FREE ESSAY ON "FARMER IN THE SKY" BY ROBERT A. HEINLEIN

"FARMER IN THE SKY" BY ROBERT A. HEINLEIN

Sepehr Rotchel English, Period 4 January 4, 1999 Farmer in the Sky The 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 years following World War 2. However, this book was not
about the war, but mainly about the author's view on a solution to a worldwide problem in
the future. The main character of this book, who was in his teenage years, was William
Lermer. The central characters that surrounded him were Bill's father George, his
deceased mother Anne, his stepmother Molly, and his stepsister Peggy. George and Anne had
a great influence on shaping Bill's character, George being the main role model. Bill
would go to George for advice all the time. He would act on a decision the way he thought
George would. They called each other by their first names, which showed that they had
great trust and togetherness. Although Anne was not with Bill physically, she was with
him emotionally. In Bill's mind, 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 the both of them. The book's general theme was how an individual and a community of
people cope and interact through life-changing and traumatic events. It proclaimed how
someone can change and become stronger through a period of major occurrences, no matter
what the age factor may be. The primary concept of this book 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," when overpopulation had become a problem. Supplies, such as food, had
been rationed. This book was an intriguing insight into a 1950's author's outlook on the
future. The author used his experiences of coming through a world in the midst of war in
situations in the book. Heinlein had ideas to solving the overpopulation problem, but it
was not by commanding man. His idea was colonization in a whole new place, which was one
of Jupiter's moons. It was interesting to see how a society that had all its resources
back on Earth start a new life from practically nothing on a place billions of miles
away. There were many examples of symbolism in this story, which represented both the
author's and society's values and morals. The Boy Scouts was something Bill was part of
his whole life, on Earth and on the new colony. For a lifetime, the Boy Scouts have
taught people good values, like seeing things through to the end and being able to
survive no matter what the conditions. It also emphasized good character in people. To
add to that, family was stressed in this story. The Lermers always stuck together as a
family in moving to a new colony, starting a new life, and through disaster. Moreover,
the story began too abruptly. It left the reader bewildered in the beginning about the
time and the setting, and what was going on in the background. However, the book was
crafted very well. Through the author's words, a view on society and their morals was
expressed. He used a third-person technique to tell the story. The main character told
story, but also acted as an observer throughout the whole story. The vivid and very
realistic world that he described made me wonder what the future holds for us.