Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Change, Coming of Age, and Maturity
Family, Friendship, and Support
Bullying and Injustice vs. Kindness and Compassion
Race and Class
Summary
Analysis
It’s an extremely cold Saturday in Flint, Michigan. Kenny Watson is huddled up in the living room with his family, which consists of his father Daniel, his mother Wilona, his older brother Byron, and his younger sister Joetta. Kenny is used to the cold because he grew up in Flint just like his father and siblings, but his mother can’t stand such low temperatures. She grew up in Alabama and often blames Daniel for dragging her to such a freezing state. Still, everyone in the Watson family is cold tonight, even Byron, though he refuses to get close to his family members because he’s a teenager now and doesn’t want to look like he needs anyone.
The way the Watson family huddles together in the cold suggests that they’re a tight-knit family who support each other in moments of hardship—even if that hardship is something as insignificant as braving the cold. What’s more, the fact that they have to huddle up for warmth while they’re inside hints at their financial situation as a family, suggesting that they don’t have enough money to fully heat their house. And yet, even though it’s blisteringly cold, Byron doesn’t want to touch his family members, indicating that he’s in a somewhat rebellious, fiercely independent phase of life.
Themes
Daniel tries to distract the family by turning on the TV, but the weather reporter starts talking about how hot it is in the South, so he quickly turns it off. Wilona criticizes him for making her live in Michigan, saying that she should have listened to Moses Henderson, who tried to dissuade her from marrying Daniel and moving to Michigan. Daniel jumps in and starts making fun of Moses Henderson, telling the kids that everyone used to call him “Hambone Henderson” because his head looked like a hambone—a nickname that Daniel himself coined. As he makes fun of Hambone Henderson, everyone laughs, including Wilona. Kenny and Joey crack up, and even Byron lets out a small chuckle.
Daniel’s comments about Moses Henderson illustrate his tendency to crack jokes in an attempt to make his family members laugh. He often resorts to humor as a way of developing a sense of camaraderie within his family—and it works. For example, even though Byron likes to act too cool for anyone else, he can’t resist his father’s humor, indicating that he’s not quite as uninterested in spending time with his family as it might otherwise seem.
Themes
As Daniel makes fun of Hambone Henderson and the way people talk in the South, Wilona defends her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. It’s a nice place, she insists, saying that people are very kind there. But Daniel reminds her that Birmingham still has intense racial segregation. Still, Wilona maintains that Birmingham is a good place, especially since the people there know to respect their parents and elders. As she says this, she throws Byron a meaningful look.
Daniel is skeptical of the South because, as a Black man, he knows that many Southern states are still divided by racism. It’s worth remembering that the novel takes place in 1963, a time when the civil rights movement was picking up momentum in the South and encouraging people to reflect on the tragic lack of racial equality in the United States. The tension surrounding racism and segregation therefore lurks in the background of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963, and though Kenny and his siblings don’t necessarily think much about racism, it’s clear that the topic still factors into their daily lives, since their parents are very aware of what’s happening in the South.
Themes
The Watsons decide to go to Kenny’s aunt’s house, since she has better heating than them. In order to do so, though, they have to get the Brown Bomber started. The Brown Bomber is the old car that everyone in the family makes fun of, though Daniel loves it. Because the Brown Bomber is so old, though, it doesn’t run very well in the cold, so Daniel goes outside to work on getting it started. Once it’s going, he comes in and tells Kenny and Byron to go scrape ice off the windows. As they make their way out, Kenny tells Byron that he has to do his fair share of the work, since Byron always finds ways of getting out of chores and somehow tricking Kenny into doing them.
Again, the fact that the Watsons can’t stay warm in their own home suggests that they don’t have a lot of money. The run-down state of their car—the Brown Bomber—confirms this idea, making it clear that, although the Watsons have enough to get by, they certainly aren’t rich or even all that financially comfortable. Meanwhile, Kenny’s warning to Byron hints that, at least in some ways, they share a pretty normal brotherly relationship.
