Continuing with the idea that relationships serve many purposes we spent the majority of the time reading October Sky. While we are reading we are working on character trait between Sonny and Quentin; The Great Six and The Mine Workers; and Coalwood and the families.
It is interesting to note that each of these pairings were completely at odds with one another at the beginning of the book. Sonny viewed Quentin as a nerd; the teachers and mine workers didn't trust each other; and Coalwood worked to drain the families of their lives for the betterment of the coal company. To tell the truth, I expected these relationships to stay about the same, but that didn't happen. In fact, Sonny and Quentin became closer as Sonny learned to take a vested interest in Calculus even though he wasn't accepted in the class he created. The teachers and mine workers began to cheer the rocket boys on showing the reader that they really could come together under similar interests. Relationships serve many purposes, indeed, and those purposes shift and change as relationships become closer or further apart.
The one thing that hasn't changed that much is the pressure Coalwood places on its citizens to stay in town to mine. When the accident happened to Mr. Bykovski things worked just as they always had. There was a funeral and the family was escorted out of the town, because they were no more use to the company. This parasitic relationship literally kills people. It is no wonder people are rallying around the Rocket Boys who show the promise to propel themselves out of the mountains -- and the mine -- to land in a place where they can truly live a life based on relationships beneficial to all.
It is interesting to note that each of these pairings were completely at odds with one another at the beginning of the book. Sonny viewed Quentin as a nerd; the teachers and mine workers didn't trust each other; and Coalwood worked to drain the families of their lives for the betterment of the coal company. To tell the truth, I expected these relationships to stay about the same, but that didn't happen. In fact, Sonny and Quentin became closer as Sonny learned to take a vested interest in Calculus even though he wasn't accepted in the class he created. The teachers and mine workers began to cheer the rocket boys on showing the reader that they really could come together under similar interests. Relationships serve many purposes, indeed, and those purposes shift and change as relationships become closer or further apart.
The one thing that hasn't changed that much is the pressure Coalwood places on its citizens to stay in town to mine. When the accident happened to Mr. Bykovski things worked just as they always had. There was a funeral and the family was escorted out of the town, because they were no more use to the company. This parasitic relationship literally kills people. It is no wonder people are rallying around the Rocket Boys who show the promise to propel themselves out of the mountains -- and the mine -- to land in a place where they can truly live a life based on relationships beneficial to all.