Apr, 2011 in october sky, the final scene brings tears to my eyes every time. What else do we know about this character in homer hickams october sky. The more detailed and rich your descriptions, the better your writing will approximate the human. The coal mining was where coalwood the name, was created from. October sky originally titled rocket boys a story about a boy who, despite growing up in a small mining town, develops an interest in rocketry. Its the kind of movie that to use another cliche i despise they dont make em like that anymore. I thought the film was amazing but this is even better. October sky quotes on september 9, 1959, i read that nasa had launched a mockup of a mercury manned capsule aboard a big joe rocket. Students page october sky wrapup top ten list objective. You will find a rubric on the last page of this packet that will guide you in how this assignment will be scored. October sky, novel units student packet, grades 912. Not only did that tiny satellite strike fear into many americans hearts, but it also motivated president kennedy and nasa to reach the moon first, thus paving the way for the heroics of legendary astronauts such. This is the true story that inspired the feature film october sky.
The main character is homer hickam, a boy who becomes passionate about going into. Our own printable literature summaries will provide you with a concise, yet detailed summary of the title you are studying and offer you additional insight into your comprehension of the this novel including detailed chapter summaries and notes, setting. The characters i enjoyed the most was is sonny and roy lee. After seeing october sky for the second time, i decided to buy this book for my science and mathminded 14year old son. Immediately download the october sky summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching october sky. October sky is an ok book its about a small mining town called coal wood. During the course of the book, homer, inspired by read full character analysis the father of homer hickam jr. Interesting that october sky the name of the movie is an anagram of rocket boys the name of the book the original name anyway. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Need help on characters in homer hickams rocket boys. Faced with an uncertain future, homer hickam nurtured a dream.
October sky was followed by the coalwood way, sky of stone, and carrying albert home. Chapterbychapter october sky summary rocket boys by. Quentin wilson is the most intelligent member of the rocket boys and the person who does figures out most of the math in the group. Sonny is a dynamic character, changing much throughout the novel. Unlike homer hickam, the hero of october sky, i didnt go on to become a nasa. Access this study guide chapter at any time to study characters and quotes from the book october sky. He fell in with a group of misfits who learned not only how to turn scraps of metal into sophisticated rockets but how to sustain their hope in a. He read and loved it and i did too the audio version was also excellent. This article will give you a chapter by chapter october sky summary. Immediately download the october sky summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for. Chapter 1 starts with an introduction to coalwood, and parts of sonnys life within the book.
She inspires sonny to enter the science fair and gives him a book on how to build better rockets. He is the son of the mines superintendent, and has very different plans for his future then his father does. Speedy delivery and more modern title and cover,was first printed as october sky. As it is a true story it is inspiring as they persist in realising their dreams and i would recommend this book. It is also studied in many school systems around the world. October sky the title on the mass market movie tiein version of the bestselling the rocket boys is the first memoir in a series of four, by homer hickam jr.
Early in his career, jake gyllenhaal led october sky as homer hickam. The future star came into the gig after picking up early roles in. Elsie hickman sherman the mother of homer hickman she was loving and caring she wanted more for homer so she did not want him to work in the mine like his father homer hickman sr. One of the rocket boys he is disabled with a shorter left leg he works as the superintendent in the. List the moments in order, from one to ten, with the best at the top, numberone position. I dont honestly know why, but here are the similarities and differences between the book october sky name changed from rocket boys and october sky, the movie. What i enjoyed most about it is the authors storytelling skills. Roy lee is certainly sonnys best friend in homer hickams memoir october. The young narrator and protagonist of rocket boys, homer hickam, jr. Homer hickam, the teenage son of a coal miner who wants to pursue aeronautics, much to the dismay of his traditional father. The true story of homer hickam, a coal miners son who was inspired by the first sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his fathers wishes.
This study guide consists of approximately 50 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of rocket boys. Coalwood was described with mountains surrounding the town with many coal deposits inside of them. Hickam is such a good writer, and although the book is based on their rocketary adventures, its all interesting, from his. It was originally published under the title rocket boys in 1998. October sky is a 1999 american biographical drama film directed by joe johnston and starring jake gyllenhaal, chris cooper, chris owen, and laura dern. Important people, mindsets, and events in october sky coal. During the course of the book, homer, inspired by read full character analysis homer hickam sr.
