October Sky

REACTION PAPER ON OCTOBER SKY

October Sky is the perfect movie for inspiring young people to follow their dreams. It follows the story of Homer Hickam who dreamt of building and designing his own rocket. Inspired by the launching of the Soviet satellite Sputnik in the late 1950's, his curiosity was sparked and along with his friends, they set out to make their own rocket. They were all passionate about their work and took it very seriously. Their teacher, Miss Riley, who wanted them to have better lives instead of becoming coal miners like most people in their town, further encouraged them. The Rocket Boys, as they were known, were determined to build this rocket and did not easily give up despite the numerous failed attempts. Being observant was needed by the Rocket Boys in doing their experiment. Patience was also seen in them because even though people made fun of them, they were not deterred and still continued with what they were doing. By looking at the wrong things they did and examining and analyzing their data thoroughly, they were able to perfect the rocket launching. They were resourceful in looking for ways to come up with the funds they needed for some of the rocket parts. They even went to the extent of making use of old railroad tracks to earn the money. When they were banned from performing their experiment in Coalwood, they found a spot miles away from their town so they could continue their project without people getting hurt. They were also optimistic in completing their project and of getting scholarships from universities so that they could become more educated people.

When the police thought that their rocket caused a forest fire in a nearby town, the Rocket Boys were blamed and arrested. Still, they were open-minded to this possibility but were able to disprove this in the end when Homer figured out the trajectory of the rocket and was able to locate it. He was also able to provide proof and had all of them cleared of any charges. Throughout the movie, all of them remained humble and even after winning the top prize in the Science Fair, they never forgot to thank all those people who helped them along the way and fulfill their dreams.

There was a time when Homer's father got in an accident and he had to replace his father at work for a while. His father thought that his son's foolish ideas were just a phase and he would soon follow in his footsteps and also