The Watsons Go To Birmingham Analysis

In the book, The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963, the main character shows the growth of his brother, Byron, through his eyes. The family travels down to the most racist part of the country, Birmingham, Alabama. Byron realizes that his younger brother and sister aren’t safe in the new kind of city. Byron Watson changes his attitude towards his family when he faces the possibility of losing his siblings. Byron’s attitude in the beginning of the book is unacceptable and rude. He thinks he is much cooler by acting like a troubled child and by being rude to people. “Byron had just turned thirteen so he was officially a teenage juvenile delinquent and didn’t think it was ‘cool’ to touch anybody or let anybody touch him, even if it meant he froze to death. Byron had tucked the blanket between him and Dad down into the cushion of the couch to make sure he couldn’t be touched.”(2). The Watson family is squeezing onto the couch trying to stay warm from the freezing temperatures of the outside. Even though it will be much warmer to snuggle up with his family, Byron decides he wants to act “cool” and not get near or touch his family members. …show more content…
“Byron and Buphead each grabbed one of my arms and one of my legs and swung me between them going, ‘Wooo, blizzard warnings! Blizzard warnings! Wooo! Take cover!’ Buphead counted to three and on the third swing they let me go in the air. I landed headfirst in a snowbank.”(9). When Byron is with Buphead, he is usually a person who will disobey everything you say and will tease and prank other people, especially his