Life at Kitty Hawk
In a letter sent to his father, Wilbur describes the home in which he stayed while he waited for his brother to arrive. The home is described in very simple terms and Wilbur makes it clear just how poor the house was. The family had little furniture and nothing decorative or what may be considered useless was found inside the house. However, despite the bleak description, Wilbur mentions how the house was among the wealthier ones. This remark portrays Kitty Hawk as a poor place, where people lived a simple life, living by using what they could produce and acquire by natural means.
Mad men
An important image appears in the second chapter when the people living in Kitty Hawk described the two Wright brothers. When they were not carrying out flying experiments, they were watching birds fly and studying their flight. But the brothers were not only watching the birds, they were also imitating their movements with their hands, trying to understand better how the birds flew and how the birds maintained their position in the air. After a while, the people living in Kitty Hawk started watching the brothers while their tried to copy the birds and the image described by them is that of two individuals who were not sane, moving their arms and bodies in an attempt to try and copy the birds from above.
Looking at the pictures
After their second trip to Kitty Hawk, both brothers were disappointed, as their experiment did not go as they wished. Instead of things going better, they took a turn for the worse and thus when the brothers returned home they were not in good spirits. Soon after arriving, the brothers began working on developing the pictures they took at while at Kitty Hawk and the pictures made them realize they must not give up. Studying the pictures, the brothers were able to picture themselves flying and this made them want to move forward and not give up on their dreams.
The year when anything could happen
The author describes the year 1903 as a time when hope and a high standard of living were the norm. In comparison with other years, less and less people were unemployed and the minimum wages were on the rise. The economy was extremely good and everyone wanted to do something for themselves. The year 1903 is portrayed in a very positive manner, suggesting thus that it was the perfect time for the Wright brothers to succeed in their endeavor.
