Today I read the short story “The Rocket,” by Ray Bradbury. The story was set in a time when technology was very advanced and people could do almost anything, even travel to outer space in a rocket if they wanted to — but only if they could afford it. Fiorello Bodoni had dreamed, all his life, to go to outer space, but he was a poor man. It took him six years of hard work to save $3000, enough to send one person — only one — from his family to outer space. However, he realized that if one person from his family went, the rest of them would all be incredibly jealous because of the missed opportunity. Furthermore, when they picked sticks to determine who to go, everyone thought that if someone else could go, that would be better, and everyone had an excuse as to why they couldn’t go. Eventually, Bodoni chose to simulate a trip to space, buying a prototype rocket that couldn’t fly, but simulated the sensation well, and put a theater in the background so his children would see the planets as they ‘flew’ past. I enjoyed reading this book and learning about how Bodoni had tried so hard to give his children the gift of going to outer space. I would rate it 9.8/10 and recommend it to anyone interested in an attention-catching short story.
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