Rocket Boys

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Summary: Forces that Shape Homer "Sonny" Hickam's Identity
Review: Throughout a person's lifetime, their identity can change shape and mold from important events they have experienced and the people involved in their lives. A person's identity expresses who they really are. In the book October Sky by Homer Hickam, the main character "Sonny" is just beginning to experience the identity that he is beginning to mold into.

The main character, Sonny, can be identified as a passive, intelligent, loving, and dedicated kid. These characteristics can also be identified in Sonny's mother (Elsie) and father (Homer). Sonny's mother, an attractive, caring, and loving mother, is the person in Sonny's who supports what he does. She always encourages him to work hard at what he chooses to do. Sonny's father, a very dedicated, disciplined and hardworking man, on the other hand doesn't always accept Sonny the way he does his other son Jim. Homer supports Jim all he can by being extremely active in his athletic career. With Sonny though, he vaguely talks to him and is almost nonexistent in Sonny's rocketing experience. Knowing that his father doesn't support him does affect Sonny from time to time. Whether it's with Sonny's rockets or him being in the marching band, Homer just isn't an active supporter in Sonny's life. Homer seems to make Sonny earn his respect before he begins to show an interest in his life. This can be shown when Homer finally shows up to Sonny's final launch to watch his son succeed in something he loves. To thank Homer for what he's done (supplies, Cape Coalwood), Sonny and his friends (Rocket Boys) invite Mr. Hickam to send off their final rocket. Homer agrees to this invitation showing that he now accepts his son. This acceptance forces Sonny's identity to change shape.

Another person who helps shape Sonny's identity is Miss Riley. She is Sonny's 11th grade science teacher. Throughout Sonny's time with her, Sonny gets constant encouragement from her all the time. Whether it's applying for the Science Fair or support in their rocket building, Miss Riley always keeps a positive attitude. She does whatever she can to help the Rocket boys out. One of the things she does to help the boys out is buy them a rocket-building book. This book shows the Rocket boys what they need to do to make their rockets go farther and fly better. Miss Riley is the kind of person who Sonny looks up to when it comes to shaping his identity.

In Coalwood (Sonny's hometown) there are two kinds of people; people who are miners and people who aren't miners. Those who are miners usually spend their entire lives digging up coal and never leave Coalwood even once they've retired. The other group of people is everyone who doesn't work in the coalmines. These people aren't as dedicated to staying in Coalwood their entire life, but look forward to the day when they can actually leave. In the book, Sonny's father is a coalminer and plans on living in Coalwood until he feels like he isn't needed anymore. Sonny's mother on the other hand is one of the people who can't wait for the day until they can finally leave. Sonny though questions sometimes whether he can actually leave Coalwood. He sometimes feels that this town is a part of his life that he can never leave. Other times though he feels that if he stays there, he will turn into his father. This is not what he wants to do. These two contrasting feelings bring out the mother and father inside of him. In the end though Sonny decides that he has a better future outside of Coalwood and does what his mother has always told him to do, go to college and leave Coalwood forever. This choice allows Sonny to see what life is like out of Coalwood allowing his identity to develop in a different way.

Another important event in Sonny's life that assists in shaping his identity is the National Science Fair. After Sonny and his friends win the County and State Science Fairs, they are sent to Indianapolis for the National Science fair. Even though Sonny is the only one attending, he feels like that if they win it's a group win. When Sonny finally does get to the fair, he sets up his presentation and then shows it off to the onlookers. Once this is done, Sonny leaves for his hotel room without locking up his presentation. When he comes back the next day, he sees that all of his rockets have been stolen. In a panic Sonny calls his mother and begs her to do something about the fact that he has lost his rockets. Elsie does what she can and is able to send Sonny the supplies that he needs. Once Sonny gets these parts, he learns an important lesson from his friend Tex. This lesson is that not everywhere in the world is as safe and friendly as Coalwood. To survive in a big city, Sonny needs to assume the worst and lock up any important possessions. This lesson makes Sonny extremely careful and more protective with his possessions than he was in the past. Changing his identity from what it was before. Sonny's identity can now be seen in a different way from the forces of his parents, Miss Riley, the science fair, and his surroundings. These forces have made Sonny a more complete person.

The book October Sky is a good read for any teenager throughout the world because it was written in a teenager's point of view. Most books aren't as realistic when it comes to the things that actually happen in a teenager's life. This book wouldn't try to clean up things that Sonny did, it just told it like it was. Throughout the book you get to read about Sonny and how his identity begins to change, as he gets. An identity change is always intriguing to a reader making this an excellent book to read.

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Summary: The Development of Homer Hickam Jr.'s Identity
Review: A person's identity is the way one sees him/herself as an individual. This includes one's attitudes and behaviors, beliefs, goals, relationships, judgements, and religious and cultural values. Many forces help to shape a person's identity. One influential force is relationships with others, especially with those people that are important in one's life, such as family, friends, and teachers. Many model themselves after these people, or in some situations they may try to be different. Life events, both positive and negative, also help shape an identity. Personal events, such as accidents, illness, divorce, marriage, education, and employment help to mold an identity. Additionally, societal forces such as wars, economy, and living environment help shape a person's sense of self.

