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"October Sky": Book Analysis
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Like the hero of "October Sky,'' I remember the shock that ran through America when the Russians launched Sputnik on Oct. 5, 1957. Like the residents of Coalwood, W.Va. in the movie, I joined the neighbors out on the lawn, peering into the sky with binoculars at a speck of moving light that was fairly easy to see. Unlike Homer Hickam, the hero of "October Sky,'' I didn't go on to become a NASA scientist, or train astronauts. But I did read Willy Ley's Rockets, Missiles and Space Travel three or four times, and Arthur Clarke's The Making of a Moon. I got their autographs, too, just as Homer sends away for a signed photo of Werner von Braun.
That first shabby piece of orbiting hardware now seems like a toy compared to the space station, the shuttle, and the missions to the moon and beyond. But it had an impact that's hard to describe to anyone who takes satellite TV for granted. For the first time in history, man had built something that went up, but did not come down--not for a long time, anyway. Sputnik was a tiny but audacious defiance of the universe.
"October Sky'' tells the story of four boys in a poverty-stricken corner of Appalachia who are determined to build their own rocket, and help get America back in the "space race.'' It's seen through the eyes of their leader, young Homer Hickham ( Jake Gyllenhaal ), who sees the speck of light in the sky and starts reading the science fiction of Jules Verne . Homer is a good student, but math and science are his weak points. He knows he needs help, and breaks all of the rules in the school lunch room by approaching the class brain, an outcast named Quentin ( Chris Owen ).
They talk about rocket fuel, nozzles, velocity. Two other boys get involved: Roy Lee ( William Lee Scott) and O'Dell ( Chad Lindberg ). Their first rocket blows a hole in the picket fence in front of Homer's house. The second one narrowly misses some miners at the coal mine, and Homer's dad John ( Chris Cooper ), the mine supervisor, forbids further experimentation and confiscates all of the "rocket stuff'' from the basement. But the kids labor on, in an isolated patch of woods, building a shelter to protect themselves from exploding rockets. They talk a machinist at the mine into building them a rocket casing of stronger steel, and they use alcohol from a moonshiner as an ingredient in the rocket fuel.
The tension in the movie is not between the boys and their rocket, but between the boys and those who think that miners' sons belong down in the mines and not up in the sky. Homer's father is not a bad man; he fights for the jobs of his men, he rescues several in a near-disaster, he injures his eye in another emergency. He wants Homer to follow in his footsteps. The mine may seem an unhealthy and hateful place to some, but when John takes Homer down for his son's first day on the job, his voice glows with poetry: "I know the mine like I know a man. I was born for this.'' The high school principal ( Chris Ellis ) sees the job of the school to send miners' sons down to the coal mine. But a young teacher ( Laura Dern ) tells Homer she feels her life will have failed if some of the kids don't get out and realize their dreams. Then there's a crisis (did a rocket set a forest fire?), and a scene in which Homer and his friends use trigonometry to argue their innocence.
There have been a lot of recent movies set in high school: "She's All That,'' "Varsity Blues,'' "Jawbreaker'' (also reviewed today). In those movies, even the better ones, "teenagers'' who look like soap stars in their 20s have lives that revolve around sex and popularity. The kids in "October Sky'' look like they're in their mid-teens, and act that way, too. Watching Homer get out the trig book, I was reminded how rarely high school movies have anything to do with school--with how an education is a ticket to freedom.
Perhaps because "October Sky'' is based on a real memoir, Homer Hickam's Rocket Boys, it doesn't simplify the father into a bad guy or a tyrant. He understandably wants his son to follow in his footsteps, and one of the best elements of the movie is in breaking free, he is respecting his father. This movie has deep values.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.
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October Sky (1999)
108 minutes
Jake Gyllenhaal as Homer Hickam
Chris Cooper as John Hickam
Laura Dern as Miss Riley
Chris Owen as Quentin
William Lee as Roy Lee
Chad Lindberg as Scott O'Dell
Natalie Canerday as Elsie Hickam
Directed by
- Joe Johnston
- Lewis Colick
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Historical Analysis Of The Movie October Sky: An Adaptation Of The Memoir Of Homer Hickam
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Essays on October Sky
October Sky is based on a true story. It follows four boys in Appalachia who are tasked with building a rocket. The leader of the group, Homer Hickham, is a science fiction fan who has read books by Jules Verne. He is also an able student but knows that he...
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| Character Count | 1689 |
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| Page Count | 2 |
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Published: Mar 16, 2024. Table of contents. Homer Hickam's memoir, "October Sky," provides an insightful and inspiring look into the life of a young man growing up in a small coal-mining town in West Virginia and his pursuit of a dream that seemed impossible to achieve. The book chronicles Hickam's journey from a young boy with a passion for ...
Published: Oct 2, 2020. In the book "October Sky", there's a common theme throughout the book, Determination. Sonny and the Rocket Boys would often have an issue with their rockets. They never lost hope, never gave up, and kept going, determined to overcome their issues within rocket building, school, social life, and family.
October Sky is a memoir written by Homer Hickam and published in 1999. Hickam's original version of the memoir was titled Rocket Boys, published in 1998, but later versions of the memoir adopted ...
