Rocket Boys Essays

The Rocket Boys is a timeless classic that has been a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into eight different languages. This memoir written by Sonny Hickman illustrates the arduous journey of a group of boys who want to build sophisticated rockets in a coal mining town. These Rocket Boys have large dreams that are fueled by a various pressures and ambitions. The fame and monetary gains by building award winning rockets that would allow them to go to college, the opportunity to work

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." In Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, many characters work with Sonny to help him achieve great things. The support from others in Coalwood is the main reason Sonny is successful. 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

Homer H. Hickam Jr.’s 1998 Rocket Boys: A Memoir is a partially fictionalized account of how a small town boy from a coal mining family becomes a rocket scientist. The intriguing story follows young Homer Jr., nicknamed “Sonny,” on his quest for knowledge and aspiration of working alongside the legendary Dr. Wernher von Braun at NASA. This is a well written account of the ongoing struggle of rural Appalachia and the difficulties of breaking away from the past that is worth reading. Overall,

n Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam, Homer had to learn that the only way to build a better rocket was to learn more about it. At one point in the book, He had to decide what kind of explosives to use. He started with a very weak explosive but slowly experimented with stronger explosives. He knew that he had to get a new explosive when his current one would no longer gain altitude. Homer knew the importance of learning and so did his teacher that is why she said, “All I’ve done is give you a book, you

Rocket Boys, by Homer H. Hickam, Jr., is a memoir based on Hickam’s upbringing in Coalwood, West Virginia. Coalwood is a small town centered around one thing: Its coal mining industry. Homer’s dad was the superintendent of the mine and is constantly answering to the workers, who eventually form a union and hold a strike for better pay. Perhaps the second most important thing to Coalwood citizens was high school football. Jim, Homer’s brother, is the center of attention as he is a member of the Coalwood

After reading the memoir, Rocket Boys, written by Homer H. Hickam. Jr, one can easily see how the setting of the town, Coalwood, was a prominent character throughout the course of the book. Sonny would not be the man he was today if the action of the story was set in another town or area. “...nearly everything that i knew in Coalwood is gone... Yet I believe for those of us who keep it in our hearts, Coalwood still lives” (Hickam 367) Although the actual town of Coalwood has fallen in abandonment

Stephen Hoffman Mrs. Schroder English IV Honors August 25th, 2017 Rocket Boys Essay Rocket Boys is a story about a small group of boys living in Coalwood, a small mining town, who fulfill their dreams of building rockets. Homer, the main character, has to deal with many obstacles, such as his family, the lack of wealth and parts, and he had to learn so much about rockets. The theme of Rocket Boys is overcoming obstacles in order to succeed. First, Homer had to deal with his father’s disapproval

We’ll if you read the book October Sky or Rocket Boys you may have realized that Homer Sr. definitely has different point of view on life. As you probably know Homer Sr. wants his son to be a mining engineer while Homer Jr. wants be like Werner Von Bron and build rockets. Now because Homer Jr. has a curiosity about rockets he decides to gather a few pals and and they decide to launch a few of their very own rockets. The first time Homer Jr. launches off a rocket with a few of his friends it launches

going to stop his dream of building a rocket. Homer’s life revolved around the fact that the only place he was going to end up was the coal mine. Homer was not a star football player like his brother, he wasn’t very big, he wasn’t stronger, and he really didn’t enjoy it. Homer says “For all the knowledge and pleasure they gave me, the books I read in childhood did not allow me to see myself

within Coalwood with different reactions. Sputnik was seen in the starry night by the townspeople of Coalwood, with people in awe. This is where it all began, Homer Hickham’s journey of building a rocket. He is then joined by Quentin, Roy Lee, and Sherman and the troubles that comes with it. Making the rocket itself

Project Across Disciplines-How did this story inform you about another subject? The book October Sky not only tells an intriguing story of a boy, his town, and rockets, it also informs the reader about how the rockets are built and what it takes to design and build each one. In the book, a group of boys that call themselves “the Rocket Boys” are building rockets; at first it is for sport and to see if they can do it, but it evolves into a source of pride for the town. This is to give the reader a better

In Coalwood, West Virginia, all the boys grow up to be coal miners and Homer Hickam has no reason to think he'll be any different. Too small to earn a football scholarship, Homer has no way out of his predetermined life -- until the soviet satellite Sputnik flies over the October sky and changes everything. It's 1957 and Homer's world just got a lot bigger. Though his father is mine superintendent and has no greater wish than to see his sons follow in his footsteps, Homer embarks on a mission to

The novel Rocket Boys explores the passions and perils of living in a coal mining community. Through these passions and perils conflict between individual and society arises, as Sonny has victimized himself within society by his own narcissistic attributes. Within the story Rocket Boys, Sonny must balance his desires and the ambitions of the group. Sonny’s aspirations are seen plain in the early chapters, he wants to study rockets, pursue engineering, and work for NASA. At the start, it appears

October Sky, by Homer Hickam. It took place in West Virginia in the town of Coalwood. The main character, Homer Hickam Jr. or “Sonny” sparked an interest in rocket building after seeing the Russian satellite Sputnik launch. Sonny had many complications standing in his way, which included the fear of failure, before creating the perfect rocket that would represent all his hard work and perseverance. Just like the Garcia family, Sonny also encountered countless obstacles in order to

not Homer was an important influence of Sonny also. Sonny was given inspiration from his mother and something to work against with his father. “To get out of here, you’ve got to show your dad you’re smarter than he thinks. I believe you can build a rocket. He doesn’t. I want you to show him I’m right and he’s wrong. Is that too much to ask?” (51-52). Sonny’s mom wanted him to succeed, that influenced him to succeed. Morale support is much needed when trying to accomplish something that seems impossible

Robert Frost “Death of the Hired Man” Robert Frost once said ¨In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.¨ Death of the Hired Man by Robert Frost is about the main characters, Warren and Mary, who are the owners of the farm, have a hired man who decides to leave them to find better-paying work when the busy times approach; but when work is slow, then he will return looking for odd jobs to earn money. Warren has had enough and tells his wife what actions he should

In the book Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickman Jr., there are many times that it is breaking the barriers. The book takes place in a small town and it is very uniform until Homer starts becoming more involved in rockets. He also doesn't play sports which is what everyone loves. He also jeopardizes his position on the social ladder by working with Quentin. Another time barriers were broken was after Mr. Bykovski died in the mines. With the following of Sputnik, a Russian satellite, Sonny and his

ponder upon this question. Everyone grows up differently, in a different atmosphere, state, country, and routine. Someone may have had a harsh life because of where they were raised, while others might not have had to worry at all. In the novel Rocket Boys/ October Sky the narrator grows up in a mine setting. He is used to the loud hums of the men working and the sudden absence of his father. While the narrator is going by his daily routine of listening to the men go into the tipple, the deaths, weather

emerge very early in the book in Sonny’s many relationships; then later in his interests and goals. Sonny is determined to achieve his goals, even after multiple failures. Sonny soon recognizes these values and how they are essential component in the Rocket Boy’s success. Homer Hickam’s memoir October Sky shows through Sonny’s rocketry endeavors, his strained relationship with his father, and his overall goal to leave

McDowell county has the lowest median household income of $22,000, and the highest number of teen births. Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickman Jr., The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and 50 Years Into the War on Poverty, Hardship Hits Back by Trip Gabriel are memoirs and articles describing life in McDowell County throughout half a century. Rocket Boys takes place in the 1950s and 1960s in Coalwood when the coal is getting harder to mine and people are losing jobs and leaving the company towns. The