Student Responses to Ch. 9 Question "Dad Only Knows!"
In Chapter 9, Dad tells Sonny to
take the extra bags of cement that had probably been ruined by the rain. Do you
think he's intentionally "helping" Sonny? Support your opinion
and
tell how it fits or doesn't fit with your perception of Dad's
character.
Lucas
writes: I think that Dad is the good
guy here. I don't think he wants Sonny to
know
that he likes his rockets, but
I do think Dad likes them. I think that
Dad
thinks his reputation will be
ruined if he helps Sonny but I think there
is
some connection between them. I
think that Dad is someone that will
help
Sonny while trying to hide
it.
Laura writes:
I think
Dad is trying to help Sonny because by the way Homer Hickam Jr. wrote it,
it seemed magical when he said Sonny could have the cement. I also think
this, because when Reverend Richard talked about the father-son
situation, it seemed like I could feel a change in Dad's character. I think this
doesn't fit with my perception of Dad's character before I read this part,
because I always thought that Dad was only focussing on Jim and trying to get
Sonny to move down to working in the
mine.
Izaak wrote on
March
7th:
I
think that in chapter nine Homer, Sr. is purposely setting out supplies for
Sonny to use. I think this because there were exactly four bags of cement, the
exact amount Sonny needed for the launch pad. Also, he made excuses about the
fact that they could be ruined. He said that the bags of cement could have been
ruined by the recent rain, but there hadn't been any rain in the past month!!! I
think that it does not fit with Dad's character at all. He is very disapproving
of the BCMA, or so it is stated in the book. He could've become a little more
inclined towards it because of the football suspension, which would give him
nothing to support but the mine, and the Carretta mine seems to be taking over.
He has maybe taken on the BCMA as his new interest, but he has always disliked
Sonny, and I am not quite sure why he should change now, even though he has
nothing else to do.
Hannah
says:
I'm not sure if dad meant to help or not.
On the one hand he is beginning to change in character, but on the other hand he
could be doing it without thinking and doing it instinctively because Sonny is
his
son.
Lisa
C. writes: I think that Sonny's dad
isn't helping him because it's not in Homer Sr.'s nature to help with the rocket
building. Dad was getting their hopes up and then crushed them by saying, " but
the bags were probably ruined by the rain." I think Dad was just coming up with
an excuse to get the boys to leave him alone. There was no rain so the boys
should have just ignored what Homer's dad was
saying.
Posted: Mon - March 7, 2005 at 10:14 PM