Christopher Paul Curtis published his historical fiction The Watsons Go to Birmingham in 1963. It was republished in 1997 after being released by Delacorte Press in 1995. An African American family's life in Flint, Michigan in 1963, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, is depicted in the book. After Byron, their oldest son, begins misbehaving, his parents decide that he should spend the summer and maybe the next academic year living with his grandmother in Birmingham, Alabama. The entire family travels to the south, where dreadful events occur while they are there.
The historical background of this historical fiction is no longer a simple story of a classic family with a trouble-making teenager. It includes Racism, and the Civil rights Movement. The Watson family going to Birmingham is a mistake. There is racism in Birmingham, people bully, and some even the African Americans, and the Watsons are no exception. For example, there is a bomb that explodes at a church near Joetta after Joetta left Sunday school, which is influenced by racism. There is a Civil rights action very near the year 1963, which is the year the story takes place, the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Family is very important. The Watson family loves each other and cares about each other with all their heart. For example, the Watson family didn’t send Byron alone to Birmingham. Instead, they went with him because they loved him very much. The second example is that Kenny thought that his grandma said Wool Pooh instead of Whirlpool, and when Kenny fell into the whirlpool, Byron saved him. The last example is that Kenny looked for Joetta in the smoking building that the bomb exploded even though it is hard to see. However, their family also had a problem, which is Byron.
Friendship is critical if you don’t want to feel depressed, lonely, and mistreated. Kenny and Rufus because of Rufus because Rufus got bullied for being an African American that is in Birmingham. In order to survive the mistreatment that he is getting, he became friends with Kenny so that there is someone that is someone he could talk to without being kicked or punched. Additionally, African Americans are also ostracized from Native American, and in order to survive life attacks, being with someone with the same status feels way better.
In conclusion, The Watsons Go to Birmingham -1963 is a historical fiction novel with valuable themes. The themes are the history background of this historical fiction is no longer a simple story of a classic family with a trouble-making teenager, Family is important, and friendship is critical.
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