October sky 1999 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Weatherford award in 1998, the year of its release. Like the hero of october sky, i remember the shock that ran through america when the russians launched sputnik on oct. October sky, originally published as rocket boys, tells the story of how the author decided to build rockets as a high school student in coalwood, west virginia. He is the son of the mines superintendent, and has very different plans for his future. She was a main character who always supported sonny, even after he blew up the rose garden fence that took three months of. Along the way, he learns a great deal about himself, those he loves and life itself. Know that this assignment will be 20% of your first nineweeks grade. The main character, homer is prepared to launch his final rocket as a thank you to those who helped him. It was 1957, and the small mining town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying. October sky based on the true story of homer hickam, a coal miners son who was inspired by the first sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his fathers wishes, and eventually became a nasa scientist.
One of the best books i have ever read, tells of the angst of teenage boys growing up in a mining town in america, the fifties. The reason he has a car was from a company settlement that went on before the book. At the same time, he enthusiastically supports homer s experiments with rockets, and even gives him some useful advice about how to prepare rocket fuel and design rocket casings. I love them, so i had to add a few positive descriptions. He thinks his wife cant live without the luxory and will leave him if she finds out about the job loss. Coalwood is a very simple mining town as described in the book. This is an adult book, but it is told from a young mans point of view. I really loathe this phrase, but i would absolutely describe october sky as a gem. The true story, originally published as rocket boys, that inspired the universal pictures film. With the soviet unions launching of sputnik 1 on october 4, 1957, the great space race that dominated the 1960s and beyond began. Hickam is such a good writer, and although the book is based on their rocketary adventures, its all interesting, from his antics in school, to his strained family relationship. Sonny wants to build rockets, homer wants his son to work in the mine. How did these traits help them to accomplish what they did in the movie.
This was the movie version of the book rocket boys, written by homer hickam. The book talks about the attributes of coalwood and the people who live there. In october sky, the final scene brings tears to my eyes every time. Like giving them a book on rocketry, and showing them new materials for rocket fuel to name a few. So i recently watched this movie in science class and now i have homework regarding it. October sky, by homer hiram, was published in 1999. Many schools from fifth grade to college are studying rocket boysoctober sky in their classrooms, including english, math, and science classes. The town was built on the rich coal deep underground. Rocket boys characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Determining narrative highlights activity for this activity, you will create an annotated list of the top ten moments in the book, from your perspective. Homer who is called sonny by everybody he knows is the main character, and the story is told by him, looking back on his time in high school and on his experience building rockets at that time. Another important person in october sky was freida riley, sonnys science teacher. In order for a story to work, it needs to feel like real life, even when its actually something quite different. What do you think the characteristics of homer and the rocket boys were.
I, too, grew up in a rural area on a dirt road in the woods of nh. October sky is the first memoir in a series of four, by homer hickam jr. You can get some information from october sky 1999. Chapters 16 october sky october sky october sky, or.
This made sonny jealous, so he decided to do something to impress his parents and be better than his brother. We had to read the book, answer the comprehension questions along the way, and using the dates in the book we were asked to find what happened in history on that date. With jake gyllenhaal, chris cooper, laura dern, chris owen. Although i was a teenager more than a decade later than hickam was, some of the things he wrote about hit close to home. I first came across this book after watching the film october sky, that is based on the book. Homer hickam, the main character of the movie, would never succeed in his rocket dream without the extraordinary inspiration and encouragement from miss riley. Monkeynotes online study guide book notes summary for. A few prereading activities are included to gauge a students familiarity with the context of the novel. The main character is homer hickam, a boy who becomes passionate about going into space after he hears about the soviet sputnik satellitethe first one in space. When universal made the movie, however, they changed quite a bit. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boys pursuit of amateur rocketry in a coal mining town. Just this unassuming, lowkey movie that manages to be feelgood yet bittersweet, and has a memorable story and characters.
October sky character analysis october sky is a movie about how a hillbilly accomplished his dream of building rockets and got out from the falling mining hometown named coalwood. It was 1957, the year sputnik raced across the appalachian sky, and the small town of coalwood, west virginia, was slowly dying. I dont honestly know why, but here are the similarities and differences between the book october sky name changed from rocket boys and. For two months the class of sputnik has been assigned the book october sky.
It was a suborbital lob shot, and though the spacecraft was empty, the newspapers said it was the opening round of americas program to put men into space. Sullivan central high school instructions this summer, you are expected to read october sky by homer hickam and complete this summer reading packet. Most people dont like gray days, so most of these descriptions are negative. The main character is homer hickam, a boy who becomes passionate about going into space after he hears about the. The character of john dubonnet in rocket boys from litcharts. The leader of the coalwood miners union, john dubonnet quarrels with homer sr. Tom wilkinson gerald is a former manager who has been hiding from his wife the fact that hes been laid off. Each house had a fencedoff square of yard, but sonnys, being. Today, it is one of the most often picked communitylibrary reads in the united states.