Coalwood, West Virginia Essays

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

his family, Homer Sr., Elsie, and Jim; and his friends, Sherman, Quentin, Roy Lee, and O’Dell. These people along with the citizens of Coalwood, WV are essential to Sonny’s success as a rocket

us a brief introduction; he talks about how much Sputnik affected him and gives background for the rest of the story. One particular part illuminates very well just how much Sputnik affected him. “…there were two distinct phases in my life in West Virginia: everything that happened before October 5, 1957 and everything that happened afterwards…” (Rocket Boys 16). To Homer, Sputnik was such an important event the he uses it to divide his life into two sections, and he doesn’t cover much before it

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

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

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

October sky takes place in a small town called Coalwood in the year 1957. The mines are a huge part of Coalwood economy. John Hickham loves his job as the mine’s superintendent and hopes his own sons will join the business too. Later in the movie his son Jim receives a football scholarship and leaves Homer to fulfill His father’s dream, although homer doesn’t want to fulfill it. The news of Sputnik, Soviet Union’s satellite spreads within Coalwood with different reactions. Sputnik was seen in the

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

In the movie October Sky based on the autobiography written by Homer Hickam, Homer is fascinated after seeing Sputnik 1 in the sky. Although his father doesn’t approve, he still wants to follow his dreams and pursue rocket science. However, he faces multiple disappointments along the way. In the movie, Homer and his friends shoot off rockets and they invite his dad to come; he never does. This always disappoints Homer. Many kids have sports games, recitals, or other occasions, and they want their

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

The book Eleven by Tom Rogers tells the story of 9/11 through the eyes eleven year old Alex Douglas. I agree with the critic’s review where it implies that he thinks that his eleventh birthday is to be the best one yet, as his parents had promised him that they would get him a dog if he kept his grades and good behavior up, along with showing that he was responsible enough to care for the dog. But when the review says that Alex loves nothing more than dogs and planes, I believe that he is wrong,

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.” Jesse Owens said discussing the correlation between determination and making dreams come true. This message translates directly to Homer Hickam 's memoir October Sky. This theme 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

In the movie October Sky, a young boy named Homer Hickam lived in a little town called Coalwood in West Virginia. He had the determination: to build and shoot off his own rockets by “Sputnik” that was orbiting around the sky. Homer’s dad, John, wasn 't so thrilled with his idea of building these rockets and said it was a waste time to try building his own rocket. He wanted Homer to follow in his footsteps and work in the mines. With the help of his friends and teachers, Homer continued to pursue

The Glass Castle is a memoir written by Jeannette Walls that describes the story of how she came from being a less fortunate child to having a top ten book of the year according to the New York Times. The story focuses on Jeannette and her underprivileged family. The Glass Castle is closely related to Walt Disney’s quote “I don't believe in playing down to children, either in life or in motion pictures. I didn't treat my own youngsters like fragile flowers, and I think no parent should. Children

Paul Ryan once said, “Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.” Individuals must strive upon excellence based on the society they are placed in. Watching how others react can help one become the best they can be. Throughout The Glass Castle, Jeannette is exposed to society by her parents. Her parents, Rex and Rose Mary, see society in different means than how others perceive it. They think they can bend the rules and do what

Both the North and South are acquiring different ways to treat their injured soldiers, but both are ill-prepared for removing and transporting the wounded men to hospitals. The consistency and work put into both region’s medical department’s very crucial in winning this war. So far, the Civil War has been bloody for both sides battling, and it is up to the medical care given to support the injured fighters. Many soldiers are either getting wounded from gunshots, obtaining infections or catching diseases

After all the readings, videos, and discussion about Appalachia, I'm honestly shocked about how oblivious I was to the hardships occurring to the people of these areas. Not to mention the resentment I feel towards the people causing these problems, particular the Massey Energy Corporation. The most impressionable for me was the documentary Overburden because it displayed the worst possible actions people can do to one another. The actions of Massey Energy were appalling. To place profits over people

ABSTRACT The Ondatra zibethicus, otherwise known as a muskrat, is a semiaquatic rodent that is native to North America but has invaded Europe, Asia, and South America. Muskrats were first introduced within the Isles of Shoals located around the Gulf of Maine for the purposes of fur harvest in the early 1900s (Harrison, 2014). The Appledore Island muskrats, one of the Isles of Shoals, and other muskrats were compared for mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences and allele frequencies at eight different

Back in 1861 a war started against the North and South. For South it was a war that could either save or wreck their way of life. The South was fighting for slaves, more specifically to keep them. It was a fierce battle that lasted until 1865, both sides had their ups and downs but in the end North walked away with the victory. So what helped the North win? Well there was a couple of things. Some of those are better resources, where battles were at , number of soldiers, Sherman’s march and battle

1. North had Advantages over South The North had the numbers period. When it came down to men of battling age, the Union had the edge through around two to one. In any case, similar to I just stated, significantly more Southern men were ready (or even energized) to war. The North also had more noteworthy industrial limit. In war, this implied more than well as better weapons, similar to cannons. Truth be told, in 1860, Northern factories made nine-seven percent of the country's guns. The combined