The Watsons Go To Birmingham Character Analysis

Rachael Hayes

In the novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, Underline the title by Christopher Curtis, the family experiences traumatic events during their family trip. The Watsons live in Flint, Michigan, and their eldest son Byron is acting up. They drive to Birmingham, Alabama, to where Grandma Sands, Momma’s mother, lives. While there, they experience events that change them forever. Byron is the most dynamic character in the Watsons Go to Birmingham because he changes from a bully to a kind and caring brother throughout the story.

As the story begins, the author shows us a troubled child, but helps his little brother. In the story, the author tells us that Kenny, Byron’s little brother, has a lazy eye, “ ‘Look, man,’ he told me, ‘if you don’t want people to look at your messed-up eye you just gotta do this’… ‘Naw, man, keep your head straight and look at me sideways.’” (Curtis 26). This is an example of Byron being a nice person and helping Kenny not be teased so easily. Another example of Byron being a loving brother is, “‘Leave the little clown alone,’ Byron said. ‘It’s a crying shame, takin’ him around like a circus freak.’” (Curtis 25). This shows that Byron is still kinda mean, but will tell people to leave him alone because he is protecting his little brother.

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). This is an example of Byron being a trickster and mean brother, before he