English II Spring Final

Boys in the Boat Comprehension Question

What picture does 2nd, 3rd, and 4th paragraphs paint?

They talked about the environment of the Hoovervilles. It described what life was like in the great deppression.

What year does this book start?

1933

How many people are out of work? How many receive government aid?

10 million - 1 out of 4 people - ¼ received government aid

Who were the leaders in the US?

US - Franklin D. Roosevelt & Herbert Hoover. Germany - Adolf Hitler.

How did Goebbels and Propaganda control the Germans?

He controlled what was written in the press.

How many were at the tryouts 1st morning?

175

What was Joe studying at college?

Chemical Engineering

Who was there freshman coach?

Tom Bolles

Who was the head coach

Al Ulbrickson

Who is the reporter and who does he write for?

Royal Brougham, the Post Intelligencer.

Werner March lives where and does what?

Germany, designing and building the Olympics.

What did Joe’s dad and mom do for a living and what was unique about their wedding?

Harry was a inveterate tinker, Nellie was a piano teacher.

Where did Joe go to live after his mother died and where did his dad and brother go?

Joe went to live with his aunt in Pennsylvania, Fred went to college, and Harry flew to Canada.

Why did Joe return to the East Coast?

Fred summoned after he graduated college, found a job, got a house, and got married.

What event caused the Rantz family to move to the Gold and Ruby mine.

Their house burned down.

Joe’s life changed drastically at the mine. What did he learn to do and what did he miss about his old life.

Joe had to provide and fend for himself. He missed playing the piano, hanging out with, and rough housing with his father and brother.

What other sport is rowing compare to in order to explain endurance?

Two nonstop basketball games.

What injuries might rowers have?

Pain in the knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, ribs, and neck.

How did Conibear use his passion and pull in the Pococks? What did the two accomplish together.

He was struggling while on the lake and they came out to help. He tried to understand even though he was new to rowing. The accomplished the Conibear Stroke.

What is Old Nero and what is ‘catching a crab’?

Old Nero was the training boat. Catching a crab is being thrown over the gunwales.

Who were the first boys to drop out, what were their characteristics?

The were the more put together and wealthier ones that didn’t have the endurance and motivation the other boys did have.

What new town does Joe and his family settle in this chapter and why?

Sequim, Thula had given birth and wanted out of the Gold and ruby mine.

What child was injured in Sequim and what did that injury start in motion.

Harry Junior was burnt, he then got very sick.

What two things was Joe consistent with.

He stayed in school and got good grades.

Who are Dick and Fritz. What did they teach Joe and what might this foreshadow.

McDonald’s horses that taught Joe how to work together, trust, and communicate, without necessarily words.

What letter to Joe out of Sequim and who was it from.

Fred had invited Joe to come live with him and go to school.

What two jobs on campus did Joe have?

He worked in the campus store and a janitor for the YMCA.

Where did Joyce live and what did she do?

She was a live in maid for a older gentleman.

What did Joyce and Joe do on the weekends? What did Joe want to take Joyce to do but could not?

The went dancing, to the movies, and canoeing on the lake. Joe wanted to take Joyce to the fancier place to dance but couldn’t afford.

What was physical proof that Germany was rebuilding their military?

They were working on an order of 135 Panzer I Tanks.

What organization did Hitler leave?

Hitler left the League of Nations

Why was M-I-B chanted by the freshman?

Mind In Boat

What is each rowers spot important for?

Each spot has a different role that help move the boat better and faster.

Why did Bolles make his report to the papers about his team racing from the back.

He wanted it to seem that they were bad and throw the other teams off.

What was surprising about the Washington freshman race when you look at the stroke rate?

It was lower yet they were moving faster.

Why did the Germans start the Olympic Torch Relay?

The were ancestral roots in ancient Greece.

How did Ulbrickson break his opponents mentally?

He made it seem like they weren’t so good so when they started to gain it would catch them off guard.

Why was the trip to Poughkeepsie “heady stuff” to many of the rower?

Some of them had now traveled that far before or had never even been out of Seattle.

What happened to make Joe feel cast out again?

He was made fun of for playing and singing his guitar.

What were the conditions like in Poughkeepsie? Why did the freshman struggle so much when they first got to the river?

It was hot and sticky. The waves on the Hudson were different.

What three events were the crowds similar to at Poughkeepsie? How many people showed up for the regatta?

The Rose Bowl, Kentucky Derby, and World Series. 125,000 people.

Who did the Washington freshman beat and how? What title did they earn.

Syracuse, by having consistency and not catching a crab.

What did Joe see from the train as he returned home?

He saw hopelessness and despair on peoples faces.

At the end of the chapter what do we find is being built? What will be the benefits?

The Grand Coulee Dam. Irrigation water, cheap electrical power, and new jobs.

How did Joe compare making cedar shakes with McDonald to what Pocock made and racing?

The same smell was with freshly split shakes and when Pocock was working. Deliberate application of strength, coordination of mind and muscle.

What was Bolles assessment of Joe as an individual and rower?

He can row hard and longer than anyone in the boat. Joe marched to his own drum. He was tough, independent but strangely sensitive.

What were Ulbrickson’s rules for JV and Varsity boys?

Eat no fried meats, no pastries, lots of vegetables, wholesome food, go to bed at 10 and get up at 7, no smoking and drinking, no bad language, high GPA, no disappointing parents and crew.

Where were Harry and Thula living and how did Joe find them?

They were in Seattle and had been since 1929. Fred told Joe where they were.

How did Joe explain his lack of anger to his parents to Joyce?

Anger takes energy and he needed to save energy.

Rowing gave Joe stability, how?

The shell house seemed like a home.

What new emotion did Joe feel after reading the news article.

He felt jealousy.