Homer Hickam Jr.'s memoir, October Sky, focuses strongly on the people and events that helped to shape his identity. As a child, Hickam witnessed a specific world event that sparked a dream. The people in his hometown influenced him, in one way or another, to fulfill his goal. The interaction between events and certain people in Hickam's life played a large role in developing his identity.

Hickam wrote,"...there were two distinct phases to my life in West Virginia: everything... before October 5, 1957 and everything that happened afterward."(p.16) Sputnik, a Russian satellite, was launched on October 5, 1957. This event sparked Hickam's passionate interest in rockets, which led to his dreams about working at NASA. In order to build his rockets, Hickam needed the rocket parts made. He did not know how to make them, and did not have any machinery available to him. This presented a challenge. So Hickam visited his friend Mr. Bykovski, a machinist-welder who worked the night shift in the machine shop of the town's coal mine. Mr. Bykovski agreed to make and assemble rocket parts for Hickam. Mr. Bykovski worked secretly, since he was not allowed to use mine property to make the parts. Hickam's dad, the captain of the mine, soon found out, removed Mr. Bykovski from the machine shop, and relocated him to a job as a loader. Hickam felt very bad about this. Soon after, Mr. Bykovski was killed in a mine accident while working the loader. Hickam felt that since it was his fault that Mr. Bykovski became a loader, it was also his fault that his friend died. Hickam was filled with guilt. He decided to end his rocketry work. When he visited Mr. Bykovski's widow to apologize for his death, she said, "There's one thing you can do...something I know Ike'd really like...Keep firing off those rockets!"(p.255) These events led Hickam to his passion and helped him learn to overcome obstacles in the path of his dream.

There were many people in Hickam's life that influenced the development of his identity. Hickam's mother played a large role. Hickam grew up in Coalwood, West Virginia, a mining town. Most of the men who lived there became miners. Hickam's mother did not want her son to grow up to work in the mine. She wanted him to leave Coalwood and find a job elsewhere. When Hickam showed an interest in rockets, she helped him as much as she could. She saw Hickam's rockets as a way out of Coalwood. Hickam's father also influenced him. Hickam had an older brother, Jim, who was a star football player. Hickam did not possess a talent for sports. His father favored Jim, and usually ignored Hickam. Hickam's father did not approve of his rocket building. It was this negative, frustrating relationship with his father that finally pushed Hickam to enter the science fair. Hickam hoped to win so that he could "...wave whatever medals and ribbons we got under Dad's nose."(p.231) Hickam's friends also influenced the development of his identity. They worked on the rockets as a team. Hickam admired his friends, and tried to be like them. They helped him to develop friendship and teamwork values. Additionally, Hickam's science teacher, Miss Riley, helped him with his rockets by giving him books, encouragement, and balancing his ego. She was modest, and when Hickam tried to give her credit for his success in rocketry she said, "All I've done is give you a book. You have to have the courage to learn what's inside it."(p.xv) In various ways, all of these people helped Hickam to become a strong, hardworking, courageous, persistent person determined to fulfill his dreams.

In October Sky, the author uses several literary elements to describe the people and events that contributed to the shaping of his identity. The author used story telling and descriptive techniques to make the book interesting and informative. For example, instead of saying, "she loved to garden and worked hard," to describe his mother, the author wrote, "...planted a rose garden. She hauled in dirt from the mountains by the sackful, slung over her shoulder...fertilized, watered, and manicured each bush with exceeding care."(p.2) Understanding the characters in the book simplifies the comprehension of how they shaped Hickam's identity. The author gave a detailed description of the setting of the story. Coalwood was a small town where everyone knew everyone else's business. The townspeople knew all about Hickam's rockets, and began calling him and his friends the Rocket Boys. Most of them encouraged Hickam to work hard on his rockets. Conflict was a strong focus in October Sky. There was conflict between Hickam and his father, Hickam and his brother, and Hickam's mother and father. This conflict caused Hickam to become a tougher, confident, decisive, self-determined person.

October Sky is a worthwhile read. It is full of detail, with extensive descriptions of events and characters that cause the reader to feel as if he/she is witnessing the events as they happen. The author used many literary elements to clearly convey the development of the main character's identity. There are many different topics discussed in this memoir, from rocketry to relationships. October Sky is interesting and suspenseful, hard to put down, and is a book that is thoroughly enjoyed.

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Summary: What forces shape identity
Review: As people go about their lives, there are forces that affect their identities. In the memoir October Sky, Sonny (Homer) Hickam was confronted by some of these forces. They included the thoughts of the people around him, the events that occurred within the town he lived in, and Sonny's own attitude towards his future.

