In The Sky By HeinleinThe book Farmer in the Sky by Robert A.
Heinlein was published in 1950,when culture consisted of new teenage rebellion. It was written in the yearsfollowing World War 2. However, this book was not about the war, but mainlyabout the authors view on a solution to a worldwide problem in the future. The main character of this book, who was in his teenage years, was WilliamLermer. The central characters that surrounded him were Bills father George,his deceased mother Anne, his stepmother Molly, and his stepsister Peggy. Georgeand Anne had a great influence on shaping Bills character, George being themain role model.
Bill would go to George for advice all the time. He would acton a decision the way he thought George would. They called each other by theirfirst names, which showed that they had great trust and togetherness. AlthoughAnne was not with Bill physically, she was with him emotionally. In Billsmind, Anne was the one who gave him an emotional push when he needed one.
Bill learned his way of independence and his sense of family and morals from theboth of them. The books general theme was how an individual and a communityof people cope and interact through life-changing and traumatic events. Itproclaimed how someone can change and become stronger through a period of majoroccurrences, no matter what the age factor may be. The primary concept of thisbook was to show how people cope with issues facing mankind in a broader sense.
Furthermore, it was how they dealt with dependence, in themselves and others. The time period of this story takes place sometime in the future, whenoverpopulation had become a problem. Supplies, such as food, had been rationed. This book was an intriguing insight into a 1950s authors outlook on thefuture.
The author used his experiences of coming through a world in the midstof war in situations in the book. Heinlein had ideas to solving theoverpopulation problem, but it was not by commanding man. His idea wascolonization in a whole new place, which was one of Jupiters moons. It wasinteresting to see how a society that had all its resources back on Earth starta new life from practically nothing on a place billions of miles away.
Therewere many examples of symbolism in this story, which represented both theauthors and societys values and morals. The Boy Scouts was something Billwas part of his whole life, on Earth and on the new colony. For a lifetime, theBoy Scouts have taught people good values, like seeing things through to the endand being able to survive no matter what the conditions. It also emphasized goodcharacter in people.
To add to that, family was stressed in this story. TheLermers always stuck together as a family in moving to a new colony, starting anew life, and through disaster. Moreover, the story began too abruptly. It leftthe reader bewildered in the beginning about the time and the setting, and whatwas going on in the background.
However, the book was crafted very well. Throughthe authors words, a view on society and their morals was expressed. He useda third-person technique to tell the story. The main character told story, butalso acted as an observer throughout the whole story.
The vivid and veryrealistic world that he described made me wonder what the future holds for us.English Essays