October Sky Essay. Homer Hickam was a teenage boy from a mining town in West Virginia called Coalwood. He inspired to build rockets when he seen the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, streak across the stars. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets out to do just that but with many errors and trials. Along with the town, Homer's ...
Analysis of The Themes in October Sky by Homer Hickam. 1 page / 660 words. In the book "October Sky", there's a common theme throughout the book, Determination. Sonny and the Rocket Boys would often have an issue with their rockets. They never lost hope, never gave up, and kept going, determined to overcome their issues within rocket ...
Analysis of October Sky Essay. Living Above Ground The inspirational true story of Homer Hickam in October Sky reminds us all to strive for our goals and never give up, even in the face of adversity. However, Homer was fighting for a great deal in his pursuit of rocketry, he was even fighting for his life. Born in a coal mining town, son of a ...
October Sky Essay. Homer Hickam was a teenage boy from a mining town in West Virginia called Coalwood. He inspired to build rockets when he seen the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, streak across the stars. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets out to do just that but with many errors and trials.
October Sky Overview. October Sky is a story of a family living in a mining town during the release of Sputnik 1. The questions in this lesson are designed to help your students relate to the ...
Like the hero of "October Sky,'' I remember the shock that ran through America when the Russians launched Sputnik on Oct. 5, 1957. Like the residents of Coalwood, W.Va. in the movie, I joined the neighbors out on the lawn, peering into the sky with binoculars at a speck of moving light that was fairly easy to see. Unlike Homer Hickam, the hero of "October Sky,'' I didn't go on to become a NASA ...
Joe Johnston named the film October Sky due to the fact that in a scene the main characters watch the Sputnik arc through the October Sky. Homer Hickam is a American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer. He was greatly involved in the making of October Sky. Hickam approved the final version of the movie.
October Sky Essay. Homer Hickam was a teenage boy from a mining town in West Virginia called Coalwood. He inspired to build rockets when he seen the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, streak across the stars. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets out to do just that but with many errors and trials.
Summary: Auk 23 and Auk 24 in October Sky are significant as they mark pivotal moments in the rocket-building journey. Auk 23's failure, due to a misaligned nozzle, underscores the importance of ...
Essays on October Sky. October Sky 1999 Movie Review. October Sky is based on a true story. It follows four boys in Appalachia who are tasked with building a rocket. The leader of the group, Homer Hickham, is a science fiction fan who has read books by Jules Verne. He is also an able student but knows that he...
James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" is a short story depicting the relationship of two brothers, Sonny and an unnamed narrator. The story takes place in the project of Harlem, New York in the early 1950s. The narrator is a high school math teacher. His younger brother Sonny is a troubled musician struggling with his addiction to drugs.
"October Sky", directed by Joe Johnston, is a great example of a movie that is both entertaining and educational. Based on the autobiography, "Rocket Boys", this story follows 16 year old Homer Hickam through his journey to become a NASA engineer.
October Sky Essay Crafting an essay on the topic of "October Sky" can present both challenges and rewards. The difficulty lies not only in the task of conveying your thoughts effectively but also in capturing the essence of the subject matter. "October Sky" is a film that delves into various themes such as determination, pursuit of dreams, and the impact of familial ...
October Sky Essay. Homer Hickam was a teenage boy from a mining town in West Virginia called Coalwood. He inspired to build rockets when he seen the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, streak across the stars. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets out to do just that but with many errors and trials. Along with the town, Homer's ...
October Sky Essay - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free. Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site.
Principles Of October Sky. Change is Constant, is one of the High Five Principles. In life, many things change constantly and adaptability is very important. In October Sky, the beginning of the space age is announced with the Sputnik Satellite is launched. Most of Coalwood seemed to ignore this new concept while Homer adapted and was inspired ...
The movie "October Sky" gives a very positive representation of a teacher. She is a role model, a friend, a source of information, a defender, and a fighter. She is portrayed as compassionate, understanding, and very beneficial in keeping the students directed toward their goals.
Sky News takes a look at the stories making the headlines on Friday's national newspaper front pages. Friday 5 July 2024 01:53, UK. Newspapers;
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When someone reads the memoir, October Sky, by Homer Hickam, they might get a quality idea of Homer Hickam's life. If someone were to watch the film, October Sky, by Lewis Colick, they might get a different idea of the life of Homer Hickam. The story of October Sky follows the life of a boy named Homer Hickam, who goes by Sonny.
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Sky News spoke to five ballot counters - who between them have worked more than 100 elections - to find out. ... Once the number of ballot papers has been verified, they are sorted into piles for ...
October Sky Essay. Homer Hickam was a teenage boy from a mining town in West Virginia called Coalwood. He inspired to build rockets when he seen the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, streak across the stars. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets out to do just that but with many errors and trials. Along with the town, Homer's ...
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The story of October Sky follows the life of a boy named Homer Hickam, who goes by Sonny. Sonny lives in a small mining town in the 50's. Sonny and his friends decide to build a rocket, thanks to the inspiration of "Sputnik" a rocket released by the USA. They had multiple of failures, but eventually made some that worked.