The people that had the strongest influence towards Sonny were his parents, and friends. Sonny is first influenced to build rockets when the Russians launch Sputnik. He persuaded his friends, Roy Lee, Sherman, and O'Dell to help him build a rocket. The rocket that was produced was very crude, exploding as soon as it was lit. Sonny's dad was not surprised, as he did not believe that his son was capable of anything special. He expected his son to be a miner. After high school, Sonny would have gone to work in the Coalwood mine, thus assuring him a painful death due to breathing in coal dust. Unlike Mr. Hickam, Sonny's mother assumed that as long as he could do something noteworthy, and get out of Coalwood, he would be able to accomplish anything he wanted. She suggested that he ought to build rockets. After this incident, Sonny began to shun his father and think like his mother, so he tried to learn how to build a rocket. Sonny began to realize that in order to be successful, with his rockets and in life, it would be necessary for him to acquire help from others. With the help of some a very intelligent person (Quentin) and mine machinists, the rockets began to fly. Quentin also pushed Sonny to work as hard as he could, and to never be satisfied. Quentin always believed that they could do better. These rockets did more however than just provide a way to show Mr. Hickam that he was capable of more than he though he was. They proved that residents of Coalwood were able to do more than just mine coal. Sonny was identified as a pathfinder, only because of the help he received from others.

When Sputnik raced across the West Virginian sky, Sonny had his first taste of enthusiasm towards constructing rockets. It is not known if he would have built rockets without that first event. The Russians had supplied Sonny a path that he would follow for the remainder of his life. Another event that altered Sonny, was the trip he took with his father into the mine. Sonny's father was trying to put his love for the mine into his son, but Sonny did not want anything to do with the mine. His mother had already put that mentality inside of him. Mr. Hickam took an even colder attitude towards Sonny after this. Mr. Hickam's goal was to have Sonny act and think like him, but now his son did not want to resemble his father in any way. Sonny realized that his father was a cold man, who needed to have things happen his way. He made sure that he would never be the person his father was.

There were many points when Sonny wanted to give up, but because of the support he had gained from people all over Coalwood, he was never able to discontinue working on the rockets. Miss Riley was one of the most influential people in Sonny's life. When he got arrogant because of his rocket successes, or in trouble for his failures, she kept him going with just a few words of encouragement. There was a person named Mr. Bykovski who was very close to Sonny. Unfortunately he was killed in a mining accident. Sonny was launched into a deep state of depression. He stopped building rockets, until Miss Riley had a talk with him. His attitude changes, and he decides that no one can stop him from reaching his goals, especially not his father. "If dad didn't let me have the materials I needed, I'd still get them, one way or another, no matter what it took-guile, tricks, or outright theft. (pgs. 272-273)"

This memoir is an exceptionally inspiring novel that shows you the best way to live life, is to follow your own paths and dreams. It is a must read for anyone with a goal, or just a person that wants to read a compelling, optimistic story, that is full of triumph and tragedy. This novel provides a message of hope for any person that reads it.

