Alex Krauss 10/4/03 Tenacious And Determined Have you ever wanted to accomplish something so badly, that you went through incredible hardships to do it? The "Rocket Boys" in the book Rocket Boys, by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. face many obstacles along the way, but they remain tenacious and determined to build their rockets. Sonny, the main character lives in Coalwood, West Virginia, a mining town. The story begins in the year 1957, near the year when the Russians launch their Sputnik Satellite into space. Sonny's hardships include, a lack of knowledge in constructing rockets, his father's disapproval, and overwhelming sadness.
The first obstacle the Rocket Boys face, is not knowing how to build a rocket. Their first attempt at a rocket launch, results in disaster. "...It wasn't our rocket that streaked into that dark, cold, clear, and starry night, it was my mother's rose garden fence." Pg.37. No one gets hurt, but Sonny gets in trouble with his mom. " `I know what I did was wrong, mom,' I said...." " `Homer Hadley Hickam, Jr. It wasn't wrong. It was stupid...'" pg.42. Sonny's mother is saying that she does not disapprove of what he is doing, but his carelessness. Sonny's father does not believe in him, but his mother does: "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." pg. 44. Sonny's father, as well as many townspeople, do not believe in the Rocket Boys, or think that they are capable of building successful rockets. They also think that rocketry is too dangerous for Sonny and his friends. "Maybe Elsie better get my mister to build her next fence out of steel." pg. 47. The Rocket Boys become the butt of jokes and gossip in Coalwood, because of their accident. The accident also makes the Rocket Boys realize that they need to use scientific procedure to build rockets.
When Sonny decides he needs to use science to build rockets, he goes for...