Comparing The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 and My Brother Sam Is Dead
In the novels The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis and My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, two young boys are faced with the challenge of learning the moral and ethical codes that will shape their futures. Kenny Watson and Tim Meeker live in very different times, but they face events that complicate their lives. Though one boy learns his morals through playful encounters and the other is forced to educate himself during a war, the conclusion of each story shows that both characters have successfully found sets of rules to follow.
Kenny has to learn what is morally right through playful incidents. When Byron, his older brother, plays pranks and repeatedly disobeys rules, Kenny notices the disappointment on his parents' faces. Even though Kenny knows that the path his brother chooses to take is not wise, he views this as the adventurous way of life, and he is torn between becoming a shadow of his brother, who always seems to be having fun, or being the good, orderly son.
Tim Meeker is forced to choose either the Tory side or the Rebel side of the Revolutionary War, and from there, he has to defend his beliefs and opi...
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...st to see whether being like Byron is the right way to go, Kenny takes a swim in a dangerous body of water, which is something that even Byron would not have attempted. As a result, Kenny comes close to drowning, and he needs the assistance of his older brother to get himself out of the life-threatening situation. From then on, Kenny decides to take the path that his parents had arranged for him. Both in similar situations but facing different obstacles, Tim and Kenny finally establish strong minds that could tell the difference between right and wrong. These codes would later guide them through difficult quandaries and dilemmas.
The narrator whose name is unknown finds out that his brother Sonny was incarcerated for the use of and dealing heroin, raised in a society where being afraid of fear is constantly affecting both of their life’s in turmoil. “He was frightening me a little” (Baldwin 19). Fear shaped the older brother in becoming an Algebra teacher, endeavoring to save his younger brother from a lifestyle of street habits, influence specifically on drug abuse. According to the narrator, he expects Sonny to follow his footsteps in finishing an education because “If you don’t finish school now, you’re going to be sorry later that you didn’t” (Baldwin 20), in addition the narrator describes the life of Sonny “weird and disordered” (Baldwin 21). The narrator uses his fear to form a communication with his brother, however Sonny’s decision of freedom in becoming a professional musician, and escaping misfortunate moments is not in communion. Thus, Sonny feels neglected by his older brother’s expectations and judgments based on his own future. “I think people ...
The clip ‘Trouble with Evan’ narrates the struggle of a boy named Evan that puts his stepdad Mike and his mother Karen through stress because of his ill manners. Despite him being at a tender age of 11 years and in 6th grade, his mannerism is worrying because he is already engaging in morally unacceptable activities such as shoplifting, smoking, and gross disobedience, bullying other children and even stealing from his parents. Therefore, this puts his parents under severe psychological stress as they try to figure where their parenting is going wrong in a bid together to make him grow morally upright (Henning, 2016). Evan’s behavior was also straining his relationship with his parents and this stressed the parents as they tried to figure out different ways in which they could once again improve their relationship with their son. In addition, the clip revolves around trying to uncover the mystery as to what could be causing Evan’s unacceptable behavior.
Throughout the story, the narrator learns how important it is to Sonny for him to care and listen to him. Sonny is vulnerable and in a state where he is getting into trouble with drugs and alcohol perhaps because he feels as though no one cares enough to help him. The narrator lives his life as a teacher while Sonny spends his days using drugs hoping someday to pursue his dreams of music. Both characters end up in a place they are meant to be; acting as family and leaning on each other for support, which is the true importance of an older brother.
The main characters of this novel are Ralph, Jack, Simon, and Piggy. Ralph, who represents civilizing instinct, is elected as the leader of the group of the boys and tries to promote harmony among themselves. Even though he seeks to lead the group and defeats Jack in the election, he doesn’t try to dominate people. Rather, he focuses on the group’s common interest of being rescued. For example, he gives responsibility to the hunters to keep a signal fire while he tries to make a shelter. Unlike Ralph, Jack would like to dominate people. This is especially evident once he becomes the leader of the hunters on the island. He tends to show the other boys how strong and brave he is while expressing his dominance over them. By the end of the novel, Jack usurps Ralph to become the general leader, in which position he shows how barbaric and cruel he can be.
Government distrust, vaccine effectiveness, and unknown long-term side effects are a few reasons why military members should refuse to take the vaccine. Violations of human rights and religious beliefs can also present a conflict. Unfortunately, military members have few rights when subjected to direct orders. However, until further research has been completed, and all issues resolved, many members will continue to challenge those orders. It becomes a question of how much right does the military have to place suspicious chemicals into a service member’s body. Time will only tell if the military will be responsible for the damage caused to the lives of 2.4 million service members.
