see these paradoxes in
other areas of our lives? In society?
•Why should all teams have a good “blend of personalities?” What type of personality do you
have, and how do you balance out a team?
•Why does Ulbrickson feel as though he failed the public? Do you believe he failed? Why or
why not?
Chapter 11
•What is Joe’s summer job? What is the signicance of his actually enjoying specic aspects of
the job?
•What does the reader learn about many of the women who resided in Grand Coulee on B
Street? How does this depiction of them reect the economic strife of the time?
Chapter 12
•Why is the description of the city of Grünau signicant to this story? Provide specic details
for support.
•What happened at Joyce’s previous job, and how did she benet from this wrongdoing?
•How is Pocock’s information about a tree’s life a metaphor for something more signicant
(p. 214)? What do you suppose it might represent?
9
•Pocock discusses how the craft of building a boat was like religion: “You had to give yourself up
to it spiritually; you had to surrender yourself absolutely to it. When you were done and walked
away from the boat, you had to feel that you had left a piece of yourself behind in it forever, a
bit of your heart” (p. 215). What does he mean by this analogy, and how is this signicant to
Joe’s life at that time?
•What are the three laws that Adolf Hitler was marshalling during the Rally for Freedom? What
historical impact did these laws have on Germans and German Jews?
•What two very signicant events occur in Joe’s life, and how does one become the catalyst of
his father’s actions? How does Joe deal with these events?
•What are the arguments that both Avery Brundage and Charles H. Sherrill present to the
United States? How and why are these arguments illogical?
pART IV
1936: TOuCHINg THE DIVINE
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Chapter 13
•What are the duties of the coxswain? Why do you think Brown introduced this information
late in the book?
•What was George Pocock’s advice to Joe? How did this advice impact Joe’s actions and thoughts
with his teammates? With his family and those he loved?
•How does the quality of humility contribute to the boys’ success? Provide an example of when
you or someone you know had to show humility in a specic circumstance in life.
Chapter 14
•Why is it signicant to know what Goebbels wrote about the reaction of other countries
about the rise of Nazi Germany? [“e Fuehrer is immensely happy…England remains
passive. France won’t act alone. Italy is disappointed and America is uninterested” (p. 252).]
•On page 252, Brown includes information about Germany’s “masquerade” surrounding the
1936 Olympics. Provide examples of some of the things the Nazis were hiding from the rest of
the world. What tone does Brown establish when explaining these events?
•Why is the news reporter Brougham “worried” about the boys and their “cheerful determination
and optimism” (p. 255)?
•According to Pocock, what was so “beautiful” about their night rowing (p. 259), and what is
the eect on the reader here with his imagery and diction?
•Brown recounts American boxer Joe Louis’ second ght with Schmeling, and then he juxtaposes
Louis’ victory with Goebbels’ “charred body” being “pulled out of the smoldering rubble of the
Reich Chancellery…” (p. 261). What is the eect of these events being juxtaposed?
•Discuss the details of the boys’ adventure to Hyde Park Station. Does it seem plausible for this
to happen? Could something like this happen in today’s world?
•Right before the account of Washington’s varsity national championship, Brown describes the
setting in detail (p. 266). Choose several examples of the author’s description and establish the
mood that is depicted in this paragraph.
•Why did Brougham call Moch’s leadership on the boat that day “positively cold blooded”
(p. 272)?
Chapter 15
•Research images and the background surrounding the “Don’t Tread on Me” ag. Why did
Brown say Moch “might as well have raised” this specic ag over his stern that day (p. 276)?
•Brown states that because the boys were going to the Olympics, “For the rst time ever, Seattle
was going to play on the world stage” (p. 282) and that “they were now America’s crew” (p.
288). Choosing any one of the boys in the boat, write a one-page journal entry from that crew
member’s point of view. Include how he might have felt that day when he realized he was “on
a world stage” and reect that person’s character traits through details in your entry.
•What trouble does the University of Washington team encounter after winning the race? How
is this trouble resolved?
•What does Joe realize while at the top of the Empire State Building? Why is this realization
signicant?
•What are the values that the crew members shared? Why are they signicant values one should
hold when being a part of any team?
Chapter 16
•Describe the “movie set” transformation Berlin undertook before the Olympic Games. Why
did Brown choose to include these details?
•While on the Manhattan on the way to Berlin, Joe ventures to the rst-class decks and is
“mesmerized by his peek at how the other half still lived” (p. 302). What universal theme(s)
can be derived from this statement, the images he describes, and other similar experiences he
has throughout the book?
•Research Eleanor Holm’s “scandal” and how she impacted society’s view of women and/or
athletes during the mid-1930s. Share ndings with the class.
