In the book "October Sky", there is a common theme throughout the book, Determination. Sonny and the Rocket Boys often had problems with their rockets. They never lost hope, never gave up and kept moving forward, determined to overcome their problems in rocket building, school, social life and family. In “October Sky,” Sonny's determination shines through when he builds rockets. Once he saw Sputnik in his backyard, Sonny turned his attention to building rockets. The Russians launched Sputnik II on November 3, the rocket guys got together with Sonny and decided they were going to build a rocket. Their first rocket, which used cherry bomb powder as fuel, was launched later that day from Sherman. Once Sherman announced "Take off," the rocket exploded and blew up the son's mother's backyard fence. The kids have had this experience and continue to use their determination to improve and learn from their mistakes as they build rockets. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the book, following your dreams is another theme. Throughout the book, Sonny's expectations in life are to follow in his father's footsteps and become a miner. Even after he starts building rockets and sees his potential, his father changes his mind and thinks he should become an engineer in the mine. Sonny didn't want to work in the mine and end up like his father, he didn't want to lose an eye or have health problems like his father. The theme comes into play throughout the book, his expectation is to work in the mine but he is not satisfied with anything, and he chases his dreams when he continues to work on rockets, constantly improving them. The theme of “determination” also emerges in the book towards the end, when Sonny is elected to represent his school at the science fair. He is extremely determined to do well. He had his concerns about misconceptions with the judges about the dangers of rockets, and he also had stress about the theft of some of his rocket nozzles. Because he was determined, he was able to see past his worries, complete his project well, and ultimately win the national science fair. The final theme of the book is parental love and acceptance. Throughout the book it talks about how his father and Sonny's brother have a great relationship through common interests, one of which is football. Sonny and his father don't get along very well throughout the book because his father wanted Sonny to become a miner and follow in his footsteps, or become a football player. His father was also not happy with him because Sonny was causing him problems like blowing up the fence or asking his workers to help him with rockets. As he continues, his father still doesn't approve but begins to tolerate him more and more. The conclusion for Sonny was introduced in the last chapter when he won the science fair and returned home. Sonny decided he would launch another rocket. They all arrived in Coalwood, including his father. Sonny told his father that he wanted him to launch the last rocket. This symbolized that his father accepted and loved him even if he didn't pursue what he wanted. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, the book “October Sky” contains some different themes within it. The theme of determination is shown as Sonny is improving and working hard on his rockets despite other issues that may deteriorate his determination. Another theme shown was following, 160(2), 390-391.