• Loss of hope is a relevant theme in this short story. We notice throughout the boys journey that it symbolizes a loss of hope as well as gain.
• We see through the boys eyes a loss of hope as he talks about his family in particular his great uncle in who he finds is lazy.“I stopped here because it was so close to the border,” he said. “In those days there were people who would take you across the river at night, in little boats. But by the time I had enough money to pay them, well, I got lazy.” (211)
• We then notice he gains hope when he receives Miss Johnson as his teacher. She allows the young boy to see life in a different perspective and gives him a sense of hope, it's easy for him to relate to her because she is different from …show more content…
• He then grows a new love for space and all it has to offer, and soon becomes invested in the Apollo mission.
• He then loses his faith when, the Apollo mission goes south and the people from the mission die in the training test.
• His disappointment becomes apparent when he says, “we’ll never go to the moon again, we’ll never go to the moon.” (216)
Symbolism
• The astronauts are a symbol in the story because they symbolize hope, which is something the young boy has to realize he can look at in a positive or negative view. The astronauts allow him to have a common bond between him and his fellow classmates, helping him to fit in and feel welcomed. The astronauts also symbolize a loss of hope when all the members of the crew pass away during the flight test.
• The classroom also symbolizes hope, because he feels included as well as a sense of belonging.
Imagery
• We notice that how close the little boys great uncle was from getting to America.“in all his years in Windsor he’d never so much as set foot in America, though its image had loomed over him daily, close enough to throw a stone at”