The relationship between a mentee and mentor is one of the most valuable connections someone can have. Many people strive to find a mentor that they can look to for guidance but only a few find genuine ones. In the works of literature October Sky and Of Mice and Men the main characters both find mentors that they can rely on and help them with their developments through the stories. . A key to success is having an influential relationship with a mentor that you can turn to for support. Steinbeck portrays the importance of the mentor and mentee relationship through the relationship between George and Lenny. George and Lenny are two friends that travel around from ranch to ranch in the 1950s. From the very start of the story, it is shown how …show more content…
In the 1950s, Sputnik and the “race” to the moon was a very hot topic, which had many teens building rockets around the country. Sonny took interest in this topic but did not have much support from the people around him. This was part of living in a coal mining town with very limited opportunities for the youth. Additionally, Sonny did not have any support from his father who was very against his dreams of building rockets. This led Sonny to look for other places to find support. He turns to a science teacher, Miss. Riley. She inspires Sonny to get more into science and math and try to advance his education. After he buys him a book she states, “It's yours Sonny. You can keep it forever” (Hickam 231). This was a very kind act as she did not have to do this and went out of her way to try and help Sonny. This is not the end of her helping Sonny, as she continues to give him guidance about rocket building throughout the book. Sonny ends up having a very successful career, and even ends up working for NASA. Some could claim that mentorship has no correlation to success in life, and it is reliant on many other factors. There are many real life examples along with literature that prove this very wrong. Many people's success has a direct correlation to the mentorship that they
When Sonny first tries to build rocket she supported him to follow his dream and build the rocket. Most women’s were not involved in their children life’s in the 1950’s, they usually don’t have a say. Back then, one’s family life depends on the father, he decides everything the mothers are just there to feed and raise their children, but Elsie was involved in Sonny’s life and tries to make his life better than theirs. Elsie told Sonny in order for him to get out of Coalwood he needs to show his father that he is smart enough to build a rocket and that his mother has always been right that Sonny was different (Chapter 3, P52-53). So now Elsie is pushing sonny to do what he loves and succeed, her supports and keeps him going even though his father doesn’t believe in him.
The narrator keeps in mind that he has an obligation to watch his brother but he tore apart by his emotions which are shifting from love to hate. The reason is, he is unable to accept fully that his brother can change as much as he cares about him. Since he was young, Sonny is haunted
The townsfolk help him learn about rockets, make rockets, and launch rockets. First, the people of Coalwood help Sonny learn about Rockets. One of the people who helps Sonny the most throughout the novel is Miss Riley. Sonny mentions to Miss Riley that they need a book at one point to be ready to enter the science fair, so she got them a book.
Sonny’s mother, Elsie, plays a crucial role by prompting Sony to continue to build rockets so he can escape the Coalwood and the burdensome life that comes along with it. Elsie despises the coal mines and wants he intelligent son to have nothing to do with them. During times of questioning and depression, Sonny is constantly motivated by his mother to not give up and lose hope in his dreams. She provides him with tools and support among the community as she defends his actions while he constantly destroys things up. The ways that Sonny's father provides encouragement for the Rocket Boy’s success is not so clear, but he does help them with their endeavors through funds, supplies, and places to set off their rockets.
Sonny is the narrator’s brother and the focus of the story. The narrator explains throughout the story that Sonny suffers from heroin and other drug addictions and the steps he takes to fight against those addictions. The narrator, who is Sonny's brother, experiences his own trauma as we later find out he struggles to cope with the loss of his daughter. This has made it hard for him to show emotion, even to his own family. Because of this lack of emotion, he ignores Sonny’s cries for help when it comes to drug addiction.
She told him that if he was going to “stop making rockets now, you’ll regret it maybe for the rest of your life.” Sonny’s dad wasn’t supportive whatsoever of him making
James Badlwin’s short story Sonny’s Blues is told from the perspective of The Narrator, a high school algebra teacher who is married with children. At the story's beginning, the narrator is on a train where he reads in the newspaper about his little brother Sonny, who is in prison due to his drug addiction. There’s a flashback from when they were in the same room together at their mother's funeral. Sonny reveals that he wants to be a jazz pianist after high school but the narrator dismisses his idea arguing that he won't get anywhere financially.
When he discovered this, he called his mom and asked if there was any way that he could get new rocket supplies for the fair. He said, “Mom, I’ve got to get more rocket stuff somehow. Could you talk to Dad or somebody?” (Hickam 401). This shows Sonny’s dependence on his mom and the people of Coalwood, because he needed them in order to get the rocket supplies required for the science fair.
Throughout the story he struggles to keep this promise. At the end of the story Sonny invites the narrator to come to a music club and hear him play, he accepts the invite. Upon arrival the narrator realizes he is in Sonny’s world. Hearing Sonny play only one set he is in awe and sends his brother a drink of scotch with milk. Sonny accepts it and gives a nod of approval to his brother across the room.
Sonny did not start off building rockets with much success. In fact, he burnt his mom's fence down in an explosion that scared the whole town, because they were afraid it came from the mine. However, instead of discouraging him, he kept working on the rockets; changing the body and nozzle design, using different types of propellants and metals, until it finally worked. The bad news, however, was that the rocket veered off course and hit his father’s office, causing Mr. Hickam to forbid his son from launching any more rockets.
Sonny is the main character in the story who has been through a lot in life. He wanted to be a jazz musician. After going through all the trouble, Sonny was a great musician and he loved to play music more than anything. He used music to escape from all the bad things around him. Most black people grow up in the slums and it is extremely hard to make it out of there without getting stuck on something bad.
The narrator keeps this in mind and tries to sway Sonny to a path he feels is right for him. Sonny wants to go into music however the narrator feels it would be
It is apparent throughout the book that Sonny wants his father’s acceptance. “I listened, amazed, not that he was saying what he was saying, but that he would share such thoughts with me. I felt proud, grown-up.” This quote demonstrates Sonny’s quiet need to be appreciated by his father, even though Homer seemingly does not care about his interest in rockets. Homer Hickam Sr.
Although both characters were different they found an understanding by trying to feel what each other were feeling. Also by coping with their tough childhood and feelings together without directly communicating. Sonny wanted so desperately to please his brother, but couldn’t find a way to avoid Jazz but still get that feeling he craved. Sonny was clearly disappointed and embarrassed by his choice of actions and despite what anyone said, he realized the choice he made was poor and it was time to follow his dream. At the end, the narrator realizes why Sonny turned to drugs in the first place.
This was to take up the responsibility that was given to him and to let his brother know that he has someone on his corner. “I was sitting in the living room in the dark, by myself, and I suddenly thought of Sonny. My trouble made his real” (Baldwin 378). This shows that the brother has grown sympathy for Sonny. This is because his daughter’s death caused him to really sit down and evaluate the series of events that has taken place in Sonny’s life.