Chapters 10 and 11 Comprehension Questions

 The football boys were in a depressed- like state. They were seen as “sullen and trigger-sensitive to insult.” The following descriptions were used:  More lumpy than muscled  More bullet-headed than bright  Oddly tainted

 Sonny’s “startling revelation” about geometry is he believes it is a message from God.  Reverend Richard

 O’Dell and Roy Lee plan to take phones, presumably scrap, from the mule barn, which is mine property.  They are trapped in the mule barn and get caught.  Mr. Van Dyke confronts Sonny and the other boys with the “crime” of breaking and entering to commit theft, with a penalty of jail time.

 Van Dyke decides to extend “mercy” to the boys because Tag Farmer, the constable (peace officer with limited policing authority,) considers them to be good boys.

 Rocketry provides the incentives for Sonny to study hard, make good grades in plane geometry, and want to know more about angles, and polygons for rocket design.

 Miss Riley

 Billy  Elsie treats Billy like one of her own by giving him new clothing from Sonny’s closet after one look at him.

 Melted saltpeter and sugar  Makes the rockets increase altitude

 760 ft.  Corrosion

 When Homer learns of Sonny’s desire to be an engineer, he wants him to see what he thinks a real engineer’s job is.  Without telling Elsie, Homer takes Sonny into the mine, where he explains engineering techniques necessary to safe mining.

 On their return to the surface, both Homer and Sonny face the “moment of truth” – Sonny wants to become a space, not a mining, engineer.  The closeness Sonny had felt to his dad in the mine disappears.  Homer is disappointed with Sonny; Sonny blames himself for everything  Elsie, who is waiting for them when they emerge from the mine, is furious  She vows that the mine will not kill her sons as it is killing Homer.