October Sky

October Sky

During class, I watched a movie called October Sky. This movie was based on a true story. The setting starts in Coalwood, West Virginia. In October, there was a rocket launch(4). The residents of Coalwood heard about it and waited at night to see the rocket. This was when Homer got inspired to make a rocket(1). Homer’s father was a coal miner(2). During those days, the people in West Virginia used to think that football or coal mining were only the career paths for their children. So, Homer’s father thought that it was nonsense to do rocket launching. Homer’s brother grew up and was excellent at football, while Homer wasn’t that good. Either way, Homer starts building rockets(8). He got help from his three friends. His first rocket blew up a part of the fence around his home. The second rocket landed in the coal mining area. His father warned him that he would get into trouble and “do not launch rockets on company area." As a result, the four friends traveled(7) to an open field to do their launches. They launched many rockets, but all of them failed(10). A few people who worked in the coal mine gave suggestions for the rocket. At last, one day, one of their rockets soared into the blue sky. The four students were in high spirits. They recorded the time and how far the rocket went. They made this rocket out of railroad nails and “black powder”. Their next rocket was observed by many people from Coalwood. This rocket was successful as well, but the next day the police arrested the four boys. The reason for their arrest was that a fire was taken place in the nearby forest with the rocket that was launched. So, many trees were burned from that fire. Homer’s father got really mad at Homer. A few days later, Homer’s father got injured in an accident. The family had to decide who would go in place for the father. Homer willingly decided he would go to the coal mine. Therefore, he was taken out from the school roll. For many days he worked at the mine. His friends came and visited him once in a while. Homer’s father started getting better. His father was proud of him for his sacrifice. Ms. Riley, a teacher from Homer’s school, had wanted to talk to him and told him to follow his dreams and shouldn’t give up. That night, he studied the book she gave him and was able to come up with a discovery. The next day, he sneaked out of the coal mining area and went to Quentin’s house. Homer shared his discovery with Quentin. Both of them realized it wasn’t them who had created the fire. The next day, both of them went to school with the proof. Homer explained this to the principal(5), who then informed the police. At this stage, the police figured out the culprit based on the information from Homer and his friend. Homer was enrolled back into the school. The school decided to send the four friends to participate in the county fair(3). Homer and his friends won the first place in the fair. Homer went on to go to Indianapolis for the National Fair(3). Homer’s father didn’t like the idea of his son going for a science fair. Both of them got into a fight(11). Homer gave a demonstration of his rocket at the fair and got an excellent feedback. The next day, everything of his demonstration was stolen. Homer called up his friends and revealed to them about the stealing of his demonstration. Homer’s mother decided that she had to do something about it. So, Homer’s mother went and convinced her husband to go to Homer’s rescue and to end the Union riot. Also, everyone, especially the coal miners, in their town supported Homer. In the end, the father went(9) and was able to get an exact copy of what Homer needed. The residents of Coalwood sent him the rockets. Homer won the national fair as well. When he returned, everyone congratulated him for the success. He went to the mine to tell his father the thank you, but the father wasn’t interested in it. Homer went to visit his inspiring teacher, Ms. Riley, who was sick(6) at that time. On that day, Homer and his friends planned to launch their last rocket. When Homer was saying thanks to all of the people in Coalwood, his father suddenly appeared. So, Homer got his father to do the honors; he pressed the “magic” button. So, the rocket flew high in the air. Everyone in Coalwood was able to see it. Homer’s father was proud of him.

(1) Back then, the only way to avoid coal mining, was to have a football scholarship. So, everyone who wasn’t good at football did coal mining. The women would teach, did household work or became writers. Also, no one had really cared for science. They found no use for it. That was the reason why Homer’s father was disturbed at the idea of his son building rockets.

(2) The way of life for men was to either coal mine or football. In coal mining, you could go underground and crouch. You would mine at the rocks and rusty floor. You would go as far down as you could. This coal was used to make steel and also was very helpful in making many products like railroads. There were many dangers to coal mining, such as noxious gases, cave-ins, breathing coal dust, exploded methane gas, roof falling. You would get seriously injured if something bad happens. There were chances of getting lung diseases such as pneumoconiosis (black lung disease). I got my information from this site.

