rocket boys by Eleanor Furlong https://padlet.com/eleanorfurlong22/uq87mf6rzkro Made with ♥ en-us 2019-03-19 15:41:40 UTC 2019-03-28 17:37:40 UTC hello@padlet.com pre-reading considerations eleanorfurlong22 https://padlet.com/eleanorfurlong22/uq87mf6rzkro/wish/342932495
2. My parents are both great influences on what career path I will choose when I become an adult. All throughout my life, they have always given me and my siblings room to breathe and let us try out new things that we were interested in. Every parent wants what’s best for their children, and my parents have decided that letting us do whatever we want when we grow up is the best thing possible. I have never felt pressure from my parents about careers, simply because they know that my siblings and I are smart enough to make the right decisions. Personally, parents putting pressure 
on their children isn’t the greatest thing that a parent could do for their child. Although it might be because the parent wants the child to succeed, it’s more important to let your child decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives on their own. 

3. Some of my role models include Michelle Obama, Selena Gomez, Meghan Markel, and Barrack Obama. Michelle and Barrack Obama inspire me greatly because of the great and powerful actions they’ve taken to better our country and the people that live in it. Michelle Obama is a great influence on young girls all around the world because of how strong she has shown women to be. They are both such intelligent people and inspire me to work my hardest. Selena Gomez is a very powerful woman in the music industry and I’ve looked up to her ever since I was a young child. Watching her grow from Disney Channel to such a big industry has been so inspiring. It truly shows that you can achieve anything if you work hard enough. Finally, Meghan Markel influences me because she is such a strong feminist and isn’t afraid to speak out about certain topics. She is a great inspiration to women all around the world.


]]> 2019-03-19 15:49:17 UTC https://padlet.com/eleanorfurlong22/uq87mf6rzkro/wish/342932495 response 1 eleanorfurlong22 https://padlet.com/eleanorfurlong22/uq87mf6rzkro/wish/344683601 chapter 1 quote:
“until i began to build and launch rockets, i didn’t know my hometown was at war with itself over its children and that my parents were locked in a kind of bloodless combat over how my brother and i would live our lives” (Hickman 1).

chapter 2 quote:
“i knew to do that i’d have to prepare myself in some way, get some skills of some kind or special knowledge about something. i was kind of vague on what it would be, but i could at least see i would need to be like the heroes in my books-brave and knowing more than the next man” (Hickman 30).

chapter 1 explication:

in this quote, Homer explains that he was clueless to his own family and town before he got involved in others’ lives. the reader already sees that throughout the novel, there will be many instances of character development. there’s an insight to the background information on Homer’s town and the way people function there. reading this, we see that the levels of growth in every aspect of this novel will certainly create deeper understandings. it also gives an insight on how some characters will have an impact of the rest.

chapter 2 explication:

this quote is significant to me because it shows how one can truly change themselves if they want to. Homer had his heart on preparing himself and he talked about ways he could do so. in this section of the novel, the reader sees some character development in Homer. it also shows Homer staying true to himself as he holds on to his book smart side. the reader sees how Homer will potentially change.




]]> 2019-03-25 05:48:00 UTC https://padlet.com/eleanorfurlong22/uq87mf6rzkro/wish/344683601 response 2 eleanorfurlong22 https://padlet.com/eleanorfurlong22/uq87mf6rzkro/wish/346265907

         In Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam, Jr, the theme of family is portrayed throughout the novel and how it affects the people of Coalwood. Of all the characters, Sonny is impacted by his family the most due to his confusion of specific family members and lack of strong relationships. In the beginning chapters, it becomes clear to Sonny that his mom cares more for him than his dad. Sonny’s mom Elsie, wants the best for Sonny, and in her eyes, this means getting out of Coalwood. When Sonny and Elsie are talking about his future, Elsie explains to Sonny that he shouldn’t depend on Coalwood and Sonny thinks to himself, “I didn’t know what to say. I just stared at her. She sighed. ‘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’” (Hickman 44). This interaction proved to Sonny that his father doesn’t value the true meaning of family enough to love Sonny and his brother the same way. Elsie wants Sonny to prove his father wrong, and this shows that the role of family to Sonny mainly involves his mother and her actions. Later on in the novel, Sonny starts building his second rocket with his friends. When Sonny launched his first rocket, Elsie told him to keep getting better and to not stop with the rockets. His father on the other hand, discouraged Sonny and wanted him to stop. The second rocket launch didn’t go as well and Sonny saw his father and exclaimed, “He was so mad he was huffing and puffing. I was afraid he was about to go off into another one of his coughing fits. ‘I told you to stop this, didn’t I?’” (Hickman 93). Sonny felt angry at how much his father wanted him to stop fooling around and building rockets. He also knew that he could never be as good at anything as his brother. Sonny knew this was part of the reason his father didn’t care for him as much. In conclusion, Sonny’s view on the role of family in his life is more significantly affected by his mom and how she cares for him and this is portrayed through both his mother and father’s actions. 




]]> 2019-03-28 17:37:40 UTC https://padlet.com/eleanorfurlong22/uq87mf6rzkro/wish/346265907