•What is ironic about Brundage’s statement, “No nation since ancient Greece has captured the
true Olympic spirit as has Germany” (p. 308)?
•Reread the reporter Richard Wingate’s letter to the sports editor of e New York Times and
discuss why Brown deemed this letter “prophetic” (p. 308).
•How did Washington’s boat crack? Why do you believe they were not rowing well? Could you
empathize with Al Ulbrickson’s emotions during this time of uncertainty? Explain.
•Research and watch a YouTube video of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” from the piece titled
Messiah that was playing when the Olympic ame was lit. After listening, discuss how this
piece of music moved more than 110,000 spectators in the stands that day (p. 319). Be sure to
research the meaning of the piece’s title.
Chapter 17
•Who are the SS ocers, what were their responsibilities, and why are they described as “neat,
severe, and ominous” (p. 322)?
•Why did a ght break out? Are you surprised this is the rst actual ght the boys experienced?
Why or why not? Prove your response.
•What were the boys’ internal fears? What larger message does this tell about human beings?
•How does Brown describe the ugly side of Germany? Why do you believe he includes images
of Germany that “the boys could not see” (p. 332)?
11
•Why was it so signicant to the boys that Hume was rowing with them, even though he was
terribly ill? What does this request of the boys tell Ulbrickson about his crew team? What does
it indicate to the reader?
•What is the eect of the clihanger at the end of the chapter? What emotions does it create for
the reader?
Chapter 18
•What does Bobby Moch do to get the boys on track during the race? What else occurs during
the race that requires Moch to make some immediate decisions? What was the outcome due to
those decisions, and ultimately, Moch’s leadership qualities?
•Why is the boat repeatedly compared to living things, such as animals (p. 348)? What is the
purpose of this imagery throughout the story?
•Describe the reaction of the onlookers of the race and of Joe’s family back in Seattle. en
describe your emotions as you experienced Washington’s win.
Chapter 19
•What was the boys’ reaction to winning the race? Was Ulbrickson’s reaction and comment what
you expected? Why or why not?
•What life lessons does Joe learn about himself after this race? What universal message can the
reader take from Joe’s experiences?
EpILOguE & FINAL ANALYSIS QuESTIONS OF THE bOOk
•In the midst of the despair Americans felt during the Great Depression, the Olympics were
a major distraction for everyone. How did sports, and the story of the 1936 University of
Washington crew in particular, oer a sense of hope and escape for the athletes and for
everyday Americans?
•Look back at each chapter’s epigraph featuring quotes from George Yeoman Pocock.
Choose the one that you most closely relate to and analyze how it is signicant to your life
and to today’s society.
•If you were starting your own business from the ground up, what leadership skills or qualities
could you teach your employees from lessons found in this story? Compile a list of skills/
qualities, and then provide contextual support for each related lesson that was learned or
taught in the book.
•What moment do you think was the most suspenseful in the book? Reread the moment you
chose and discuss how Brown created suspense even though the audience knew the outcome of
the 1936 Olympic Games. Provide specic examples for support.
•roughout the book, the reader becomes familiar with various sportswriters of the time,
such as Royal Brougham, Clarence Dirks, and George Varnell. How does this type of reporting
compare to or contrast with sportswriters in today’s society? Do you think the sportswriters’
goal was to simply report the events, or was there more to it? Provide examples to support
your answer.
•According to George Pocock in the quotation at the beginning of the Epilogue, “harmony,
balance, and rhythm” are the “three things that stay with you your whole life” (p. 357). Is there
truth to this statement? Are there any other qualities that you believe would stay with a
person his or her whole life after an experience such as winning the Olympics? Elaborate on
your response.
e content and resources of this guide were created
and compiled by Paige J. Schweitzer. Portions of
the book have been reprinted with permission from
Penguin Random House.
One Maryland One Book is sponsored by the Institute
of Museum and Library Services, LSTA grant funds,
through the Division of Library Development
& Services at the Maryland State Department of
Education, with additional support from BGE,
the Nora Roberts Foundation, Wells Fargo, and
M&T Bank.
One Maryland One Book is coordinated by the
Maryland Center for the Book, a program of the
Maryland Humanities Council, in partnership with
Enoch Pratt Free Library.
e Maryland Humanities Council is an educational
nonprot organization. Our mission is to create and
support educational experiences in the humanities that
inspire all Marylanders to embrace lifelong learning,
exchange ideas openly, and enrich their communities.
To learn more, visit www.mdhc.org.
Maryland Humanities Council
108 West Centre Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410.685.0095
www.mdhc.org
A pROgRAM OF
LEAD SpONSORS
IN pARTNERSHIp WITH
SpONSORS ADDITIONAL SuppORT