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Summary: OCTOBER SKY by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. (Memoir / Non Fiction)
Review: Homer (Sonny) H. Hickam Jr.'s identity was shaped by several forces wonderfully portrayed in this real life story. The space race and the fear that the Russians were better and smarter than Americans played an important role in shaping Sonny's identity. The conflict between his father's hopes of Sonny following in his footsteps and his mother's hopes of Sonny making a good life for himself, further shaped his identity. His teacher Miss. Riley challenged the rocket boys to be in the science fair and in doing so, changed their future. In this book all of these forces come alive and influenced who Sonny became.
Sonny's mom and his dad both wanted something different for their son. Sonny's mom did not want her son to risk his life every day working in the mine, like his father. Sonny's father wanted Sonny to follow in his footsteps and become a miner. Sonny's mom consistently supported Sonny's enthusiasm about rockets even when he had small setbacks. This nurturing gave Sonny the will to succeed. This quote reflects this. "You've got to get out of Coalwood, Sonny. To get out of hear you've got to show your dad you're smarter than he thinks. I believe you can build a rocket. He doesn't." She raised him to be the best he could be because she desperately wanted her son to be successful. His father believed that Sonny should be proud to become a miner and stop dreaming about rockets, but Sonny didn't want that. Sonny just wanted some recognition from his dad. His father tried persuading his son to become a miner by saying things like, "There's no men in the world like miners, Sonny... The best there is... You'll never know such good and strong men... Your my boy... I was born to lead men in the profession of mining coal. Maybe you were to." He wanted Sonny to be just like him. Sonny's father didn't support Sonny's interest in rocketry which caused conflict in Sonny's life.
Another force that influenced Sonny's identity was the era in which he grew up. The space race and other events that took place during this era had a strong influence on Sonny. This influence lead to his interest in building rockets. If he grew up in a different era he probably wouldn't have had such a profound interest in rockets. You can see how this point in time is such a great force that shaped his identity by this quote. "I guess it's fair to say there were two distinct phases in my life in West Virginia: everything that happened before October 5, 1957 and everything that happened afterwards." October 5, 1957 was the day that the Russians launched Sputnik into space. The people of the United States had the belief that the Russians were better and smarter than Americans because of Sputnik. This belief caused educators to make their students work harder. Mr. Turner, the principle of Big Creek High School, made an announcement about this to the school body. "Big creek was to be restructured, he said, beginning with the junior class. A more challenging academic curriculum was to be installed, the result of Sputnik and the worry over how badly educated America's children were compared to Russian kids." Sonny had no control over the era in which he lived, yet it greatly effected his childhood and helped shape who he became.
Miss. Riley, Sonny's biology teacher, gave him advice and taught him valuable life lessons that he would need to know in the future. One of the lessons she taught him was to adopt the belief that "going to school was the job of her students and, therefore, sacred. To do a poor job was simply unacceptable" In the following passage from the book Miss. Riley also teaches him that he has yet another job. "Sonny," she said, "a lot has happened to you, probably more than I know. But I'm telling you if you stop working on your rockets now, you'll regret it maybe for the rest of your life... You've got to put all of your hurt and anger aside so you can do jour job. Your job, Sonny, is to build your rockets." "Why?" "If for no other reason, because it honors you and this school. Miss. Riley taught him much more than biology, she taught him things about work ethic and about life. Like his mother, Miss. Riley shaped Sonny to be the best he could be.
Sonny made his own choices but the combination of these main forces helped play an important role in influencing his decisions. Essentially the forces that shaped Sonny's identity were his dreams, his supportive mother, his father's opposition of his dreams, his need to seek approval from his father and a teacher who saw greatness in Sonny. This compelling book is wonderfully exciting and incredibly inspirational. The author masterfully uses techniques such as characterization to make you feel like you've met him, the dreamer, Sonny, and the company man, his father and his nurturing mother. He also makes you care about the teacher. He creatively depicts Coalwood the mining town in which he grew up by describing it vividly. This allows you, the reader, to draw a detailed picture of it in your mind. The theme of this book, growing up to accomplish your dreams, is conveyed to the reader through the authors telling of his own life story. Included in the book is a fairy tail ending which leaves the reader with a warm sense of Sonny's accomplishments. The conflict and resolution of this book is so dramatic it feels like you, as the reader, are actually taking part in it. The author uses all of these techniques and more to make the book come alive so that the reader can watch, in his mind, Sonny's identity being molded and shaped.

--- Reviewed by Mark Mascadri ---

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Summary: What forces shape identity?
Review: All people go through a time where they don't know who they are. Many times activities they participate in or people they encounter help to shape their identity. This was true of the character Sonny in, October Sky, by Homer Hickam. Sonny enjoyed rocket building and through that activity grew his dreams and self worth. He was largely supported by his closest friends, known as the Rocket Boys, his mom, his science teacher Miss Riley and though distantly his dad as well. Many forces shape identity. Those forces include the people involved in your life, where you live, what you do, and above all the spiritual plan, previously decided for you.

Many people influenced the shaping of Sonny's identity. One of those people was his mother. Sonny had a fairly close relationship with his mom, much closer than with his dad. He doesn't know who he is, but he knows rockets interest him and he idolizes Werhner Von Braun. His mother encouraged him as he began to build rockets. Throughout Sonny's rocket building career Mrs. Hickam reinforced her beliefs and trust in him. As Sonny doesn't play football and isn't popular, like his brother his dad seems to pay him no attention. This treatment causes Sonny to doubt himself, questioning who he is; wondering who he is supposed to be. Others played a role in Sonny's life, thus influencing the shaping of his identity. Miss Riley was another influential person. She supported not only Sonny, but all of the Rocket Boys. She suggested higher goals such as, attending the science fair. This ultimately gave Sonny a very important realization of who he was. It is evident that Homer Hickam used the literary element of characterization to convey this force of identity. He indirectly developed his characters. Through words, actions, thoughts, appearance descriptions, and statements by fellow characters, the people who influenced the shaping of Sonny's identity came alive. Therefore clearly demonstrating that people are a force that shapes identity.

The town of Coalwood was also an influence on the shaping of Sonny's identity. It was a mining town, surrounded by mountains in West Virginia. Sonny had been a resident of Coalwood his entire life. Yet, only when he traveled to Indianapolis for the National Science Fair did he realize how much a part of him his mountainous home captivated. Sonny mentions feeling "naked" without the border of mountains that divide land into cities at home. He also makes frequent comments about the "openness" of Indianapolis. This leads the reader to believe that mountains bring him a sense of security. The literary element of setting is a large portion of this force of identity. Continually the setting is noted, indeed as it changes. All of the characters are very in tune with their surroundings. This shows how the place a person is born and raised affects the shaping of their identity.

