The Watsons go
to Birmingham-1963
by Christopher Paul Curtis
1995
Newberry Award Winner
Coretta Scott King Honor Winner
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CONCEPT ANALYSIS
Text: The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis.
Published 1995 by Dell Laurel-Leaf
Plot Summary & Organizational Patterns
The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963 is a 210 page book divided up into
15 chapters with a historical epilogue. Each chapter has a creative titles
that feature the upcoming events in the chapter. The book is easy to
read, interesting and appropriate for 8th graders. It is told from the
observant and often humorous viewpoint of ten-year old Kenny Watson.
Plot summary: The Weird Watsons, a family of five, including Dad,
Momma, By (Byron,13), Kenneth (Kenny, 10) and Joey (Joletta, 5) live in
Flint, Michigan. It is freezing cold in Flint and Momma longs for the heat
of her home town Birmingham, Alabama. She frequently complains
about living in an “igloo.”
By is always in trouble. He is nicknamed an “official juvenile delinquent.”
He frequently bullies Kenny and any other kids who cross his path. His
relationship with Kenny is strained even though he usually defends him
at school. Luckily Kenny has two other friends--Rufus and Cody Fry-who are diversions from his troubles with his brother. In order to shape
By up, the family decides to take him to visit Grandma Sands in
Birmingham, Alabama, for the summer. They take an unforgettable road
trip and arrive during a heatwave. Kenny is lured to a swimming hole
and nearly drowns when a whirlpool catches hold of him. By saves him,
which is a pivotal turning point in their relationship.
Later, on a Sunday morning, Joey goes to church with the neighbors.
Kenny stays home. He hears a loud bombing. He runs toward the 16th
Street Baptist Church where is confronted with the terrible aftermath.
He believes Joey to be in the building and runs in to look for her. He
watches people carrying out girls in pretty dresses. He is sure Joey is in
the church when he finds a shoe that looks like hers. As it turns out, Joey
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left the church because it was so hot. Back in Michigan, Kenny is
traumatized by what he saw at the bombing. For the second time in the
novel, Byron comes to his rescue, and helps him get through the shock of
the experience.
The Big Question or Enduring Issue
"How important are family/sibling relationships and how do those
relationships shape who we eventually become?"
Background Knowledge
In order to understand this novel, students will need a lot of background
knowledge. Whereas many 9th grade classes study the civil rights
movement when they read To Kill a Mockingbird, this project is aimed at
8th graders. Students will most likely need historical scaffolding.
Specifically, it will be helpful for students to know about racism in
America, the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King,
Jr. They will need to know some details of the 16th St. Baptist Street
bombing. Learning about the Greensboro sit-ins will enrich their
understanding of the novel. They will need to know about school
segregation, and what it meant to be a black child in the South in 1963.
Issues related to this Study of Literature
Theme: There are several central themes. The first is how the joy and
heartache of family relationships shape our actions and who we
eventually become. Relationships between parents and siblings, and
siblings and siblings is at the forefront of this novel. These relationships
are tender and tense, exasperating and frustrating, but important to the
fabric of the book. The reader sees how families function under both
stressful and pleasant circumstances, and ultimately how they support
each other through both.
The second theme is how racial strife can forever change the course of
people’s lives. The family unwittingly becomes involved in the 16th Street
Baptist Church bombing, and that opens up a new way of thinking for
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every member of the family. All of the sudden, race is more important
and dangerous than ever, and the family will never be the same because
of it.
Major locations: Flint, Michigan--the “frigid” north where people live in
igloos and Birmingham, Alabama--an “oven.”
Students will need to know that the north was much more hospitable to
blacks than the south, and that going to the south becomes much more
than going to visit Grandma Sands. The family is forever changed after
its trip to Birmingham.
Point of View/Narrative Voice: Ten-year old Kenny narrates the novel
throughout. Right away, the reader understands that this is Kenny’s
story. “It was so cold that if you spit, the slob would be an ice cube before
it hit the ground. I was about a zillion degrees below zero” (1).
Characterization
Major Characters-Momma (Wilona). Hates the north, longs for the south, wishes her
husband would stop being such a tease and stop spending money. She is
harsh with Byron who is always disobedient. She has a hard time
enjoying herself. When she is angry or excited she slips into her strong
southern drawl. “Daniel Watson, you are one lying man! Maybe these
babies mighta been born with lumpy heads but at least they’da had
warm lumpy heads!” (5).
Dad (Daniel). Fun loving, silly, playful, and always good for a laugh.
Likes to tease his family and enjoy life. He is a steroyypical Dad as he
never stops for bathroom breaks on vacations.
