The Role Of Dynamic Characters In Eve Bunting's Your Move

Being the oldest sibling often has the added pressure of being the role model for one’s younger siblings. There is pressure to be there for them and to protect them from anyone who might want to harm them. However, being only a child oneself can make this pressure feel insurmountable and even unfair. Although the novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis and the short story, “Your Move” by Eve Bunting take place in different time periods and settings, the two older brothers face similar challenges in caring for their younger siblings. These challenges and important decisions help the reader see key traits which are shared by both dynamic characters. In “Your Move,” James is a teenage boy who comes from a single-mother

Despite the differences in these stories, both boys show incredible bravery in the face of incredible danger. To begin with, James from “Your Move” shows incredible bravery during the story. Every night, James has to take care of his little brother Isaac after his mother leaves for work. James explains, “Now that Dad’s gone he thinks I’m smarter than anybody” (Bunting 1). While most nights James is a responsible role model for Isaac, this night is different because on this night he is going to complete an initiation activity in order to join a “club” called the K-Bones. In order to keep Isaac safe, he brings him with him to meet the K-Bones explaining to Kris, the gang’s leader, “I can’t leave him alone. What if something happened?” (Bunting 1). James is very protective of Isaac, holding his hand as they cross streets and reassuring him when James must recklessly and bravely climb up to the top of a green highway sign. However, it is not until the

Unlike James, Byron is not a responsible role model for his younger siblings—at least not until the end of the story. Once the family has traveled to Birmingham, Byron begins to grow and mature. It is during this time, that he shows incredible bravery. In an act of defiance, Kenny decides to go to Collier’s Landing, a very dangerous swimming area where many people drowned due to a whirlpool. In an attempt to protect his siblings with a lie, Byron talks about Winnie-the-Pooh’s evil twin brother the Wool Pooh who “hide[s] underwater and snatch[es] stupid kids down with him” (Curtis 170). Kenny believing the “Wool Pooh” was a silly made-up story, decides to go to Collier’s Landing on his own and wades into the water to catch fish and a turtle. Unfortunately, this is when Kenny learns the “Wool Pooh” is very real because he is pulled under the water by the whirlpool and is drowning. It seems like Kenny will not make it until suddenly Byron appears in the water “kicking up a ton of dirt and scratching at the water” (Curtis 177). Byron bravely jumps into the water to try and save Kenny from drowning. However, as many people know, whirlpools are very dangerous and not easy to swim out of. Kenny is not drowning in normal water; he is drowning due to the natural force of a whirlpool. It is unbelievably brave and selfless for Byron to jump into the