The activities people participate in are also a force that shapes identity. Throughout high school Sonny built and launched rockets with his friends. Through that activity he discovered a lot about himself; truths he called them. Sonny mentions not knowing about the bloodless battles his parents were in over how their kids would live, or about girls. He also credits rocket building for the scientific equations he can now comprehend. Building rockets was also Sonny's way of contributing to the space race, which was of great interest to him. His dreams for the future stemmed from rocket building, which really allowed him to grow, learn and develop a sense of self; all part of an identity. The rockets in this book also serve another purpose. They symbolize perseverance, a very important attribute of Sonny's personality. For, without it he would not have succeeded. The rocket boys built many rockets; experimenting for the best result. They built a total of thirty-one rockets, each a symbol of the effort and hard work; failure and success that would affect who each of the boys grew up to be.

Spiritual plans are yet another force shaping identity. A common belief in Coalwood was that God had a plan for everyone and their life would go according to his plan. Thus, their identity is shaped in accordance with the plan. "There's a plan. If you are willing to fight it hard enough you can make it detour for a while, but you're still going to end up wherever God wants you to be." The previous excerpt was a realization Sonny made at the conclusion of the novel and it clearly demonstrates spiritual plans shaping identity. It is also apparent that the literary element of theme was used to help convey this force. The theme was you are going to end up where you are supposed to. It is of major importance to the characters throughout the story and is demonstrated at the end. Thereby, the theme is more evident in the story. The force of spiritual plans really engulfs all other forces as it seemingly would determine those as well.

The forces that shape identity are clear. Sonny Hickam is who he is because of the people in his life, what he did, where he lived and because all of that followed God's plan. What people encounter in life shapes their identity. The book October Sky is a worthwhile read. It is a true story of learning, perseverance, triumph and defeat. Questions about one's own self begin to be raised by the reader as they become more engrossed in the pleasurable read of October Sky. This is drawn from its realistic nature. Upon finishing the novel the reader is left with an immense feeling of satisfaction. There are no questions that remain unanswered, resulting in the reader possibly feeling overly content, yet content all the same. Therefore proving that October Sky was a worthwhile read. So much can be learned from reading this book; it opens up a whole new world.

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Summary: What forces shape identity?
Review: In the compelling memoir October Sky, it shares the life of "Sonny" Hickam and shows him grow throughout this story. Sony was an adolescent who grew up in Coalwood, West Virginia in a coal-mining town. While in his town, he grows to find himself through his adolescent years and strives to carry out on his great desire, rocketry. Many different forces shape Sonny Hickam's identity through his memoir. Some forces are the people that come into his life, and others are events. Both help Sonny Hickam to expand his knowledge, and eventually shape his identity.
One of the most significant events was the launch of Sputnik on October 5, 1957. Sonny heard this launch one morning on his home radio set; his mother had called him to listen to. This is when Sonny was really first exposed to rocket launching, along with the rest of the United States. Sputnik was a Russian launched space satellite. It soon became a huge "race into space." The United States immediately started to build aircrafts trying to keep up with the intelligent Russians. Dr. Wernher von Braun helped lead the eventual NASA into building their aircrafts for the United States. Dr Wernher von Braun was an instant idol to Sonny. Sonny has dreams of one day meeting Dr. Wernher von Braun. As well as eventually joining his team at NASA. He had inspired Sonny in a way that he himself didn't even know of yet, filling Sonny with an immense passion for rocketry. He admired Dr. Wernher von Braun's work profoundly, as well as his area of work.
Sonny soon decides to join in the race to space. He makes a club entitled the "BCMA" also known as the Big Creek Missile Agency (Big Creek being the school in which he attended). His friends O'Dell, Roy Lee, Sherman, Billy and Quentin all help Sonny joining him as a team of rocket builders. Together they learn more and more about rockets, how they work and what was necessary to build them using different experiments, which they conducted. Quentin really pushed Sonny to learn the most he could about rockets, through his teaching. Quentin was a very important person in Sonny's learning of rockets. Along with his friends Sonny really becomes a well-determined space engineer, and his dreams of joining with Dr. Wernher von Braun only become more of a reality.
Both Sonny's mother and father, Elsie and Homer Hickam helped to shape his identity. However, they were very different and shared very different views on Sonny's strive to learn and build rockets. His Mother was an eloquent lady who was very supportive of Sonny. He could usually count on her to be on his side through arguments and mishaps usually involving the rockets. However, his father wasn't quite as supportive. His father worked in the coal mining business. He was a strict man, quite persistent and finds his way of life to be revolved mainly around the company that he works for. He shared an immense liking for Sonny's star football player brother, Jim. This often kept Sonny feeling much less important compared to him. Although it doesn't keep him from top building his rockets, and wanting to earn his father's trust and love. As Sonny's parents they help him to grow, even though they had many different views and ways of life.
Miss Riley, Sonny's teacher was always by his side and helped in every way that she could with his rocket ideas. She gave Sonny a rocket book, which he could keep "forever" entitled "Principles of Guided Missile Design." It was filled with many new ideas and sophisticated equations. She had also asked Sonny to join in the science fair, entering with "A Study of Amateur Rocket Techniques." After all that she had done for him he eventually decided to enter and came home a true victor. His experience at the science fair was another event, which helped to shape his identity. With Miss Riley's book of principles and her constant encouragement to learn and never give up was a very significant help to Sonny as a constant reminder to keep going with his dreams, beyond just the science fair.
Issac Bykovski's death was a very eventful death to Sonny. Mr. Bykovski had helped Sonny as their welder for the rockets and taught him a lot about the actual building aspects of the rockets. But Mr. Bykovski wasn't only a welder to Sonny he was also a great friend and great supporter of Sonny and his rocket ideas. He helped Sonny to learn more about just rockets, but also himself. The impact of his death left Sonny feeling very upset and responsible. He often wished that he could have lived longer, to see more of his great doings, which Mr. Bykovski had helped him to accomplish.
Although Sonny had a lot of encouragement behind him in the end it was really only him who could decide how much he truly desired to learn about rockets. This book was found to be a very worthwhile read. The more that you learn about Sonny and the other events and people in their life, the more thrilling the memoir truly becomes. This book will often find you comparing it to your life in many situations, bringing realization throughout the story. It is a truly captivating memoir of hope, a story surely worth reading.

