The Sky is Gray Essay example

Homer Hickam was a teenage boy from a mining town in West Virginia called Coalwood. He inspired to build rockets when he seen the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, streak across the stars. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets out to do just that but with many errors and trials. Along with the town, Homer's father thought they were wasting their time with their rockets. He wanted Homer to be a coal miner just like everyone else but Homer knew he didn't belong there. As time went on, some people from town became interested in seeing the homemade missiles launch into the sky. The boys became popular and were known as the "Rocketboys" around town.

James life, causes him to struggle with his self-actualization because he does not know who he is or his true identity. However, because he knows so little about his own life, he is led to ask questions and find out answers. “Yet I myself had no idea who I was. I loved my mother yet I looked nothing like her. Neither did I look like the role-models in my life” (91). The only way he figures out who he is, is by asking questions and finding bits and pieces of information. He struggles greatly with himself, and the only way for him to know himself is to know his mother. This gets back to the idea that the parallelism between him and his mother, or chapters 9 and 10, helps him in his

In this story, there are times when James pays more attention to his family, and times where he pays more attention to his little brother, Isaac. In the beginning, James thinks a little bit about taking Isaac out to see the K-bones. James is kind of nervous, but not to the point where he would leave Isaac at home. So, James decides to bring Isaac along, when he and Isaac are really supposed to be at home. At this time, James doesn’t really worry to think about the danger that he could only put himself in, but he could also put Isaac in a peril, too. So, James cares more about his friends than Isaac. Another example that proves this is when James starts to go out. For example, he says “ Kris says they’re just a bunch of kids who hang out and do cool stuff. Like a club. Tonight, I have to prove myself so I can be in their club, too.” This shows me that James is more focused on his friends because instead of watching Isaac like he’s supposed to, he wants to

In the short story “The Red Convertible” you will find some important elements that are integral to the support and development of the theme brotherhood. First, you will see how the road trip gives a lesson in the story. Second, you will discover how the war affected the relationship of Lyman and Henry. Finally, you will understand the symbolism of the red convertible and the link it has between both brothers. One important element that has a powerful lesson in the story is the road trip. While Lyman and Henry went on a drive one afternoon, they met a girl named Susy in the middle of the road. Susy had her hair in buns around her ears and was very short. They let her jump in the car and

James grew up in a racist and segregated part of history. Often times racial slurs were used to describe people of African descent during the time James was growing up. Even during school James would be called these horrendous names: “...someone in the back of the class whispered, “James is ni**er!” followed by a ripple of tittering and giggling across the room” (McBride 89). The fact that small school children call blacks these names shows how racist the many people are and the hatred and discrimination that blacks face. These experience taught James how people treat those that appear to be different. Another experience that taught James this was when he and his family went to the Jewish store and were discriminated against. McBride had many experiences in which he and his family were discriminated against whether it was by the police or store owners: “Some of these Jews can’t stand you” (86). All in all, incidents with people who have a particular dislike for blacks shaped James into the way

There is an absence of men in the novel. James is one of the few men seen throughout the story and because of this, the story suggests that he holds a lot of power. He is a difficult character to understand because his true intentions and feelings are hidden beneath what is being portrayed on the outside. James begins as someone who is displayed as positive, respectful and loving of women, but as the story progresses, it is revealed that he views women more as a sexual object or a slave to men. He tricks the reader into believing that he values and considers women as equals to

One of the themes was the burden of secrets that were kept. As a young boy, James knew very little about his mother’s childhood background. James’s mother Ruth discouraged his curiosity about her past and her background. She really never wanted her kids to know the things that she went through as a child and as a young adult. She was ashamed of the things that she went through, so she kept everything inside.What I think is going to happen is that James is that he is gonna have to realize that he can not be out doing drugs and skipping school. also he is going to have to grow up really fast.

