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The Rocket Boys Analysis

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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 for Wehner von Braun and participate in the space race, and the people and authority figures around them all motivated the Rocket boys to find success in their quest to build rockets.
The Rocket Boys are encouraged to craft advanced rockets for they …show more content…

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 also driven to his success in order to prove his father wrong in his devaluing of him, and he wants to impress his father by his feats with the Rocket Boys. Other characters such as the miners who continuously craft and build the Rocket Boy’s more complex rockets with metal and welding. These craftsmen not only help the Rocket Boys with being able to build rocket sin the first place, but they also continue to push the Rocket Boys to launch rockets. It is not only them, however. The whole community plays a role in the success in the Rocket Boys, and if it was not for the newspaper reporters, the …show more content…

From the very beginning, Miss Riley served as a fantastic science teacher who originally sparked the boys’ quest for knowledge concerning the sciences. Then she gifts the boys books regarding rocket instruction, gives them ideas about certain propellants from her in-class labs, pressures them to participate in the science fair, encourages the administration to start a new Calculus course for them, and simply inspires the Rocket Boys to continue with their discoveries. Whenever Sonny had an issue he would go to Miss Riley for answers, and she has a clear mentorship role with Sonny and the rest of the Rocket Boys. In fact, the only reason the Rocket Boys go to the science fair is due to her, and she keeps them motivated to acquire their highest aspirations and further engage in their Rocket Building. When Miss Riley finds out that she has Hodgkin's Disease, that is even more reason for the boys to impress her and make her proud so they push themselves even harder towards success. Without Miss Riley and her teaching, the Rocket Boys would not have had been as motivated to succeed in their journey to build complex rocket

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416 Words | 2 Pages

Sonny felt limited by what Coalwood had to offer to him, and wanted to venture out of the dull town. Along with the town, Sonny’s father thought they were wasting their time with their rockets. At first, Sonny could not see himself going anywhere past Coalwood in the future. But after, Sonny sees the people’s future lives in Coalwood and negative comments, this motivated him to do greater and better things, rather than working in a mine for the rest of his life. Because of Sonny’s relationship with the town and most the people saying he and his friends could not build rockets, Sonny strived to prove their point wrong by making rockets.

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761 Words | 4 Pages

She gives many advices to Rameck to help him to be successful during college time. Because of Clara’s help , Rameck can graduate successfully. Also, Rameck can understand how to face difficulties and can continue to pursue his dream. Therefore, mentors play good roles in Rameck’s

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411 Words | 2 Pages

The theme of Rocket Boys is to never give up because no matter what happens, it will be worth it in the end. This theme is important because a lot of people could learn from it to succeed in what want to do in life. At first, Sonny wants to give up because no matter what him and his friends did to improve the rockets, they didn’t turn out how they wanted them to. One day, he came to a realization that being in that small town and working in the coal mine “wasn’t good enough” so he didn’t quit. His teacher, Miss Riley, was the only teacher that supported him at his school.

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941 Words | 4 Pages

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

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532 Words | 3 Pages

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 to everyone else. Sonny’s mother was also important because she was an example of non conformity of Coalwood. She hated being a miners wife and wanted to escape to Myrtle Beach, I think that is also an influence she has on Sonny, she wants to get out and that makes him want to get out.

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759 Words | 4 Pages

The settings of a family which has a negative effect on family and boys. Mainly what the characters are inclined to do against each other, the dysfunctional family life and the one parent family. The story has increased my knowledge about gangs and the impact on boys, that positivity of one person is better than the adversity of a gang. The author Scott Monk message to boys is being in a gang, especially a criminal gang is a futile, it is informative in regards that boys can do positive things in their life, that the need to turn their back on gangs and violence.

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1373 Words | 6 Pages

Every time the narrator attempted to control what his brother wanted to do in life, the more he lost power over his brother. Not only did he lose power he lost that deep connection one should have with their sibling. Sonny’s desire to not be powerless anymore gave him the determination to gain power which he could not handle. This lead him to lose all of that power once again. People when reading this should really consider how what they are doing to gain power is affecting others in theirs lives.

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1417 Words | 6 Pages

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.

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692 Words | 3 Pages

The ideals and images of Sonny can also be considered symbolism for those who are shadowed in these small neighborhoods. Those who have dreams to leave and make it big, but many things deter their

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963 Words | 4 Pages

Sylvia explains why Miss Moore wants to help children’s education, “She’d been to college and said it was only right that she should take responsibility for the young one’s education, and she not even related by marriage or blood” (304). Miss Moore wants to teach the children because she wants them to become aware of what is happening in their society. While they are in the toy store, Miss Moore asks the children what they think about their trip and one of the children, Sugar says, “that this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?” (309).

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934 Words | 4 Pages

The story also states, Sonny being the fathers favorite and was “the apple of his fathers’ eye". Baldwin’s work usually shows similar situations as to where one child is favored over the other since he's lived through

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1191 Words | 5 Pages

Sonny Blues Paul Pearshall once said “Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted”. In this story the conflict of responsibility takes place. A brother, who happens to be the narrator, blames his self for the events that takes place in his life, such as his brother sonny’s crack addiction. The Narrator feels responsible for his brother’s heroin addiction because he believed he shut his brother’s career goals down, felt as though he went against what his mother asked him to do, and because he chose not to believe that the way he treated his brother affected his brother life.

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822 Words | 4 Pages

The two critical theories studied this week, new historicism and cultural criticism, share many of the same concepts. Both theories are under the belief that history and culture are complex and that there is no way for us to fully understand these subjects because we are influenced by our subjective beliefs. Also, both theories believe that people are restricted by the limits society sets, and that people and these limits cause friction and struggle. Furthermore, both of these theories share from some of the same influences such as from the French philosopher Michel Foucault. New historicist believe that the writing of history is merely an interpretation, not an absolute fact, other than the big facts we know such as who was president at the time or who won a certain battle.

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713 Words | 3 Pages

But Sonny’s determination to keep working on the rockets eventually leaded his father to give them a place to launch their rockets. Sonny and his friends, now calling themselves the Rocket Boys, started putting ads in the newspaper so people could come watch

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388 Words | 2 Pages

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.

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