In the novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis the author uses personification when he writes “The lights knocked some of the darkness out of the way and we felt safe again.” (pg. 97). With this metaphor the author is comparing the car to a fighter and the headlights are his fists knocking the dangers out of their way. With this personification the author is showing how fearful and threatened the Watsons feel at the rest stop in Appalachia. The Watson’s are afraid that if the people in the Appalachian “caught [them] out here like this they’d hang [them]” (pg. 96). During 1963 this is a realistic fear. The author’s use of descriptive language and personification helps to bring this fear to life in his novel.
In the novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963 Byron was not a good person in the beginning he did not do good stuff. For example, he was using matches 2 times. Although his parents said again not to use matches. Momma said what she always did if Byron uses matches again.
Many people assume that people are just people, we have no intentional meaning, but that’s not really the case. This is seen the historical fiction novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963, by Christopher Paul Curtis when The Watsons were traumatized over the bombing at Joetta’s church. The author uses symbolism to convey the message that maturity comes with time because with impactful events and people, you have to adapt.
In the fictional novel, The Watsons Go To Birmingham there were several historically accurate cultures and events from the 1960’s. Most of the story is based on the mother wanting to go to Alabama, because that’s where her family is. However her husband doesn’t think it is a good idea because he knows there is segregation down in the south, and he doesn’t want his kids to see all the hatred for people of a different skin color. Their children have not been exposed the separation of different skin colors because they live in Flint, Michigan, where there is not a lot of conflicts about segregation. Yet, at some point the family decides to make the long trip to Birmingham. Before they leave for their trip, their dad goes and buys a record player
The topic of Civil Rights is an interesting topic for so many people. This event changed history forever and allowed some people who couldn’t even get good jobs to become president of the United States or even have the same rights as others. In the book The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963, the author, Christopher Paul Curtis, wrote a story about a family that is living in this time. The author mostly focused on telling us a story of the Watson family and not really any historical events. I really would've liked it if the book gave more information on civil rights and not just have one historical event happen at the end of the book. Adding some more facts and history would have made the book more interesting. All in all, the book The Watsons Go
Published in 1995 by Christopher Paul Curtis, The Watsons Go to Birmingham is a story of an African- American family living in a town of Flint, Michigan, having a journey to Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. The movie came out in 2013, similar to the original novel. This loving family consists of five members: Byron Watson, an official juvenile delinquent, Kenneth Bernard Watson, ten years old boy with a lazy eye, Joetta Watson, an obedient youngest Watson, Wilona Sands Watson, Momma who always look after her kids, and lastly, David Watson, a thoughtful reliable dad. In fact, the movie is quite different from the novel, because the plot events don’t match with the movie, there is fused resolution, there is some missing and different characters, and the focus of the theme are slightly different.
“The Watsons Go To Birmingham,” by Christopher Curtis and “16th Street Street Baptist Church Bombing,” by Jessica McBirney
It is also comparing the area as an unmeasurable end of the earth, possibly comparing it to many instances in life. The third and final use of personification includes, “It was in Odessa that I found those Friday night lights, and they burned with more intensity than I had ever imagined.” (Bessinger Preface) This compares the “burning of the lights” to that of something related to a fire, electricity, etc.
In The Watsons Go To Birmingham the movie and the book have many similarities and differences when talking about what scenes/phrases were in both the book and the movie, also scenes/phrases that weren't in both. One of the many similarities between the book and the movie is in the beginning Byron seems to get his lips stuck to the car by kissing his own reflection on the mirror on the Brown Bomber (the Watson’s car). In the book it says “I moved closer. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Byron’s mouth was frozen on the mirror! He was as stuck as a fly on flypaper!” (13, paragraph 2). Although there are many similarities between the book and the movie, there are also many differences one of them being stated in the book that Grandma Sands was a small
In order to understand the characters, or character from the movie, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, you have to first understand what the movie is about. This movie is about an African American family during the summer of 1963. This family consists of the father (Daniel), mother (Wilona), their two sons Kenny and Byron and their daughter Joetta. The Watson family lives in Flint, Michigan, but decided to take a summer trip down to Birmingham to visit Wilonas’ mother. The planned trip was to get Byron, their juvenile delinquent son, to realize that he needs to get his act together. But as the weeks pass by in Birmingham, they realize how much they love Michigan and would rather be back at home. The character I would like to dissect, is their fifteen year old son Byron. To me, Byron was the only character that went through a major change over the summer of 1963. Byron showed characteristics and actions of how the Europeans used to treat African Americans, but as the movie progresses Byron starts to change and embrace his family and race more. In the beginning Byron was rebellious, unconsciously wanted to be white, and had a nonchalant attitude but then he changes and becomes comforting to his little brother Kenny.
In 'Ballad of Birmingham,' Dudley Randall illustrates a conflict between a child who wishes to march for civil rights and a mother who wishes only to protect her child. Much of this poem is read as dialogue between a mother and a child, a style which gives it an intimate tone and provides insight to the feelings of the characters. Throughout the poem the child is eager to go into Birmingham and march for freedom with the people there. The mother, on the other hand, is very adamant that the child should not go because it is dangerous. It is obvious that the child is concerned about the events surrounding the march and wants to be part of the movement. The child expresses these feelings in a way
In texts or videos, the theme is important in the text. In the text, “The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963” and the video, Birmingham Church bombing both have a similar theme. They both say that the bombing was bad,and is important in history. It's led to give more support to struggle for equality and end segregation and to lead to the civil rights act of 1964 and the voting Rights act.
I will analyze my subject (The Watsons Go to Birmingham) from the perspective of: race.
Personification is used to familiarise the readers’ senses with inanimate objects to induce the desired feelings. Exemplified in “my seasickness only angered the storm in my body,” the personification of seasickness helps the reader to better understand how it
In literature, authors use a certain image or collection of images in order to produce a particular effect, eliciting a response from the reader’s senses. Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” utilizes the imagery of the train station in order to produce the effect of transition between the characters, both in terms of physical location and emotional mindset. Much like Hemingway, James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” takes a similar approach, using Sonny’s passion for music to expose his deepest insecurities. Though their approaches are different, both authors use imagery to create a pathway to the character’s internal thoughts.
Many authors use the personification of inanimate objects to symbolize the feelings and expressions of their characters. One example of this is in John Cheever’s short story, "The Enormous Radio." Although critics argue that the characteristics of the radio are the opposite of those of Jim and Irene Westcott, the radio actually reflects the couple’s life.