Changes In The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963 By Christopher Paul Curtis

In the novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis, Kenny wonders why his brother Byron is so mean to people. Kenny has treated an abundance of different people extremely better than Byron has been. When Byron got his lips stuck Kenny tried not to hurt Byron as much as he could even though Byron would have tortured Kenny. Also, Kenny was nice enough to share his lunch with his Rufus. He even feels bad sometimes for the kid that bullies him.

In the book The Watsons Go To Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis, the protagonist, Byron Watson, a teenager who thinks he is to handsome to be born by his parents, learns to not take everything for granted. Byron was in his hometown, Flint, Michigan, causing lots of trouble; killing a bird with a cookie, lighting fires and the last straw, getting his hair chemically straightened. This caused the whole Watson family to travel to Birmingham, Alabama because they thought their Grandma Sands could straighten Byron out. In Birmingham, he was exposed to the real world of racism whereas in Flint, everyone was the same race. There was violence because they didn't accept different types of people.

Kenny does not have many friends you can tell because the bus driver tells Rufus to sit next to Kenny because he does talk to anybody. The last difference between Byron and Kenny is that Kenny is school smart and Byron isn’t. Kenny is school smart because he reads to the 5th graders while on the other hand Byron is still in the 5th grade while he is 13. But over time their personalities have really

The narrator simultaneously hates and pities Sonny’s friend, who, despite his problems, makes it painfully clear to the narrator just how difficult Sonny’s drug-addicted life has

The narrator is visited by a friend from Sonny’s past and then after reaches out to his brother. Sonny invites him to come hear him play and that is when the narrator understands his brother and in turn understands he himself. James Baldwin was raised by a single mother and later stepfather who was a Baptist minister. He attended school in the Bronx and developed a passion for

Chapter 2: Bradley meets his new school counselor, Carla Davis, and is reluctant to talk to her. However, she encourages him to express his feelings and gives him a notebook to write in. Chapter 3: Bradley struggles with his self-esteem and has a hard time making friends. He continues to act out and lies to his classmates

Later in the story we see Byron become emotional over Kenny, “He just kept saying, ‘Kenny, Kenny, Kenny …,” (Curtis 179). This showed change in him being a bully to an actual brother. An instant of Byron changing is, “Byron mumbled my name and I turned around to see why his voice sounded so funny. As soon as I looked at him Byron blasted me in the face with a mouthful of snow” (Curtis 11).

After Kevin and Chiron have their first sexual encounter, Kevin is forced to beat up Chiron at school which leaves Chiron covered in blood and severely injured. Jenkins includes a scene where we see Chiron placing his face in a sink filled with ice water. He then lifts his head up and stares right in the mirror with blood continuing to pour down his face. This shows the state of vulnerability that Chiron is in. After being beat up by Kevin and Terrel, Chiron walks into class and hits Terrel with a chair, knocking him out.

In the signature historical fiction novel, The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963, by Paul Curtis, the Watsons are a typical family. The Watsons are a family that lives in Flint, Michigan. In this family, there are two typical parents that work and live as other families would. There are three children: Kenny, Byron, and Joetta. They are typical in the fact that they are all working-class civilians with no outstanding abnormalities or features.

Micah Moore Ms. Bolmida Language Arts 6 March 2015 Living in Birmingham Would you like to live in Birmingham during 1963? Well, it was hard for the Watsons to, especially for the children. This book is titled ‘The Watsons go to Birmingham’ written by Christopher Paul Curtis. Meet the 1963 characters, Kenny Watson, Byron Watson, Joetta Watson, also known as Joey, Wilona Watson, Daniel Watson and their backgrounds. The small African-American family lives in Flint, Michigan.

I am pretty sure he would have not done that with Byron unless he threatened to kill him. Another example is when he laughs with the bus on the Larry Dunn joke at Rufus; he is willing to fix his relationship. Also, as much as he hates Larry Dunn, when By is beating him up he feels bad for him because he knows know body deserves this. Also when everybody is cheering on By, he walks away.

He hasn’t seen his brother in about a year, but as he is walking out of his school he notices a familiar face and it turns out being one of his brother’s old friend. The old friend spoke to the narrator about how hard Sonny’s struggle is now and how it will still be a struggle later. The narrator went

`” (McEwan, 342). His reaction to Briony demonstrates the pain and grief he endures as a result of her wrongdoing. His rage is arguably the clearest indicator that no matter what Briony attempts to make up for her false testimony, she will be unable to entirely repair the harm she has done. Her guilt will continue to torment her, especially after she knows Robbie will never forgive

After hearing that his younger brother, Sonny, has been put in jail due to drug use, he remembers his childhood, and how they both never did really get along. Both Sonny and the narrator feel a sense of “darkness outside”, and this “darkness” is what creates the miscommunication between the brothers (Baldwin 338). Sonny changed his normality due to not being noticed during his childhood, and the drastic change causes the older brother to feel uncomfortable seeing his brother, because Sonny told him that “he was dead as far as [he] was concerned” (351). Their struggles caused them to lose contact, and to slowly build that invisible barrier between their

But through it all, they managed to remain close and get over their differences in order to build a stronger relationship. While the story was full of emotional ups and downs, there was a certain point that confirmed to the reader the solidity of their relationship. The story begins with the main character, Sonny’s older brother, talking about his and Sonny’s childhood. He puts an extra emphasis on Sonny’s downward spiral after their mother’s death.