The Boys in the Boat

Each boy in the boat thought of himself as the weakest member of the team. Who would you categorize as the weakest, and who do you consider the strongest? Why?

Consider Brown’s extensive use of detail. What kinds of things does he describe in detail? What role do these details play in the text?

Though all the team members are important, Joe is undoubtedly the book’s central figure. Trace Joe’s development from his childhood to his gold-medal finish in Berlin. How does Joe grow as a person? What does he learn about himself and the world, and how does he change?

How are the specifics of rowing—the technique, the boats, the teamwork required—metaphors for what the boys, particularly Joe, learn about life and friendship throughout the book?

The book recounts how the boys in the boat won the gold medal at the Berlin Olympics, but Joe concludes that the real prize won was friendship born through teamwork. Discuss the theme of teamwork in the text. How are symbols and anecdotes about success and adversity used to support this theme? Alternatively, how is it traced through Joe’s personal and emotional development?

Rowing is a sport that is heavily affected by the weather, from heat waves to blizzards to strong winds. Brown uses historical weather conditions to add context to various situations. How does the weather he describes mirror the internal thoughts or feelings of the key figures?

Joe and Joyce’s relationship is a major throughline in the text. Compare Joe and Joyce’s childhoods. How did their very different childhoods shape their personalities, and how did those experiences shape their long and happy relationship?

Consider how the insider/outsider distinction is used in The Boys in the Boat. Joe is initially an outsider among his teammates. Rough, hardy Washington is an outsider among the elite Eastern teams. The US is an outsider among the European nations at the Olympics. What does it mean to be an outsider? How do Joe and his teammates overcome the label of “outsider”? How do they embrace it?