Grit is the path to success and is defined by having unbreakable perseverance even through hardships and destitution. Throughout Daniel James Brown’s novel Boys in the Boat, he writes about the life story of Joe Rantz during the Great Depression and how he overcomes the challenges that are thrown his way. From a young age, Joe braves the trauma of his mother’s death and his father’s neglect which forces him to carry out a lonely childhood in the absence of both his parents and anyone who loves or cares for him. Later on, however, Al Ulbrikson notices him while training and offers him the opportunity to join Ulbrikson’s crew for the University of Washington. Through the many grueling days of tryouts, he makes the school’s freshman crew and earns …show more content…
Together, they will win some of the most prestigious races including the 1936 Olympics in their shell, the Husky Clipper. Joe’s experience with hardship and poverty forces him to build grit for the sake of his survival, which in turn, helps him become mentally and physically stronger. Joe’s gritty personality helps him overcome abandonment at an unbelievably young age and excel in the sport of rowing. At the young age of 16, Joe has to learn how to be independent because his father, Harry Rantz, chooses his second wife over his son, leaving Joe to fend for himself. However, Joe refuses to let his father’s actions dictate the course of his life and moves forward, and works “at any kind of legitimate work he [can] find” no matter how laborious it can be; he grows “continually stronger and even more self-reliant” because of it, he even stays “in school and [earns] good grades'' (Brown 61-62). The young boy understands that he must move on without his father and channels all the hurt into working harder, providing for himself, and excelling academically. Joe refuses to let this traumatic event define him and he
Victor Villasenor, a published author, writer of Burro Genius, has had an extremely difficult life. He has dealt with continuous setbacks and failures, and to top it all off, he has endured many tragedies. Yet, despite all of these shortcomings and obstacles, Villasenor's gritty personality and growth mindset are the essential contributing factors that enabled him to became such a successful author. Grit is a quality that Villasenor possesses; indeed, being gritty is an incredible ability to have at your disposal. Grit is simply the attitude of never giving up and perseverance.
On November 30th, Joe ran away from his master, Thomas Bowyer. Joe is about forty-six years old, and around the height of 5 ’10. When speaking to this man he has a very smooth, and soft voice. When drinking liquor he becomes a very religious man. Bowyer says that he can read print very well, is a great liar, and can deceive anyone that does not know him.
This passage demonstrates the trouble that the author Wes Moore’s family and their friends go through to help send him to military school. Once Wes makes his first attempt at escaping from Valley Forge Military Academy he contacts his mother in an attempt to come home, she then divulged all the sacrifices she’d been making to send him there and steer his life in a better direction. From this, the author hopes to show that people who are supported throughout their lives have a greater chance of success in the future if they strive to reach goals that they set for themselves. The first two paragraphs of this passage show how determined Wes’ mother was to help him change his life.
His Dad, Jack was a shoes salesman. They moved around a lot when he was growing up. His dad was also had a problem with drinking alcohol. Despite all of that, his Dad taught him the value of hard work, the importance
If you believe that hard work pays off, then you work hard and you succeed. And I want people to understand something I learned only recently: I am lucky enough to live the American Dream, and so are you” (9). Growing up with a drug addict of a mother, no father figure, no money, and barely any education, Vance is almost guaranteed lack of success. Through determination, will, and ethic, however, Vance freed himself from the burdens of his town and family and emerged as an author and lawyer who uses his own life as an example to all that with hard work and intention, anyone can break from an unhealthy, inimical environment and strive to become successful. Additionally, this cultural aspect is connected to the purpose of the memoir; Vance’s intention is that through
His father doesn’t know what it was for him growing up in the roughest parts of Chicago. Abandoning one’s child from a young age is the worst thing a parent can do. A father is necessary to build a strong healthy
In the other book Joe had a girlfriend, but still kept his secrets to himself to bear. Also throughout the years of himself living alone, and in solitude, it was hard for him to open up for his crew, ” He said there were times that Joe seemed to think that he was the only one in the boat.”(pg 133). Joe was so accustomed to be by himself he didn't know what to do until He can get in line like the rest of the rowars. Nonetheless, in the end he helped the team get gold at the olympics by striving to be the roar he was to be in his training and progress in
He was going to be a runner and he was going to go all out” (16). At this point Louie could use his legs and resilience for something productive. In the face of fear and the pressure of his older brother, Louie excelled at running; using his stress to achieve something
In the midst of all of this he finds a balance by focusing on what really matters. At the same time this keeps him focused on his main goal which is education. Education will be his family's way out of poverty. Through seeing his younger brother that is unemployed and will be having a child soon he looks beyond this and is genuinely proud of where he comes from. He realizes how strong his family is when he seems them fighting through poverty and making things.
As a result, Harry and Thula decide to move to Seattle without Joe, and leave him to survive on his own. After Harry tells Joe that he is unable to go with them to Seattle, Joe decides that “he will never again let himself depend on them, though, nor on his family, nor on anyone else, for his sense of who he [is]. He [is] gonna survive, and he [will] do it on his own” (Brown 59). A turning point in Joe’s life, Joe showcases a newfound self-determination to survive. Joe will “never let himself depend on his family or anyone else” and will “survive, and do it on his own”.
For example, when he was four, his mother passed away and as a result his father did not take it well so he left, sending Joe to live with his aunt. Then when he was five, Joe Rantz’s older brother summoned him to come back to Spokane, where Joe took a train all by himself across the country. Another example was when Joe was ten and living happily once again with his father, his stepmother, Thula, and her children. Thula did not like Joe and sent him away, where he was abandoned for the second time and had to learn to be alone once again. Later, Joe Rantz and his family came together again, but that would not be the last time he was abandoned.
Joe’s trust issues continued to burden him throughout his training with the crew. When he comes into the boat house as George Pocock is building the teams the new boat, Pocock gives life changing advice, “[h]e talked about the underlying strength of the individual fibers in the wood, gave cedar the ability to bounce back and resume its shape or take on a new one”(Brown 126). Pocock sees every member on the team as “an individual fiber in the wood.” Pocock implies that Joe and the team needs to be held up by individual fibers or it would break.
All of Joe Rantz life, he was constantly let down by those around him, especially his own family. However, he never let his feelings be revealed due to his desire to keep his reputation for being masculine alive. Because of this, many people including his own girlfriend, Joyce Sindars viewed him as this impassive and impenetrable person: “ ‘I just don’t understand why you don’t get angry Joe’... ‘It takes energy to get angry … When they left, it took everything I had in me just to survive. Now I have to stay focused.
Throughout the story Joe seems to realize he needs to tell his father that he is ready to be on his own by the way he “Looked across at his father and wondered just how he was going to tell him” (Trumbo), shows Joe’s
He is alone; he has no job opportunity in Washington because Roy has died. But Joe is happy. Joe has finally faced unlocked that “hidden thing” and he has embraced it. Joe’s secret exists no more, and he gains that confidence and sureness that he was missing. Although Joe loses everyone else, he finds himself.