October Sky
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October Sky Discussion Questions
1) As I read this memoir I could relate as I believe that it was the opposite, therefore I could see the situation I am in and then can relate easily to something that is the opposite, in this case being the opportunity to do whatever I chose to do, like going to Wesley, whereas Homer wasn't going to get this chance, and his father wanted him to become a coal miner. From this I don't think I could be as happy in Coalwood in the 1950's, due to the fact that it took a lot of work and commitment to do what you want, and for most they are just put into the work of a coal miner, although they may have thought that the wanted to do it, it had actually been in trenched in their mind since little, and if opportunities were there a better suited lifestyle could have been achieved and many lives could have been saved. Out of all of the professions I would have wanted to be a football star, as I love sport and believe that being a football star would have given me the best opportunity of choice.
3) I would describe this book at one that is enjoyable and easy to read, I didn't even think about it before I started reading as this could get me of on the wrong foot, therefore I was in the author's hands. The story is about a boy with a dream in a small mining town, but it definitely doesn't stop there, it goes much deeper and raises a lot of issues in that society and even in today's, including parenting, finding you own path, leadership, growing up and even though not in depth, racial prejudice.
6) "At war with itself over its children" meant different things, it all depends on how you see it, but all can be described as the correct answer. First of all is that the town was at war when the story was written, different people had different views of how to treat and what to do with the children, and this created conflict between the people of Coalwood, an example of this was between Elsie and Homer snr. Another way that this could have been interpreted was that the town had its children on a time bomb, a conflict waiting to happen when the children turn into miners, and that many of the future miners will end up living unhealthy and unhappy lives due to the fact that they are not doing what they wanted or could have wanted if the parents gave them the opportunity, an example of this could be the others left in Coalwood around Sonny's age, that couldn't play football or build rockets, would have just stayed and mined.
10) One of the issues in the story was finding your own path, and part of this and in the story for the rocket boys involved non-conformity, going against the Coalwood tradition and way of going about things. In the story most of the minor characters conform with the exception of Homer snr, whereas the major characters including the rocket boys, Elsie and Miss Riley non-conform...