Read the Watsons Go to Birmingham Artical
 | |
| Author | Christopher Paul Curtis |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Genre | Realistic fiction, Juvenile fiction |
| Publication date | 1995/1997/2000 |
| OCLC | 32133739 |
| LC Class | PZ7.C94137 Wat 1995 |
The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 is a historical-fiction novel past Christopher Paul Curtis. Commencement published in 1995, it was reprinted in 1997. Information technology tells the story of an African-American family living in the boondocks of Flint, Michigan, in 1963. When the oldest son (Byron) begins to go into a bit of trouble, the parents make up one's mind he should spend the summer and possibly the next school yr with Grandma Sands in Birmingham, Alabama. The unabridged family travels at that place together by motorcar, and during their visit, tragic events take place. The volume was adapted for Authentication Channel in 2013.
Groundwork and setting [edit]
The book takes identify from approximately January to October 1963, a turbulent time during the Civil Rights Movement. The Watson family is fictional, but the characters are based on members of the author's family, including himself, and many of the events in the get-go one-half of the volume are based on a farm from the author'due south childhood and additional personal events.
Events later in the story heart around the historic 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, soon later the civil rights protests had gained negotiation with white metropolis leaders for integration. KKK members bombed the church on September 15, 1963, killing four girls and injuring many more. In the novel, the incident is depicted equally occurring a bit earlier than the historical date, allowing the Watson family to yet be on summer vacation in Birmingham when it took identify.
The bombing was a catalyst for increased activity in the Civil Rights Motility and work on voter registration in Mississippi, during Liberty Summer of 1964.
Plot [edit]
The novel is a first-person business relationship narrated by Kenneth Watson, who lives in Flint, Michigan with his parents Daniel and Wilona Watson, his older brother Byron, and younger sister Joetta. The opening chapters establish Kenny as a very bright and shy fourth grader who has difficulty making true friends until Rufus Fry arrives in town from Arkansas. Rufus is as well bullied past the students at Clark Elementary for his "country" clothes and accent, making Kenny reluctant to befriend him at outset, just they are presently inseparable. Kenny is alternatively bullied and protected by his thirteen year sometime brother Byron and his friend, Buphead, whom he calls "an official teenage juvenile runaway". Byron has been retained twice because he often skips school and is however in sixth form. He invents a series of "fantastic adventures" which constantly become him into trouble and include playing with matches in the house and setting things on burn, abusing his parent'southward credit at the corner grocery store to buy himself treats, and getting a "conk" hairstyle against his parents' orders.
Daniel and Wilona eventually get and then frustrated with their disability to "straighten out" Byron that they decide to send him to Birmingham, Alabama to live with Grandma Gloria Sands (Wilona'southward female parent) for at least the summer and mayhap an entire year. As soon equally the school year concludes, the Watsons prepare their car ("the Brown Bomber") and commence on a road trip from Flint to Birmingham to deliver Byron to his grandma. Kenny had been looking forwards to the "battle purple" between his grandma and Byron, but is disappointed when just a few sharp words from the "former, onetime lady" take Byron speaking respectfully and generally behaving himself, causing Kenny to seek out his own "adventures". Grandma Sands warns the children to avert a particular local swimming pigsty because of a dangerous whirlpool, which Kenny misheard equally "Wool Pooh" due to her thick Alabama emphasis. Kenny wants to swim there anyway, and is frustrated when Byron and Joetta turn down to go along. Ignoring the warnings of both Grandma Sands and Byron, Kenny jumps into the seemingly tranquil pool and edges deeper and deeper water until the whirlpool catches him and almost pulls him down, but Byron saves him. Remembering his grandmother's words, he imagines that a foreign monster he thinks is the mysterious Wool Pooh swam up from below to grab his talocrural joint and pull him under. Byron subsequently insists that there was aught else in the water, but Kenny is convinced that the Wool Pooh actually exists.
Shortly afterwards, a bomb goes off at a nearby church where Joetta is attending Lord's day school. Kenny wanders into the all the same-smoking church building in the immediate aftermath looking for his sister, just instead sees the Wool Pooh in the fume clinging to a torn girl's shoe that looks like Joetta'due south. In shock, he walks back to Grandma Sands' firm without anyone noticing that he had been at the church, and he's again shocked and dislocated to find Joetta already there. She claims that information technology was Kenny who had called her away from the church and led her home, and she does not even know that a bombing had taken place correct subsequently she'd left Sun school.
