Dreams In James Baldwin's October Sky
The theme of October Sky is follow your dreams, even if people tear you down. This theme is very evident throughout Sonny’s life in coalwood.
In life there will always be something or someone trying to tear you down and make you fail. This is the case with Sonny and his father John. Sonny dreamed of building rockets and going into space, to be somebody other than a miner in coalwood, like everyone else. He faced many obstacles in the process. His father and most of the town told him he would never succeed at his dream. Even when he and his friends had to go miles away from town to shoot off the rockets they made, he didn't give up. He was determined and never quit. And after all the criticism, he finally succeeded because he believed in
himself that he could accomplish his dreams.
A quote from Winston Churchill, “ Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” This quote represents Sonny and his journey to make the perfect working rocket. He has many trials to test the rockets and fails many times. And after every failure he learns from his mistake and builds off it. As Sonny said, “I had discovered that learning something, no matter how complex, wasn't hard when I had a reason to want to know it.”
Towards the end of the book during their final rocket blast off while the whole town was watching, Sonny hands his father a sting that was used to light the fuse, and says, "A rocket won't fly unless somebody lights the fuse." this quote represents that dreams can’t come true or go anywhere if you never act on them much like if you don't light the fuse for a rocket it won't blast off. And once his father had the rocket blast into the sky, that was a symbol of their success, the acceptance from his father, and that his dreams were finally starting to come true.
Lastly, October skys theme is represented throughout the book with different meanings and scenarios. And because of Sonny’s passion for what he wanted he followed his dreams. Something to take away from this book is always remember to follow your dreams, even if you think you won't succeed, even if you're judged by people who want to see you fail. Then even if don't achieve your dream you can always look back knowing that you tired and that's what counts.
In life there will always be something or someone trying to tear you down and make you fail. This is the case with Sonny and his father John. Sonny dreamed of building rockets and going into space, to be somebody other than a miner in coalwood, like everyone else. He faced many obstacles in the process. His father and most of the town told him he would never succeed at his dream. Even when he and his friends had to go miles away from town to shoot off the rockets they made, he didn't give up. He was determined and never quit. And after all the criticism, he finally succeeded because he believed in
himself that he could accomplish his dreams.
A quote from Winston Churchill, “ Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” This quote represents Sonny and his journey to make the perfect working rocket. He has many trials to test the rockets and fails many times. And after every failure he learns from his mistake and builds off it. As Sonny said, “I had discovered that learning something, no matter how complex, wasn't hard when I had a reason to want to know it.”
Towards the end of the book during their final rocket blast off while the whole town was watching, Sonny hands his father a sting that was used to light the fuse, and says, "A rocket won't fly unless somebody lights the fuse." this quote represents that dreams can’t come true or go anywhere if you never act on them much like if you don't light the fuse for a rocket it won't blast off. And once his father had the rocket blast into the sky, that was a symbol of their success, the acceptance from his father, and that his dreams were finally starting to come true.
Lastly, October skys theme is represented throughout the book with different meanings and scenarios. And because of Sonny’s passion for what he wanted he followed his dreams. Something to take away from this book is always remember to follow your dreams, even if you think you won't succeed, even if you're judged by people who want to see you fail. Then even if don't achieve your dream you can always look back knowing that you tired and that's what counts.