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Summary: October Sky Review
Review: An identity is the distinguishing character or personality of an individual. In the course of a person's lifetime, they discover their identity through numerous events and people that inspire them. In Homer Hickam, Jr.'s October Sky, the experiences and people in his life shape Sonny's identity.
October 5, 1957 would be a date that changed Sonny's life forever. Homer Hickam, Jr. wrote, "I guess it's fair to say there were two distinct phases to my life in West Virginia: everything that happened before October 5, 1957 and everything that happened afterward." This was the day that the Russian space satellite, Sputnik, was launched. The launch sparked an interest in Sonny and made him eager to learn everything he could about rocketry. That November in an issue of Life magazine Sonny found drawings of the internal mechanisms of a variety of rockets. He was inspired by these drawings, and announced that night to his family that he was going to build a rocket. Sonny's love for rockets soon began to change him. Not a particularly proficient student, Sonny became interested in obtaining more information in math and science to help him build more complex rockets. Sputnik not only changed the world, it changed Sonny Hickam's life.
The fact that Homer Hickam, Jr. divided his life into two stages, before and after October 5, 1957, shows the importance of this event in his life. The way he describes it is almost as if he was reborn, and had a new life after the launch of Sputnik.
Teachers can be very significant in a student's life. Homer Hickam, Jr. states, "Of all my subjects in the eleventh grade, chemistry was my favorite, because Miss Riley was our teacher. She was strict with us, not ever allowing anybody to get her off topic even once, but she still had an impish humor that she often used to keep us alert, along with such an obvious love for her subject that we all paid attention." Miss Riley was one of the few people who believed in Sonny from the start. She did everything in her power to help him achieve his goals and strive for more challenging ones. During the Rocket Boys' sophomore year (and first year of rocket building), after hearing about the Big Creek Missile Agency, Miss Riley suggested the boys enter the county science fair. Sonny simply replied that they could not enter the science fair, not wanting to tell her the real reason was because he was embarrassed of their failures. During the Rocket Boys' junior year (second year of rocket building), Miss Riley inquired again about the science fair. Sonny confided in her that he did not think they were ready, and that it would be a great help if they had a book. Miss Riley offered to search for a rocket book. Later that year in January, Miss Riley asked Sonny to stop by her classroom because she had something for him. To Sonny's great surprise his teacher handed him a book entitled Principles of Guided Missile Design. Sonny was overwhelmed. Miss Riley replied, "All I've done is give you a book. You have to have the courage to learn what's inside it." She instilled in Sonny a passion for learning and believed in him.
The author's characterization of Miss Riley portrays her as the ideal teacher. She had a passion for her subject, she was strict but knew how to use humor to keep her students interested. The reader can understand why she was Homer's favorite teacher.
Many children are greatly influenced by their parents, whether positively or negatively. Sonny's mother, Elsie Hickam, is a parent who had an extremely positive impact on her child. Homer says of his mother, "She had her own opinion, formed perhaps by her independent nature or by her ability to see things as they really were, not as others, including herself, would wish them to be." Elsie Hickam was not at all happy with the life she led as a miner's wife. From the beginning she did not want her sons to become miners. After Sonny's first attempt at launching a rocket, along with scolding him for blowing up her fence, she shared with him her hopes for him and his brother, Jim. She told him, "You've got to get out of Coalwood, Sonny. Jimmie will go. Football will get him out. "It's not going to be so easy for you." "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." Sonny's mother had faith in him and supported him.
"Until I began to build and launch rockets, I didn't know my hometown was at war with itself over its children and that my parents were locked in a kind of bloodless combat over how my brother and I would live our live." From the first sentence the reader recognizes the conflict between Sonny's parents. His father expects his sons to work in the mines as he does. His mother makes it very clear that her sons will never set foot in the mine. She tells Sonny many times that he must get out of Coalwood when he is done with school, and encourages him to follow his dream of becoming a rocket engineer. Either path Sonny chooses he will be displeasing one of his parents. This conflict is evident throughout the novel, and is one of the many tribulations Sonny overcomes. In the end, Sonny realizes that he cannot please both parents whom he loves, and chooses his course.
The novel October Sky by Homer Hickam, Jr. is the wonderful memoir of Sonny Hickam growing up and going through the awkwardness of adolescence. It's an inspiring story of following dreams and achieving goals. His descriptions are simple, yet powerful. This book was a very worthwhile read, especially for people who are having trouble discovering who they really are. An identity is something every person struggles with, but after certain experiences and through relationships with people, they find it.

