How would the action of the story be different if it were set in another area?
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Part of what lies at Homer's primary motivation of his dreams is to experience a reality that is not readily offered in Coalwood. I think that the significance of Homer's quest and the resistance he faces might not be as strong of elements if the setting were different. If Homer were in an urban, metropolitan setting, the notion of "getting out" takes on different forms. Homer's defiance to not becoming another individual who simply follows the life of a Coalwood person into the mind would not be as present of a driving force. The action of the story would also take on a different symbolic element if Coalwood's setting were to change. The notion of the rocket is to defy expectation and soar through flight into an area that represents so much to so many. For Homer, he represents the rocket away from life in Coalwood. The presence of Coalwood is what needs to be defined. It serves as the what is to Homer's what can or should be. If this setting is not there, the primary motivation and the belief that Homer is akin to a rocket himself loses some of its effectiveness, as the action would take on a form that is not so readily oppositional to what is featured in Homer's relationship to Coalwood.
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