She holds on to tradition, cares for elders and brings the good out in others. These actions show how she is a symbol of hope, like the warrior of the past. Alexie uses Norma to help to defines what it means to be a warrior. Another instance where the warrior term is defined is in the story of “Jesus Christ’s half-brother is alive and well on the Spokane Indian Reservation”. Alexie draws connections between the Christian Jesus and this warrior type character. He uses the character James as a warrior and makes connections to Jesus. James is born innocent and grows to hopefully become the change the reservation is so desperately needing. The story is told through the view of Jimmy expressing how life is possible because of James. Jimmy tries to stop drinking: “Been in A.A. for a month because that was the only way to keep James with me” (124). James gives hope to Jimmy and a reason to continue living. These simple actions define James as a warrior. This further helps to define a warrior as someone who can make a difference regardless of the situation.

This is fueled by, not only the changing emotions that teenagers typically endure, but also by the death of his stepfather, whom he saw as his own father. After his death, James cannot bear to see his mother suffer, for she no longer knows how to control the dynamics of the family and "wandered in an emotional stupor for nearly a year." James instead turns to alcohol and drugs, dropping out of school to play music and go around with his friends, which James refers to as "my own process of running, emotionally disconnecting myself from her, as if by doing to I could keep her suffering from touching me." Instead of turning to his family and becoming "the king in the house, the oldest kid," James "spent as much time away from home as possible… absolve[ing] [himself] of all responsibility…" As a result, Ruth sends James to live with his older half sister and her husband, in an attempt to straighten her out her son's life. James distracts himself with the life he found there, spending the summers on a street corner with his half sister's husband, Big Richard, whom he adores, and the unique men that frequented the area. During these summers, James discovers "[He] could hide. No one knew [him]. No one knew [his] past, [his] white mother, [his] dead father, nothing. It was perfect. [His] problems seemed far, far away." Instead of facing the realities of loss and anger in his family, James seeks distractions

“I will earn more money-I will work harder” (Sinclair 25). Jurgis was infatuated with the idea that hard work will bring success, which means you will be successful as long as you work hard. James liked money, but James always something that he wanted more. James always loved his family and that was evident in the beginning of the movie by the way he treated them and what he was willing to do. In the middle of their stories, their values come more in line with each other. “To get up and go away was to give up, to acknowledge defeat, to leave the strange family in possession; and Jurgis might have sat shivering in the rain for hours before he could do that, had it not been for the thought of his family” (Sinclair 178). Jurgis starts to cling to the idea of family more than in the beginning because of his loss of income that results from losing so many family members. James’s family is so important to him, he was willing to swallow his pride and go to get government assistance to turn back on the electricity to bring his kids home. While both get closer to their families it is for different reasons where Jurgis does it because of his loss of income, James became closer to his family because he lost them temporarily. Towards the end of these two narratives, their paths once again diverge. “This election will pass…Chicago will be ours! Chicago will be ours! CHICAGO WILL BE OURS!’” (Sinclair 341). Jurgis

1) How would you convey the message of the book “Half the Sky” to family, friends, and colleagues?

“Joseph shall return to Canaan, grieve not, Hovels shall turn to rose gardens, grieve not. If a flood should arrive, to drown all that’s alive, Noah is your guide in the typhoon’s eye, grieve not (Hosseini 365).” A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseini, is a story that is set place in modern-day Afghanistan. It is one depicting the lives of two particular women who live under the control of a persecuting husband and the infamous rule of the Taliban. And through these two women (Laila and Mariam), Hosseini creates a mind-blowing, awe-inspiring adventure of regret, despair, tragedy, and more importantly, redemption. The book begins with separate perspectives of each woman, and how they consequently come together in the same

Color of Purple is a Novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. A feminist novel about an abused and uneducated black woman's struggle for empowerment, the novel was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of black English vernacular.

In James’ case he knew that if he worked hard at school he could gain his fathers approval. However it seemed that he was in the shadow of his brother, who was also under the same pressure. He had turned to cheating to get better marks to avoid his father’s disapproval. James’ own sense of right and wrong were being clouded by his loyalty to- and competition with his brother, also his need for approval from his father and his sense of duty to protect his frail mother by “not

James’ family cannot afford very good medical care, which is why he must go to the worst dentist (of the two in town) to get his sore tooth pulled.