Homer Hickam Jr Rocket Boys Essay

This summer I choose to explore the book Rocket Boys, by Homer Hickam jr., this book was a jump outside my comfort zone, and I am very glad I took it. One of my reasons for reading Rocket boys was I had a vacation planned for Florida and we had tickets to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitors complex, what better book to use as a comparison! Another reason I was interested in Rocket boys is because it was different and surely a challenge. I assumed from the title that it was going to be a sci-fi based book, and personally I’m not interested in that genre so I accepted the book looking for challenge, and to try something new. In the end I was pleasantly surprised by the novel and although it didn't turn out as expected I am very happy I choose to read Rocket boys. In this essay I will be comparing my experience and what I learned at the museum with what I discovered while reading Homer Hickam Jr’s novel, Rocket boys.

Rocket Boys is a book that tells the story of young Homer, he describes his struggle in a town known for coal mining and high school football which he was deemed unfit for both.

It paints an image of childhood and adolescence in the late 1950’s. It was eye opening to make comparisons from homer's life to my life, the life of a typical 21st century teen. This book also taught me that finding an interest no matter what it is, will help you get through struggling times and will help you find yourself, and less poetically it taught me to always do something I love, whether it is in a club or when I grow up and get a job in the future. In a more obvious sense it proved to me that the saying “never judge a book by it’s cover” is very true and sometimes you can find joy and interest in the

unexpected.
For my comparison I visited the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida. At the Space center I got to spend a few hours exploring the various exhibits and taking a few notes along the way to document my experience. One comparison I immediately made was the location, throughout the book, Homer talked all about working in Cape Canaveral, and even referring to it with the nickname “Cape” because it was so familiar to him. The museum was also located in the Cape Canaveral area. More clearly, the main comparison and similarity I thought of was the subject, the author of Rocket Boys, Homer Hickam Jr. was interested in rockets and rocket building all throughout his life he even went on to become a NASA engineer, And the Kennedy Space Center is owned by NASA and the subject is Rockets, Launches, Satellites and space explorations.
To conclude the main lesson I learned from both the Museum and the book was that just because something may be perceived to the public in a certain way, in this case rocketry is usually perceived by my generation as nerdy, doesn't always mean that those predispositions are true. I always steered clear of robotics and rocketry not only because it didn’t seem interesting to me but ultimately because I didn’t want to be judged. Just from reading this book and visiting the Visitors Complex I can say with confidence that I learned a lot about rocketry and space in general this summer. Not only that but I have discovered a new possible interest of mine and would love to explore the subject more frequent and learn more about it.