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Summary: What forces shape identity?
Review: The charming memoir, October Sky, is an eloquent tale of a young boy's dream of launching rockets into outer space. This young boy, Homer Hickam Jr. (a.k.a. Sonny Hickam), matured into a young man while pursuing his dream, with some help along the way. A few, but significant people, guided Sonny to shape his dream by always being there for him.
One of those people is Elsie Hickam, Sonny's mother. Elsie was always there for Sonny, pushing him along the way to pursue his dream. When Sonny's father, Homer Hickam, forbid Sonny to build his rockets, Elsie pushed Sonny to go behind Homer's back to carry on with his dream. Whenever Sonny worked on his rockets, the only thing Elsie ever said was 'now, don't blow yourself up.' Those words somehow always seemed to cheer Sonny up and make him gain his confidence to keep on going.
Another person that helped Sonny along the way was Mr. Bykovski. Mr. Bykovski was an immigrant that was one of the three machinist-welders in Coalwood, West Virginia. Mr. Bykovski helped Sonny with his rockets by welding parts together and helping him design some of his rockets. When Sonny went to Mr. Bykovski for help, he was going against his Dad's will. Homer was against Sonny building rockets and refused to let him have material from his coal mining company. Mr. Bykovski worked for the coal mining company, and when he helped Sonny, he was going against Homer's will and he was also risking his job for Sonny. Mr. Bykovski was a brave and undaunted man by risking his job. When Homer Hickam found out about Mr. Bykovski helping Sonny, Homer fired him and put him to work with the machines down inside of the mine. One night, there was a pillar explosion at the mine. Mr. Bykovski died underneath all the rubble. Sonny blamed himself for the accident because he believed that he was the one that put him down in the mine in the first place. After this horrible disaster, Sonny turned more into a caring human being and started to look out for other people before himself
Another person that helped Sonny along the way was his science teacher, Miss. Riley. Miss. Riley was very involved in Sonny's ideas for building and launching rockets; she tried to help him as much as she could. For example, she bought him a rocket book called Principles of Guided Missile Design. After he received the book from her, Miss. Riley said, 'Sonny, it may take a while, but I believe you can learn the things that are in this book.' With these words coming from Miss. Riley, Sonny felt he could accomplish anything. Miss. Riley also persuaded Sonny to enter the Science Fair with his rockets and his knowledge about them. Sonny was frightened that he would not place in the fair and that he would let his school and Miss. Riley down. It ended up that Sonny won first place and had a chance to go to Bluefield for the area finals. Sonny amazingly won the area finals in Bluefield and went to the National Science Fair held in Indianapolis. Sonny also got first place in that science fair. He did not know how to thank Miss. Riley for persuading him to sign up for the County Science Fair, which led him to win the National Science Fair. Miss. Riley taught Sonny that if he believes in something hard enough, he will succeed in achieving his dream
Even though Homer Hickam did not believe that Sonny could accomplish his dream of building rockets, he helped him to achieve his dream anyway. Sonny knew that his father was against him building rockets, but he went to his father for help anyway. Every now and then, Sonny asked his father if he could use supplies from the coal company. Homer always said no but Sonny kept on trying. After a few tries, the material started showing up on the porch. For example, one time Sonny asked his father for some material from the company. Homer refused to give it to him. He said, 'company property is for company business, not for launching rockets.' But, the material that Sonny asked for ended up on the porch for him the very next day. This gave Sonny a feeling that his Dad really did care for him and that he really did want him to succeed in something, not only the coal mine.
The memoir, October Sky, is an eloquent tale of a young man following his dreams and succeeding. This heartwarming tale is a book that actually makes you feel emotion towards the characters. It makes you feel like you are in the book yourself. Whoever will read this book will never forget it because it reaches many aspects of life. It talks about life, death, love, family, loyalty, dreams and friendship. This book is a worthwhile read because it is very page turning and you always want to know what is going to happen next. October Sky should be recommended to everyone seeking a wonderful and memorable book.

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Summary: "What Forces Shape Identity"
Review: A persons identity can be shaped by many things, things like your parents your school your town what you believe or were taught to believe. Identity's can change as easily as they were made and no two identities are ever the same.

