An Analysis Of Relationships In The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963 By Christopher Paul Curtis

Relationships can change depending on how much a person hangs out with somebody or how someone helped somebody. Kenneth and Byron, two characters in The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis, probably went through the exact moment of having a relationship change with a relative. Although Kenny and Byron did not have a good relationship at the beginning, their feelings changed about each other by the end. Kenny and Byron’s relationship in the beginning of the novel was not very nice or brother-like. One example that proves this is, “First thing you gotta worry about is high winds.” “On the third swing they let me go in the air. I landed headfirst in the snowbank.” This proves that Byron doesn’t care what he, or other people do to Kenny. Another example is, “Y’all, just sit next to Poindexter, he don’t bother no one.” Larry Dunn, Byron, and Buphead call Kenny Poindexter because it means being a nerd. Also, Larry Dunn, Byron, and Buphead are mean for calling someone something that is mean.

One detail that shows this is, “Byron made sure Joey wasn’t watching, then flipped me a dirty finger sign and made his eyes go crossed. As payback for giving me a dirty finger I said out loud, How many cows you counted By? How many red cars so far?” This proves that Byron was still mean but Kenny is getting more confident about saying stuff that bothers Byron also. Another detail is, “Are you going to come clean and tell what led you down the road to crime?...he popped me square in the ear. Hard!” This detail shows that their relationship has changed because Kenny is not being quiet and ignoring what Byron said. He is now standing up for himself. These details prove why Byron’s relationship has changed in the middle of the book while they were on their way to Birmingham,