Daniel James Brown's Boys In The Boat

602 Words3 Pages
While reading Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown, I really enjoyed the writing style of the author. When the author states, “To fail at this rowing business would mean, at best, returning to a small, bleak town…”, it really emphasizes the uniqueness of Joe’s situation. To succeed and make the freshman eight, he would have a shot at a better life, otherwise he would have to go back to the sad life he had. It also is in direct comparison to most of the other young men on the freshman team, who are financially stable. Those young mens’ lives don’t depend on making the boat; if they don’t make it, they will still lead comfortable lives. Something that really intrigued me was when “Harry fled for the wilds of Canada”. This is just something that you do not do. I understand that what Harry witnessed was atrocious, but I believe the choice he made was wrong. Why would he just leave Joe to an aunt that Joe didn’t even know? This one choice started a downward decline in Joe’s life. His childhood might have been better if his father had stayed they toughed through it together. In addition while I recognize that Fred would like to go to college, I think Fred should have taken the initiative to look after his five year old brother.…show more content…
He even proceeded to make Joe a “go kart” and a “sled”. This shows that even after the while he was gone, Harry still cares for Joe. What I don’t understand is that when Thula demanded that Joe leave the house, Harry actually told Joe that “he would have to move out of the house”. Joe was ten at the time and he now had to fend for himself. After what seemed like care and concern for his son, Harry eventually gave in to his wife’s demands. Harry has let down his son again. I definitely believe that a ten year old son would be bigger priority than a second wife. How can a father simply leave their child like that? I just don’t
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