As presently equally they realize that Joetta is condom, the Watsons decide to immediately return home to Flint, trying to avoid explaining the full implications of what has happened to the children. Kenny is unable to procedure the events in Birmingham and avoids his family and friends over the ensuing weeks, instead spending many hours hiding behind the sofa. Byron eventually coaxes him out and gets Kenny to talk near what happened, which finally brings a flood of tears from Kenny. Encouraging his little brother to "proceed on stepping", Byron explains that although the world is non perfect, he has to keep moving on.
Characters [edit]
- Kenneth Watson - The main grapheme and narrator of the story, the younger of the 2 sons of the Watsons. Kenny is x years one-time. He is an excellent/intelligent student with many capabilities and has a lazy eye, which makes him the target of bullying at Clark Unproblematic School.
- Wilona Sands Watson - Usually referred to as "Momma", she is the married woman of Daniel and the mother of the three children. A native of Birmingham, she slips into a thick Southern accent when mad or excited, and complains most Flintstone's harsh winters. She is strict and overprotective but loves her kids.
- Daniel Watson - The husband of Wilona and father of the three children. He's known for having a good sense of sense of humour and is referred to equally "Dad".
- Byron Watson - Older brother of Kenny and Joey. He is considered the "God" of Clark Elementary School. He bullies smaller kids along with his best friend Buphead. He is known for existence a terrible student and is besides known for breaking the rules and being a rebel. Byron is thirteen.
- Joetta "Joey" Watson - Younger sister of Byron and Kenny. She follows the rules and is very religious. Joey has a special relationship with Byron. She is five.
- Buphead - Byron'due south best friend, who is also an "official delinquent," helps Byron peachy many kids, including Kenny, although Byron and Buphead stand up for Kenny and Rufus when they're being bullied by Larry.
- Grandma Sands - Grandmother of Kenny, Byron, and Joey, mother of Wilona, and mother in law of Daniel. She is supposed to be very strict. Seen past Wilona, Kenny, Byron, Joey, and Daniel when they arrived in Birmingham. Grandma Sands walks with a cane due to having a stroke. Her husband died before the beginning of the book.
- Rufus Fry - Kenny'due south new best friend and Cody's large blood brother. His family unit moves to Flint from the South. He and his lilliputian brother Cody befriend Kenny.
- Cody Fry - Rufus'due south little blood brother. Rufus and Cody come up from a poor Southern African-American family.
- Lawrence "Larry" Dunn - the school cracking in Kenny and Rufus's grade, until Byron teaches him a lesson for stealing Kenny's wintertime gloves.
- Mr. Robert - a dearest friend of Grandma Sands. Mr. Robert started helping Grandma Sands out around the house after her husband died. Information technology'due south hinted that Grandma Sands has a beat out on Mr. Robert.
- Mrs. Davidson - is the religious next-door neighbour of the Watsons. Joey goes to church with Mrs. Davidson iii times a calendar week. Sometimes Wilona makes Kenny get to Sunday School with Joey.
- LJ Jones - a former playmate of Kenny who stole many of Kenny's toy dinosaurs.
[edit]
The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 was Christopher Paul Curtis'due south first novel, earning him a Newbery Honor, a Coretta Scott King (wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) Honor, and the Gilt Kite Award. Curtis likewise wrote the Newbery Award-winning novel Bud, Not Buddy; Elijah of Buxton, and The Mighty Miss Malone.[1] [ii]
Adaptations [edit]
In 2013, a television receiver film based on the book produced by Walden Media premiered on the Authentication Channel, starring Anika Noni Rose, Wood Harris, Latanya Richardson, Skai Jackson and David Alan Grier. The movie adapted the story by condensing and trimming events and characters from Flintstone in the get-go one-half of the novel and calculation new scenes showing Kenny and Byron helping local youths organize Civil Rights events in Birmingham.
References [edit]
- ^ Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present, American Library Association, retrieved 2009-01-17
- ^ Coretta Scott King Book Honor Consummate List of Recipients—by Year, American Library Association, retrieved 2009-01-17
External links [edit]
- Random Business firm's folio on the book
- Alabama church building marks bombing ceremony
- The Watsons Become to Birmingham at Authentication Aqueduct
- The Watsons Become to Birmingham at IMDb
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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watsons_Go_to_Birmingham_%E2%80%93_1963
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