Kenny (10) Sometimes tolerates his brother and his often-whiny sister,
Joey. Wants to be able to defend himself. Is grateful for his new friend
Rufus, who is also another black kid at school who is bullied by Larry
Dunn. Is deeply affected by the bombing. Is saved from drowning in the
“Wool-Pooh” by Byron and Joey.
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Byron (By, 13) A troublemaker, ruthlessly teases his siblings, tries to be
cool all the time, wants to grow up too fast. Plays with matches. Is going
to Alabama to be reformed by Grandma Sands. According to Kenny, he is
an “official juvenile delinquent.” Byron causes chaos in the family. One
example is when was practicing kissing his reflection on the side mirror
of the “Brown Bomber” when he was supposed to be scraping ice. His
lips stuck to the mirror and he began begging Kenny for help. “Keh-ee!
Keh-ee! Hel’ me! Hel’ me! Go geh Mom-ma! Huwwy uh!” (12).
Joletta (Joey-5) Typical whiny little sister, also feels tormented by big
brother Byron. After the bombing, Kenny is sure she has been killed. She
is often a bossy tattletale, but says adorable things and wears adorable
outfits. “That’s it! You’re through this time, mister. You don’t know when
to stop teasing, do you? That’s it, I’m telling on you!” (189).
Minor Characters-Grandma Sands--Big-hearted grandma with a great southern drawl. Is
touched to see her family after 13 years. Has a “clandestine” relationship
with Mr. Robert, an older gentleman who keeps her company. Wears
sweaters even though it is an “oven.”
Buphead--Byron’s no good friend who gets him into trouble and teases
and bullies Kenny. Kenny claims he is also an “official juvenile
delinquent.”
Rufus--Kenny’s new friend who comes from a poor family. Kenny shares
his lunch and together they stand up against bully Larry Dunn. He plays
fair, unlike Kenny’s other friend who used to steal his dinosaurs.
Larry Dunn--The school bully who makes Kenny’s bus rides to and from
school difficult.
Metaphor: At two points in the novel, Kenny is literally convinced that a
“Wool-Pooh” is going to get him. He describes him as “ big and gray with
hard square looking fingers” (176). The first time is when Kenny ignores
warnings from Grandma Sands not to swim in Colliers landing because a
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boy drowned there. Kenny doesn’t imagine any danger. Byron has
explained that the Wool-Pooh is really “Winnie the Pooh’s evil twin,” and
shouldn’t pose any danger (170). Without the southern drawl, the WoolPool is the “whirlpool,” but Kenny doesn’t hear that or understand what
a whirlpool is. When Kenny swims in Collier’s landing, he believes that
the “Wool-Pooh” tries to drown him. The “Wool-Pooh” is a metaphor for
danger.
At the novel’s climax, Kenny also encounters the “Wool-Pooh” as
he stands at the site of the church bombing. He grabs a little black shoe
that he believes to be Joey’s. The Wool-Pooh tries to pull back, but Kenny
manages to tug it loose. “Oh-oh. I looked up and saw a familiar guy and
before he got covered with smoke he looked at me and I saw he had big
square shoulders and nothing where his face should have been. The
Wool-Pooh” (185). The Wool-Pooh is a metaphor for fear and
helplessness, which Kenny feels relentlessly at two times during these
pivotal events in the novel.
Dialogue: The exchanges between characters in the novel are funny and
entertaining and touching. Grandma Sands says, “My family, my
beautiful, beautiful fambly” (205). The southern drawl, the scolding
Momma, the puns and plays on words (ex. “Wool-Pooh”) make the
reader pause to read again. The characters come to life through dialogue
that is real and genuine.
Denouement: The ending of this book is anti-climactic and somewhat
surprising. There is the climax--the bombing--but there seems to be no
falling action before the family is home in Michigan. It is surprising that
Byron is the character who helps Kenny get through the trauma of the
bombing and rescue him from drowning. Kenny’s parents seem helpless
as to how to help Kenny cope psychologically from the trauma. However,
this coming together of Kenny and Byron and the end of the novel may
be one answer to the enduring question: How important are our
relationships with our siblings? Kenny, the aforementioned “official
juvenile delinquent” now plays a vital role as a caring brother. As he tries
to coax his brother out of shell he says, “You ain’t got not cause to be
ashamed or scared or nothing. You smart enough to figure this one out
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yourself. Besides, you getting the words from the top wolf hisself; you
gonna be all right, baby bruh. I swear for God” (203).
Affeective Issues related to the Work
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 illustrates the difficulty of
growing up, which many students are struggling with, especially those in
middle school. This is done mostly through Byron and Kenny.
