How does the conflict between his mom and dad motivate Sonny? Nearly all the women in Coalwood are shown to be strong women, a trait they must have to say goodbye daily to their husbands and sons who work in the dangerous mine and may not return that night. Although most of the women of Coalwood make the best of their lot, they want a better life for their children. How can they help this to happen? Are they feminists before the term existed?
Is she too harsh with her husband in her attempt to better her life and that of her sons? And Miss Riley? What did it say about her when she stood up for the Rocket Boys against the feared principal, Mr. Does the book tell a universal story? That makes it a pretty unique book!
Why do you think teachers are picking this book to study and why are they writing Homer that they think it was their most popular class read ever, sparking the most thoughtful discussion? This story is also about the rewards and costs of nonconformity. Is that a problem today and can this story help those who tend to go against the expected norms? How was Quentin a nonconformist?
How about the other boys? In Chapter 22, Mr. How do they apply to the story? The Rocket Boys first look upon their rocket-building as interesting and fun but then it becomes a challenge to defy expectations. Only much later does the idea of entering the science fairs occur to them. Discuss the importance of incremental steps in your life. Do you believe an incremental approach has validity in all walks of life, academic and otherwise? Miss Riley, the physics teacher, seems to regard education as a challenge and adventure.
Sonny rises to meet the formidable task she sets before him. Discuss the concept of civic pride. How do the Rocket Boys help the town? Why are they celebrated in the newspapers? In church? In the Big Store? By both sides of the unionization conflict? Why do so many attend their rocket launches? Is it just because the football team is on year-long suspension? Discuss the motivational aspects contained within this story. How did Sputnik motivate Sonny? Is his mother trying to be motivational after he blows up her rose garden fence with his first rocket?
How important is it to find motivation in all our endeavors? Would the boys have gotten to the science fair without being motivated by something larger than themselves?
The final chapter in the book before the epilogue finishes with the launch of the last rocket of the Big Creek Missile Agency. Homer Senior is invited to launch this rocket.
Why do you think this invitation was made? Why do you think he accepted? Start earning points for buying books! Uplift Native American Stories. History print. Share: Share on Facebook. Add to Cart. Introduction It was , the year Sputnik raced across the Appalachian sky, and the small town of Coalwood, West Virginia, was slowly dying. Faced with an uncertain future, Homer Hickam nurtured a dream: to send rockets into outer space.
As the boys began to light up the tarry skies with their flaming projectiles and dreams of glory, Coalwood, and the Hickams, would never be the same. He is a full-time writer and lives in Huntsville, Alabama with his wife Linda and their four cats. Other books include the nonfiction work Torpedo Junction , which was a Military History Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and the novel Back to the Moon , presently in development for a feature Hollywood movie. Learn More About Rocket Boys print.
Related Books and Guides. American Prometheus. Kai Bird and Martin J. The Last Outlaws. Fredrik Logevall. American Sherlock. Kate Winkler Dawson. Robert A. The Power Broker. All Souls. Homer Hickam Sr. All Symbols Rockets. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts.
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Sign in. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Literature Poetry Lit Terms Shakescleare. Download this LitChart! Teachers and parents! Struggling with distance learning? Our Teacher Edition on Rocket Boys can help. Themes All Themes. Symbols All Symbols. Theme Wheel. Everything you need for every book you read.
The way the content is organized and presented is seamlessly smooth, innovative, and comprehensive. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Rocket Boys , which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. It is January, One day Homer wakes up to the sight of snow outside his house.
She sits near Homer. As a result, Homer and his friends are an hour late for school. Here, for instance, he takes the time to explain how tiresome it could be to ride the bus to school in the middle of winter.
Active Themes. The Individual vs. When Homer arrives in chemistry, Miss Riley tells him that she has a surprise for him, and that he should see her at the end of the day.
They hitch rides toward the high school, stopping to sled along the way. When Homer is within range of school, he remembers that he was supposed to see Miss Riley. Although school has been canceled that day, Homer finds Miss Riley in her classroom. Homer is dazzled by the book, and he flips through it, noticing the complicated math and design.
Homer leaves school and rejoins his friends, who are still sledding in the area. Homer argues with Roy Lee—Homer is convinced that Dorothy loves him. Homer asks Dorothy for a kiss, explaining his argument with Roy Lee. She then leaves the room.
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