Homer's Upbringing In Rocket Boys By Homer H.

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 High football team and because of this, he has a future. Throughout the book, Homer has an unstable relationship with his father, who chooses to praise Jim for being successful and talented. Homer, on the other hand, is a child with no future

The schools tighten their workloads and put an emphasis on education. Homer, or Sonny as called by his close friends, sees this as inspiration and begins to dream of working with Dr. Wernher Von Braun as a rocket engineer. Without the support from his father, Sonny works on building rockets with his group of friends, including Quentin, the stereotypical nerd. They are unsuccessful for a while but Homer is excited by the prospect of adding to his “body of knowledge.” He was never one for learning in the classroom but, the rocket building intrigued him and grew as a passion. Unfortunately, his father was not happy at all about it and wanted him to work in the mine and to quit causing a scene in Coalwood with his rockets. However, some of the folks in Coalwood were excited at the prospect of Homer and the boys giving a name to Coalwood and creating a legacy that was not just about mining or football. They were glad to help when they went to the science fair to compete with their work on rockets. A main contributor to the “Rocket Boys” was Miss Riley, Homer’s science teacher. She believed in them and supported them on their way to the science