Many things influenced the person that Homer became Sputnik played a crucial role in shaping homers identity this was one of the first times homer got interested in rockets and space if he had not see or heard about this Homer could have been a whole different person He then might have ended in working in the coal mines and then we might not have this great book. People played a major role in shaping homers identity they inspired him such as Warner von Braun who was involved in putting things into space for the United States and also building rockets to put those things into space. He showed homer that failures do come with building rockets and bother von Braun and Homer had there fair share of failures. Miss. Riely who kept pushing homer to give his best and not to give up She taught him many things about the rockets that he didn't' know about rockets. She gave homer a book on the math he needed to building rockets. She kept on pushing him to enter the science fair and always came to his launches to see his work in action. Many of the miners and machinists taught homer how to build his rockets and, inspired Homer by showing up at his launches and, always keeping him in line. His friends also played a role in shaping his life, Quinton taught Homer many things about rockets such as propellants and trigonometry and all the math that homer didn't understand, and that sometimes it was ok to be a geek. Roy Lee and O'Dell taught him about girls how to act, what to say and many other things about them. The Town Played a role in shaping homers identity because the talk was always the mine or football. People homer knew and cared about would die or get hurt in the mine and he would never see them again and that always left a scar in his heart. His dad played a major role in shaping Homers identity he never out right said he supported the rockets he always wanted Homer to go into the mine, But he helped in little ways like getting homer the concrete for his launching pad letting homer us the machine shop to assemble his rockets and he was always there to point out when homer screwed up. Homers Mom played a role in shaping homers identity she was one of the first people to tell homer that the mine was going to close and was running out of coal and that homer needed to get a college degree and to get out of the town. Creating the B.C.M.A aka. The Big Creek Missile Agency showed him how to depend on others to help with the rockets and that he didn't have to work on it alone. Cape Coalwood gave homer a place to call his own were he could launch his rockets with out getting in trouble.
I would recomend this book to anyone.

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Summary: What Forces Shape Identity
Review: October Sky by Homer Hickam Jr. is an autobiographical novel set in the town of Coalwood, West Virginia. Written in 1998 this inspiring childhood memoir took place in the late 1950's. Mr. Hickam uses mostly descriptive technique to show how his environment shaped his identity. He also uses characterization within the environment as well as competent storytelling to help the reader see what inspired him.
In the beginning of the story, the author uses an astonishing display of descriptive technique to convey his feeling of being trapped in the environment of Coalwood. It is a little, boring town where men march off to taunt death every day. His description of his emotion and feeling presents a sense of sorrow to the readers. "The men in this town go into that pit and hold hands with death every day... Coalwood is no place to be weak, but if you are, keep it to yourself and get the hell out of here as soon as you can." (p290) From the beginning it is obvious that Homer's environment is causing him to feel hopeless. The hopelessness could lead him in any direction.
Later on in the book, Mr. Hickam uses storytelling and descriptive technique to show rebellion against his environment. His friend Roy Lee tells him about a new mining operation in another town in their county. It would change Coalwood forever. In the story, Readers get the description that Coalwood is dying and Homer doesn't want to die with it. Homer tells a story of his daydreams mixing with reality that illustrates his realization that he must fight his environment. "I came slowly back to reality. They weren't explorers on the moon, they were just Coalwood miners going to work. And I wasn't on von Braun's team, I was a boy in Coalwood, West Virginia. All of a sudden, that wasn't good enough." (p40) Through the storytelling and description, Homer chooses not to succumb to his environment, but to overcome it.
Every boy needs inspiration, and in Homer's environment, it was his mother and Sputnik. Through characterization Mr. Hickam shows that Elsie Hickam was strong in her belief to watch her second son succeed. She tells Sonny about his father thinking he isn't good enough for anything except a job at the mine. "I am counting on you, show him you can do something! Build a rocket!"(p52) He is also inspired when he catches sight of sputnik flying across his "little mountain view". Again the author uses description to show his dream, to build a rocket. "It soared with what seemed to me inexorable and dangerous purpose, as if there were no power in the universe that could stop it. All my life, everything important that had ever happened had always happened somewhere else. But Sputnik was right there in front of my eyes in my backyard." (p39) With his future achievements, hopes and dreams riding on a knife's edge, Sonny Hickam sets off to build a rocket. The way Mr. Hickam tells this portion of the story, you could almost visualize the hope and determination building up inside of him. Through the characterization of this mother and his descriptions of Sputnik, it is easy to see him draw inspiration from his environment.
Throughout the book it has been Mr. Hickam's descriptive technique showing how environment shaped his identity. In the end it is his description of his interaction with a teacher in his environment, Miss Riley, that shows how he achieves his dream and becomes a NASA engineer. He describes the moment when she gives him a book about guided missile design. "All I've done is give you a book, she said. You have to have the courage to learn what's inside it." "At that moment I believed I was ready for anything just because she believed I was." (p232) In the author's environment the people who believed in him helped him become the person he wanted to be, a NASA engineer, not a coalminer.
This book is a worthwhile read for everyone, especially teens. By the description of Homer's environment and obstacles within it, teens can see how forces within their own environment affect them. Mr. Hickam shows us that your environment however, is just a tool. It helps point you, to show you the way to go or not to go. You have to then make the decisions yourself and hope you have tools within your environment to help you , like he did.