Dream Come True

 ____“ If you never have a dream , you’ll never have a dream come true .”

 “ Did you have a dream in your childhood?”

I  guess   the answers will be various  ,but nobody will  deny it.

October Sky is  a movie of a dream,  based on Rocket Boys. And the  Dream of launching a rocket  to space was following with a teen ,  named Homer Hickman.

After watching ,I have to admit , I was excited  and  could not put it down .Although it was a simple story , but it approved a  teen’s space dream .  “An American Dream! “  Our instructorsaid .

Yes! I agree. Under the Cold war ,this was a classic an  Americandream .

The main character, Homer was  a high school student  who lived in  a town called   Coalwood  in west Virginia . As with all  local  teens , his destiny was to  end up in the mine as his father did.

He was not favorite in football , as his elder brother or other teens were. However ,in October 1957,everything was  changed when the first artificial satellite, Sputnik went into orbit. With that event, Homer was inspired  ,with a stronger desire to fly a rocket in the sky.

It is a  great idea , but  not enough . None of this  is all that easy ,especially for Homer, as he has  problems much more dire than flying rockets . He tried to learn how to build a small rocket from whatever materials  he could caught  scrounge .

Because of his lack of knowledge , his experience , materials  and  money…, It was  too difficult  to the  teen. He tried  to talk with his father , but failed .His father refused  him and thought it was all a waste of time.  Homer and his friends were not disappointed. They sold waste steel to buy materials. Just through hard work,  he got more help , not only his friends , teacher , but  also the manager of mine.

Homer  flew homemade rocketry again and again, and failed and failed. But failure didn’t make the teens give in, and even  inspired their desire of successful  However, misfortunate hit him, his father was hurt in a mine accident. His mother told him this bad news , possibly his father would  lie in  bed for his rest of  his life.  Homer was sad, thought again and again , faced his  father on bed , his sad mother ,and his younger brother  ,and had to make  a  decision ,stopping his school , putting down his rocket dream ,following in the  footsteps of his father as a miner . This decision was focused  on his destiny of life in the future. His friends was a little  disappointed, his girlfriend left him.  But  it was also moved  Homer toward maturity, although he was just fourteen year old. He was really as  a man, loaded with family responsibility.

And we may know how  large a misery  this teen  had to  take.

Please remember this scene :

 (At the first time ,Homer took the lifter forward job , stood  in the crowded adult miners. Full dark background )

His childish face , his light  eyes , and he saw  here and there,…

Especially , he rose his head , glared at stars in the sky,…

This  deeply scratched our heart.  We have to be  worried  about his  destiny . And we can imagine  :

Excited, fear, or disappointed ,…It may be with this  teen.

We can’t agree  with this fact today ,and he was just a teenage boy! Thank God! In this hard time ,  his teacher , Miss Riley, gave him more encouragement , and persuaded  his mother , helped  him to pursue a better life . Homer was so bright  that  he  fought with his father about his future life.

With  his mother’s support , Homer went back school . He worked  hard, and  his friends   helped  him more  , his girlfriend came back . Homer and his friends tried again and again, and improved  and improved  .

Exciting! Their homemade missile  became the intrigue of townsfolk. Miss Riley and an instructor of high school  let them  exhibit their rocket program.

Even fortunately, Homer  got a   chance to join the International  Science Competition , and won the First Place.

All   Coalwood  residents    welcomed  Homer  , except his father  , even if Homer told his father his  plan of   going on to college . His father  cared  nothing ,Homer was a little disappointed  .

As a regard for Coalwood residents  ,  Homer and his Rocket boys made a large rocket , and invited his father to fire it. Homer anxiously waited ,until  fire time would  be over ,his father come , and  fired it. The rocket flew in the sky. Miss Riley  also watched it through window on hospital bed. She was so happy that her eyes filled with tears .At the end, Homer and his father reconciled  their differences . All the people were happy, especially his mother .

Although story is over, the hidden meaning still warns us :

If  you want to accomplish your dream, only  a method by your struggling and struggling.

October Sky was  set during the postmodern era, romanticism soars. With a combination of romanticism and postmodernism, it is surely the most inspiring and educational movie, not only about rocketry  , but also about life.

It is simple, but not too simple. It is a true story about an honest teen  growing up in West Virginia. His life was like ours, had friends and enemies, successes and failures, girlfriends and conflicts. We  should always constantly pursue our dream, our goal and fight any hindrances such as Homer had fought in October Sky .I believe that if we  have a dream , we’ll have a dream come to true.

Works Cited

 Bob Stebbins   stebinbob@aol.com

 John Langan    TEN STEPES to BUILDING   college reading skills

 Kenneth Chisholm  kchishol@execulink.com

 Rocket Boys ( The Coalwood Series#1) ( paperback)