Themes
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As Kenny scrapes ice off the car, he sees Byron admiring himself in the side mirror. Byron brags that he must be adopted, since he’s more attractive than everyone else in their family. Kenny ignores him. But then he hears Byron saying his name in a muffled voice. He knows Byron’s probably tricking him. The day before, Byron and his friend Buphead were playing in the snow and told Kenny they were going to teach him how to survive a blizzard. They put him through a series of tests that involved pushing him into snowbanks and roughing him up. Finally, Byron secretly stuffed snow into his own mouth, said Kenny’s name, and then—when Kenny turned around—he spat the snow into his brother’s face.
Byron doesn’t treat Kenny with much kindness. To the contrary, he seems to actively give his little brother a hard time, teaming up with his friend Buphead to trick and mistreat Kenny. It’s therefore understandable that Kenny is hesitant to listen to his brother while scraping off the car. After all, experience has taught him that Byron is not to be trusted, which is a hard lesson to learn, since brothers often give each other love and support—but, at this point, Byron unfortunately doesn’t show Kenny that kind of support.
Themes
Kenny keeps ignoring Byron, thinking he’ll just spit snow in his face again. But Byron’s voice starts to sound frantic. Finally, Kenny goes to look and sees that Byron is stuck—his lips are attached to the icy mirror! Byron calls out for his mother, so Kenny runs into his house and fetches his parents. Wilona is distraught and worried about Byron, but Daniel finds the situation hilarious. He playfully makes fun of Byron for trying to kiss his own reflection. Meanwhile, Wilona fusses over her oldest son, suggesting that they pour hot water on his lips. Daniel isn’t sure this is such a good idea, but they try it anyway.
Although Wilona just wants to help Byron get unstuck from the car, Daniel isn’t afraid to laugh at his son a little bit. To be fair, the situation is pretty funny, since Byron was clearly trying to kiss his own reflection, indicating that he’s a bit narcissistic and full of himself. While Kenny worked hard scraping the car, Byron didn’t do anything but stare at himself in the mirror, so the fact that he’s stuck seems like a strange form of justice, as if bad things happen to people who only think about themselves.
Themes
Kenny is the one to pour the water on Byron’s lips, since his mother’s hands are shaking too much and his father is laughing too hard. He knows Byron would do something really mean to him if their circumstances were reversed, but he doesn’t want to be cruel. All the same, though, his father was right: pouring water on Byron’s lips isn’t a good idea at all! It just turns to ice, making him even more stuck. Byron is so frustrated that he reaches out and smacks Kenny right in the forehead.
Kenny’s decision not to mess with his older brother highlights his habit of practicing kindness. Even though he’s certain that Byron would do terrible things to him if their situations were reversed, Kenny isn’t the kind of person to mistreat others just because they’re in a vulnerable position. Byron, on the other hand, isn’t even capable of appreciating Kenny for trying to help, since he ends up hitting Kenny in the head when the warm water doesn’t melt the ice. It’s evident, then, that the two brothers have much different ways of moving through the world, as Kenny prioritizes kindness while Byron only thinks about himself.
Themes
Daniel and Joey go inside to call the hospital to ask what they should do. While they’re gone, though, Wilona nestles up to Byron and, after comforting him for a moment, yanks his head away from the mirror. Kenny closes his eyes, not wanting to see what happens. When he opens them again, Byron is crying out and sprinting toward the house. And though Kenny is hesitant at first to watch something so painful happen to his brother, he later pokes fun at him by calling him the “Lipless Wonder.”
Byron usually acts like a cool, disinterested teenager, so it’s humorous when he ends up crying and frantically running into the house. Kenny, for his part, behaved with kindness and integrity by not kicking Byron when he was down. After Byron becomes unstuck, though, Kenny lets himself joke about the incident—after all, Byron behaved ridiculously, so Kenny sees no harm in joking around with him a little bit, indicating that even Kenny knows there’s a time and place for friendly teasing.
Themes
