The Watsons Go To Birmingham By Christopher Paul Curtis

1. What is the main theme of your picture book? Are there any other themes presented? What causes you to think this is a main theme of the book? (100 words)

The Watsons, could it become an allegory? The historical fiction novel, The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis, is a story that is about a typical African American family who goes to Alabama during the Civil RIghts Movement, and are exposed to racism. Because of the events that happened in Birmingham, the Watsons change. The change that happens in the Watsons is typical of the change that happens in America. This was seen when Kenny dealt with the bombing at Joey’s church, on page 188,”It’s yours, Joey, I got it from the Wool Pooh.”

People often believe that family is one of the most important things in the world. This is seen in the historical fiction novel, The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis when the Watson family take a trip to Birmingham, Alabama, during the Civil Rights Movement. The author uses symbolism to convey the message of family, during the Watson’s long road trip in their new car to Alabama.

In the novel, “The Watsons Go To Birmingham,” the author (Christopher Paul Curtis) portrays courage through the character of Kenny in his actions, such as going into the whirlpool and going to the church to save his sister. These actions show his selfless nature and courage, especially regarding his family. Christopher Paul Curtis incorporates the theme of courage in “The Watsons Go To Birmingham” to spotlight to the readers the resilience of the individuals facing adversity, specifically within the Civil Rights Movement. Furthermore, Curtis’ experiences might have made him want to include the theme of courage. Curtis growing up as an African American in Flint, Michigan, a setting similar to the book, would have influenced his decision to address

Allegory is defined as a story in which the characters and events are symbols that stand for ideas about human life or for a political or historical situation. The historical fiction novel, The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis is about a family who is exposed to racism after traveling from Michigan to Alabama for the first time. It shows a political and societal mess that molds them into new personalities, both dejected and aware of the racial discrimination in America. The Watsons is an excellent example of an allegory, because the events in the story often seem symbolic to events involving the civil rights movement happening at that same time in the United States. In the beginning of the Watsons, they were fun

People often believe that once you see someone from how they look on the inside they will not change. This is seen in Christopher Paul Curtis’s historical fiction novel, The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963, when a family of five travel to Birmingham, Alabama. The dynamic characters in the novel, Kenny, and Byron, transform after their arriving.

“There’s a thin, blurry line between humor and tragedy,” Christopher Paul Curtis. In many cases people don’t even see across the line that Curtis has pointed out. Many people only see the humor or the tragedy, or the good and bad of the world. In the book The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis, Kenny Watson only sees the good in the world until he meets Rufus and goes to Birmingham, Alabama. Kenny doesn’t recognize any of the real horrors in the world because his society has filtered everything in his life.

Birmingham, Alabama was one of the worst places for African Americans to be, especially during the 1960s. The Watson family, along with many others had chances of being attacked by attack dogs, sprayed with fire hoses, or be severely beaten. Emmet Till was a young African American who was shot and beaten in the middle of the night. there are chances that it may happen to anyone. The “Freedom Riders” were a group of protesters that were beaten wherever that stopped by, and there is a possibility that a family could happen to be exactly where they were at the time. People got hurt when this happened because they may mistake you as “one of them”. In The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963, Kenny experienced the 16th street church bombing. After that, her had lost his innocence. kenny is only ten years old and that is an extremely young age to have to know the sorrow in the world. it doesn't seem fair for him to have to live with what he saw for the rest of his

The South was considered the homeland for racial discrimination and prejudice through the use of Jim Crow laws that enforced segregation. Dad Watson sheds light on this social issue in the south with a joke: "Oh yeah," Dad interrupted, "they're a laugh a minute down there. Let's see, where was that 'Coloreds Only' bathroom downtown? (5). While on their journey to Birmingham, the Watson’s stop at a rest stop in Tennessee at night. Every single one of them is afraid of “crackers and rednecks up here that ain’t never seen no Negroes before. If they caught your ass out here like this they’d hang you now, then eat you later” (146).The boys slowly begin to the extent of hate, violence and discrimination in the world around them. They realize that the church in Birmingham is bombed because, “Two grown men hate Negroes so much that they’d kill some kids just to stop them from going to school” (203). Byron objects to his mother’s explanation of the motives of these men. When she says that they did it because they were sick, Byron retorts that he thinks that the men “just let hate eat them up and turn them into monsters” (200). This explanation is not only applicable to the entirety of the Civil Rights Movement violence, but it also remains applicable to hate and violence that exists

In Cinderella Ate My Daughter Peggy Orenstein examines the triumphs and pitfalls navigating raising a daughter, in today’s mixed message world. From peer pressure and the need to fit in today’s society, young females have commercialism forced at them at every turn and in very clever ways. Doll creators have been pushing the boundaries of good taste with each new season launch. When the more “mature” actresses at the age of 17 feel the need to do something drastic to remove them from the wholesome image created for by company executives, mothers and consumers feel betrayed, and yet then we need to have a dialog with our kids as to why just last month Miley Cyrus was wonderful but now she is not okay for the viewing household.

Growing up in today’s society can be traumatizing for any child. When it comes to growing up as a young girl, however, it can be downright devastating, but not only for the child but the parent as well. There are so many decisions to be made when choosing how to raise your child, assuring that you have instilled proper values to develop a healthy sense of self-worth and confidence.

​The novel The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout and the short story Wildwood by Junot Diaz are two stories that convey specific examples of how families can be affected through hardships. While one is long and one is very short, there are many similarities between these two stories. The underlying theme in these two stories is that every action has repercussions, some good and some bad. These repercussions end up transforming the characters in both of these stories into different people by the end. As the main character Lola from Wildwood states, “It’s never the changes we want that change everything.” (439).

"The Charmer" by Budge Wilson is a short story about a Canadian family that finds misfortune and conflict within their lives. Conflict being the predominant theme which directly affects all the participants in the family. The story is written in third person and narrated from the young girl Winifred's point of view. Budge Wilson uses Zack's smothered childhood, charming personality and irresponsible behaviour to create emotional conflict between members of the family.

This novel is set in an area full of history when it comes to race and racial tension. This story takes place in the 1970s on a Louisiana sugarcane plantation deep in the South. Many of the characters still live on this plantation because their ancestors before them have cultivated the land, and although it is passed the Civil Rights Movement, nothing in Marshall is changing. The black community of Marshall still faces the same prejudices because of the color of their skin. The past of this land is what inspires the black community of Marshall to fight for their rights and to protect their history.

Imagine living in our world, but a world in which we are still segregated and there is still so much hate in the world. In The Watsons go to Birmingham 1963, a historical fiction and allegorical story by Christopher Paul Curtis, the Watsons make drastic changes in the way the see life. In the begging the Watsons are a typical family with everyday situations. When the watsons go to Birmingham they experience segregation when the Bombing of the 16th Street Baptist church happens. This devastated the family and took away the children's innocence. The Watsons book is a good example of how the real world started to see racism. It tries to get you to see how bad racism was in the time period the Watsons lived in.