Have you heard of the 1960’s? Well most of us have during our 1960’s America unit. It was a time of civil rights and protests that stirred America into what we know today.
In the novel: The Watsons go to Birmingham we look at the setting of the book in the year 1963 and how it impacted the Watson family during that era. One thing that was very notable in 1963 was racism and segregation.
In the Watson hometown of Flint, Michigan the Watsons are not particularly affected by racism or prejudice, but once they go south to visit Birmingham, it becomes another story. Dad and Momma often talk about the way the south segregates blacks, but hate does not seem real for Kenny, Byron, and Joey, until they go to Birmingham and experience racism for themselves. After kenny travels to Alabama and witnesses the events of the bombing of the church in Birmingham (The Birmingham Bombing) first hand, Kenny becomes deeply affected and is forever changed, because for the first time he realizes how someone’s skin color, a characteristic that is completely beyond individual control, can cause so much hate in the hearts of others. …show more content…
And he then has the sudden realization that death can come at any time, even when it is least expected.
Kenny later experiences strong feelings of guilt many times throughout the book. This emotion starts off on a small scale, when he feels guilty for hurting Rufus’s feelings, and eventually assumes a much larger scale, when he feels guilt after witnessing the church bombing. Kenny had no control over the terrible incident, yet he cannot shake the feelings of guilt that experience
In the novel: The Watsons go to Birmingham we look at the setting of the book in the year 1963 and how it impacted the Watson family during that era. One thing that was very notable in 1963 was racism and segregation.
In the Watson hometown of Flint, Michigan the Watsons are not particularly affected by racism or prejudice, but once they go south to visit Birmingham, it becomes another story. Dad and Momma often talk about the way the south segregates blacks, but hate does not seem real for Kenny, Byron, and Joey, until they go to Birmingham and experience racism for themselves. After kenny travels to Alabama and witnesses the events of the bombing of the church in Birmingham (The Birmingham Bombing) first hand, Kenny becomes deeply affected and is forever changed, because for the first time he realizes how someone’s skin color, a characteristic that is completely beyond individual control, can cause so much hate in the hearts of others. …show more content…
And he then has the sudden realization that death can come at any time, even when it is least expected.
Kenny later experiences strong feelings of guilt many times throughout the book. This emotion starts off on a small scale, when he feels guilty for hurting Rufus’s feelings, and eventually assumes a much larger scale, when he feels guilt after witnessing the church bombing. Kenny had no control over the terrible incident, yet he cannot shake the feelings of guilt that experience