Parents and Kids Relationships

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"October Sky" by Joe Johnston and "Every Day Use" by Alice Walker's stories deal with parents and kids relationships. John Hickam and a middle-aged woman are parents who find themselves choosing between both of their kids. Dee and Jim are the strongest kids of the family who've followed their parents' expectations. Homer and Maggie are very different from their brother and sister. They have very different goals compare to their brothers and sisters. As consequence their relationship with their parents experience obstacles and conflicts. As readers we capture the distinctions that this parents have between their kids. They treat them differently. The theme that stands the most is based on the relationship between parents and children. John and Walker have learned to accept their kids and the differences that create a different out come from the begging of the story until the end. Hickam and Walker faced conflicts and gained their parents respects by changing their static relationship into dynamic acceptance between them. Homer devotion to rockets and differences between his brothers does not follow his dad's expectations creating conflicts between them and static their relationship as father and son. In "October Sky", the story takes place at a West Virginia mining town during the 1950's. People could only survive working in coalmines. John is a mine superintendent and fully expects Homer to follow his footsteps. He demonstrates to him how much he wants him to become a coal minter and says " homer I was born for this, and I shouldn't be surprise you were to." This creates conflict with his dream of becoming a Rocket Scientists. By winning the science project he would be able to gain a scholarship and becoming a rocket scientist. He...

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... by Joe Johnston demonstrated the conflicts that John Hickam faced with his son Homer. Among these conflicts were the following: his devotion to rockets, becoming a coal miner, his father rejection and the differences among his brother. As well as "Every Day Use" by Alice Walker provided us a list of conflicts, which made Maggie and her mother relationship very static. Conflicts based on Maggie's insecure, ignorant, differences form her sister that she reflected to her mother. Magpies gained her mother's respect by showing support, understanding and respect to her culture, values and ancestors. Homer as well gained his father's respect with effort, respect towards his dad, wining the science fair and becoming a scientist. Both of the kids change their parents point of view and their static relationship into a dynamic understanding and acceptance among themselves.

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