October Sky

A detailed Summary of October Sky


When the Soviet satellite Sputnik flies over Coalwood, in 1957, teen Homer Hickam's dreams and destiny change forever. Set in the small coal-mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia, Homer is your average underachieving teenager destined and expected to follow in his father's footsteps, which would see him in the role of an underground coal miner. The launching of the Soviet satellite Sputnik changes him forever; he sees a future for himself other than a life of coal mining. This dream eventually takes him through college and on his way to a job working for NASA. Along his way, he gets help from his friends, teacher, and workers at his father's mine.

Homer, along with his three friends, Quentin, Roy Lee, and O'Dell, is determined to make a rocket that will soar. In this town, football and mining are acceptable; hoping to get into college by winning a national science fair is a waste of time and effort. Homer and his three friends set out to do just


As one can see, Homer's success cannot be all credited to him, although he was the driving factor. Along his way toward his dream, he received help from his fellow Rocket Boy's, Miss Riley, Ike Bykovski, Leon Bolding, and numerous others in the community. When one looks at it, the Rocket Boy's could actually be called the Rocket Community, because in the end, it was a community effort.

Although friends and Miss Riley played major roles in the development of Homer's success, members of the community, such as Ike Bykovski and Leon Bolding, played just as important roles. When Homer needed help to weld, he turned to Ike Bykovski, who worked at the coal mine's machine shop. At first, Ike was reluctant because he feared for his job, but he eventually agreed. It was also Ike who put the first "nozzle" on the rocket, a primitive steel washer. After Ike chose to move on to work in the mines, where he would make more money, Leon Bolding was the next pers

Some common words found in the essay are:
Miss Riley, Homer Leon, Virginia Homer, Lee O'Dell, Ike Bykovski, Leon Bolding, Rocket Boys, Homer Hickam's, , Rocket Boy's, miss riley, ike bykovski, leon bolding, soviet satellite sputnik, rocket boys, rocket boy's, homer friends, bykovski leon, homer's success, soviet satellite, ike bykovski leon, bykovski leon bolding, satellite sputnik,

Approximate Word count = 642
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Movies

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