Throughout the novel, Byron attempts to navigate his approaching
adulthood through rebellion against his parents and society’s
expectations. He defies his parents by playing “Nazi Parachutes Attack
America and Get Shot Down over the Flint River by Captain Byron
Watson and His Flamethrower of Death” (65) and lighting the paper
parachutes on fire after being told not to. He also uses his family charge
account at the grocery store to get cookies without his parents’
knowledge (81). His last substantial move of defiance is when he
chemically straightens his hair, making it “reddish brown, straight, still
and slick-looking” (87). Students will be easily be able to relate to Byron
because rebelling against authority is often how they try to navigate
growing up, so they will be able to identify with Byron’s decisions.
The issue of bullying is also explored in Curtis’s novel, through both
Byron’s behavior and Larry’s treatment of Kenny. When Kenny finds a
dollar on the school playground and exultantly shows it to Larry, Larry
manipulates Kenny into giving him half of the money. “I lost fifty cents
over on Kennelworth yesterday and I bet my fifty cents got hooked up
with someone else’s fifty cents and made this here buck” (21).
Additionally, he takes Kenny’s new gloves and paints “them black with
shoe polish” (58). Larry also bullies Rufus. When Rufus gets on the bus
for the first time, Larry calls out “look at the nappy-headed, down-home,
country corn flake the cat done drugged up from Mississippi, ya’ll” (30)
and then throws an apple at his face.
Vocabulary Issues
Most of the vocabulary in the novel is fairly easy. However, there
are some words that students may have difficulty with, specifically the
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Southern dialect Mamma and Grandma Sands use and the specific
references to people and events of the 60s. Words students may struggle
with are:
Narcissus (28)
hostile (37)
emulate (39)
imitate (39)
Nazis (54)
pomade (67)
Sugar Ray Robinson (82)
Welfare (100)
peon (101)
conk (113)
pinnacle (131)
Walter Cronkite (141)
maestro (146)
Lawrence Welk Show (159)
vittles (188)
wilier (203)
whirlpool (210)
raising cane (235)
Implications for Students of Diversity
Kenny has a lazy eye which other students make fun of him for. He
explains that “it got hard to talk to someone when they were staring at
your eye instead of listening to what you had to say” (26). However, his
brother Byron does help him to deal with it. He tells Kenny ‘“If you don’t
want people to look at your messed-up eye you just gotta do this,’ Byron
made me stand still and look straight ahead, then he stood on my side
and told me to look at him” (26).
When Rufus shows up to school as the new student and he is almost
instantly ostracized for being different from the rest of the students.
Rufus wore a “jacket with holes in the sleeves and the raggedy tennis
shoes and the tore-up blue jeans” (29) and spoke “in a real down-South
accent” (28). Many students can relate to Rufus, either because of the
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anxiety of starting school or moving to a new school, or because he is
teased for coming from a different culture and being different.
Gender Issues
Curtis’s novel does not address gender issues specifically.
However, the relationship between Mamma and Dad could be analyzed,
focusing on which parent seems to have more authority in the family.
Another facet of their relationship that could be studied is how much
time Kenny’s dad spends at home with his family in comparison to how
much time families spend together in lower income households.
Research Issues/Project Ideas
This novel provides many possible topics for further research by
the students. The biggest issues in the novel which students would
benefit by researching are: the North vs. South, the 16th Street Baptist
Church bombing, and segregation. These topics could be explored
through a variety of genres, particularly:
•
•
•
VoiceThread: similar to a slide show, students gather a variety of
photographs and are able to record voiceovers to accompany each
photograph. This project requires students to research their topic,
find photographs related to their topic, and write a cohesive and
concise blurb for each photograph. They are then able to upload
the photographs and record their narrative, after which the
voicethread website will create a unique link that can be accessed
through the school server.
Picture Book: have students research the story of another teenager
that lived through the Civil Rights movement. Some ideas could
come from the text sets listed below. After learning about their
chosen teenager, students compile their knowledge or a specific
event in their subject’s life into a picture book format and do a
jigsaw type activity to share their books with their classmates.
Classroom Encyclopedia: in groups of 2-3, have students choose a
topic from a list (any of the topics listed in above will work). Make
sure that each topic is covered at least once. Students are then
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responsible to create an encyclopedia entry for their topic. After
students have finished their entry, have them bound together so
that students can see that they have all contributed to a source that
they can refer to later when they have questions about those topics.
Text Sets and Enrichment Resources
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges
Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe
When the Children Marched by Robert H. Mayer
Birmingham 1963: How a Photograph Rallied Civil Rights Support by
Shelley Tougas
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They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist
Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
40th Anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing on NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1431932
Two sisters speak about their sister who was killed in the 16th Street
Baptist Church Bombing
http://www.kvnonews.com/2012/09/sisters-recall-infamous-16thstreet-baptist-church-bombing/
8National Geographic clip about the history of the Ku Klux Klan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CTG58jIlNA
New York Times story the day of the 16th Street Baptist Church
Bombing.
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http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0915.html#a
rticle
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