(3) The science fair was really a big deal for the four students. First of all, it was their dream come true. Secondly, it was for the first time, students from Coalwood actually participated in the science fair. Fortunately, they were able to go to the National Fair.

(4) This rocket launch was inspired by the Russians. The Russians launched a satellite called the Sputnik on October 4, 1957. The Sputnik was successful in orbiting the Earth! This scared many Americans because they thought that this would lead to a war. In 1955, America had announced that they were going to create a satellite system known as the Vanguard project. So, Americans were shocked at the idea of having Russians being successful in their project. On November 3, 1957, Russians launched Sputnik II. In May 1958, Russians launched Sputnik III. I got information on this site.

(5) Through Calculus, Quentin and Homer figured out where their rocket landed. They were also able to prove that they didn’t cause the fire and weren’t committed the crime. They proved to the principal and to the police that they didn’t do.

(6) At the end of the movie, they showed how Homer’s father died of black lung disease(2), and how Ms. Riley died from Hodgkin’s disease. Hodgkin’s disease was a cancer of lymphatic system. The lymphatic system helps the body's immune system to filter out bacteria, viruses, and other unwanted substances. I got information from this site. Homer’s mother retired to Myrtle Beach. The four boys got college scholarships.

(7) Throughout the story, the four friends cooperated with each other. Homer had the support of his three friends, which sustained him to fulfill his dream. They used each other’s strengths to build rockets. Quentin’s brains, O’Dell’s railroad experience, the other guy’s (I don’t know his name) resource ideas and Homer’s belief kept them striving. The qualities in each other helped in their journey towards success.

(8) After seeing the rocket go through the night sky, Homer just got this feeling that he will make a rocket. In the beginning, no one thought that they could do it. Quentin and Homer asserted in expressing their thoughts very clearly and emphatically to two other friends. The four students didn’t care though; they believed in themselves.

(9) The father respected his wife for her thoughts. He agreed that everyone in the community had supported his son’s ideas. Also, he was succeeding at it as well. Another example was that Ms. Riley has respect for Homer’s ideas. That’s why she had given him a book on rocket science. Even though it involved calculus, she knew that he would persevere. Homer’s friends had respect for his ideas and helped him to succeed, because it became their dream as well.

(10) Homer and his friends felt empathy towards their many rocket productions. Every rocket they made with care and hoped that it would be a success. Homer’s dad did not show empathy towards his work at all. For him, it felt like an everyday routine, but he still showed importance towards it. All of Coalwood that saw the rockets fly into the sky felt so happy and moved by it. At the end of the movie, Homer’s father felt jolted by the success of his son.

(11) I think that Homer’s dad does not have self-control. I think this because, he easily gets mad when something goes wrong or when he doesn’t like something that’s happening. For example, he got mad when some people in a red car came and threw a rock. He came out and realized who it was. When Homer emphasized what his brother said, Homer’s father completely lost it. He yelled his head off at Homer. Another example is when Homer asked where the suitcase was and the father just stormed out of the room. At that point, Homer lost his “last nerve” and got mad as well. Then, both of them started a fight, yelling at each other. Homer has self-control, unless someone gets him really annoyed. The rest of the main characters were never angered at anything, except in the beginning with the guy releasing his anger on Homer in the woods.

Fun Facts:

- The title of the paperback released at the same time was changed to the movie title, which is an anagram of Rocket Boys (take the letters of rocket boys and move them around to spell October sky!) Source: homer hickam

- Russians launched Sputnik II carrying a test dog named Laika.

Source: sputnik

My opinion on this movie is that it is inspirational. It showed that if you have the perseverance and strength, you can accomplish your goal. Also, if you only have a few people on your side, it doesn’t matter; you just need to believe in yourself and amongst yourselves. Throughout the movie, you can see how hard the four boys worked to get to the National Fair, to get college scholarships and to not be a coal miner. I felt angered when the father never supported Homer for his ideas.