Now , in order to be employed, qualifications do not always matter as much as the color of a
The older brother, the narrator, finds himself struggling at the beginning of the story. While riding the subway, he reads in the paper that Sonny has been arrested for possession of drugs. During his day of teaching, he reflects on prior years with Sonny and their past adventures as young boys. He remembers Sonny's "wonderfully direct brown eyes, and great gentleness and privacy." The narrator sees his brother as a good boy, not "hard or evil or disrespectful." He wonders how many of his algebra students are similar to Sonny in appearance and personality along with his drug habits. This comparison allows the older brother to conclude that Sonny was probably not arrested on his initial use of drugs. It also allows the narrator is see that Sonny may be like most of the other young boys in Harlem.
The book The watsons go to birmingham 1963 by paul curtice is about an african american family that takes a trip from flint, michigan to birmingham in the 60s while facing racism and meeting their grandmother. The book deals with racism with humor but is mostly focused on the meaning and importance of family. A movie was made based on the book. The movie is called The Watsons Go to Birmingham. In the movie segregation and racism is more emphasized than in the book. The book is focused on the importance of family and friendship.
The narrator allows Sonny to move into his apartment. By allowing Sonny to live with him he has allowed to trust him again. For example, the narrator explains, “The idea of searching Sonny’s room made me still. I scarcely dared to admit to myself what I’d be searching for. I didn’t know what I’d do if I found it. Or if I didn’t” (pg. 91). This shows how the narrator had the opportunity to search his brother’s room, but had the ability not to. Tension grew among brothers while living under one roof. This starts the climax of both arguing in the apartment. The narrator doesn’t understand why his brother wants to be a musician. This argument was built of emotion both had and not yet discussed among each other. Such as the narrator expressing his anger towards his brother’s drug use and Sonny’s frustration towards the narrator not understanding his plan to become a jazz musician. For example, the narrator states, “I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time or forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence – so long! – when he had needed human speech to help him” (pg.94). The argument with his brother made him realize that he abandon his younger brother when he needed him the most. He realized that if he would have spoken out and talk about his drug use that he wouldn’t have to go
Overall school violence is one the most concerning problem we face currently. Steps have been taken to decrease school violence, but there is much more than can be done. Everyone just needs to work together to help reduce the number or violent crimes our students are committing every day. If we don’t then we’re only adding to the crime by not intervening and allowing it to happen. The violence needs to stop, and it’s not going to stop on its own.
... got to the woods where Kenny wanted to hunt. Tub was trying for somewhere different; two years in a row they'd been up and down this land and hadn't seen a thing. Frank didn't care one way or another, he just wanted to get out of the goddamned truck" (Wolff 76). Kenny is in charge. He gives only one reason why they have to hunt at that place and the other two give up. Tub wants to make a change. He puts himself out there by making a suggestion to Kenny and is immediately shot down. Frank is indifferent. He is a product of his surroundings. He is cruel to Tub when he is with Kenny. When he is with Tub he is himself. The unspoken bond between the two men spurs the realization not to take Kenny to the hospital. The both make the decision that Kenny was asking to be shot the whole day. Kenny's treatment of Tub and Frank justify his murder in their eyes.
One argument against affirmative action is that it leads to reverse discrimination. Affirmative action is a preferential system set up for the benefit of minorities, if two equally qualified candidate...
...verything” (Hurst 1). The brother only cared about himself and having fun, and did not think about the affect his actions had on Doodle. The brother decides to “teach him [Doodle] to run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight” (Hurst 3). Readers can begin to infer that the brother’s careless actions will later lead to serious injury or the death of Doodle.
1. Cook, Richard. Jonathan Swift as a Tory Pamphleteer. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 1967.
In a society with a vast array of different beliefs and mediums through which these beliefs are presented, children can get lost in an overwhelming sea of influential ideas and concepts not necessarily intended for their eyes and ears. Character education is a concept that calls for teachers and school curriculums to guide students in learning what Edward F. DeRoche and Mary M. Williams (2001, p. 25) described as “core values held sacred by a democratic society.” Parents are generally considered the teachers of morals, but if values like sharing, compassion, and honesty are never enforced or addressed outside the home, these values may never be established as a stable foundation in the child’s mind. Character education’s purpose is to help children choose to be well-mannered, stable, cooperative individuals. Character education is not in every school system, but its support is growing along with the amount of research evidence increasing in its favor (Viadero, 2003). The teaching of values in education has evolved into character education, and today there are different studies, designs, and resources for character education programs in schools to foster moral growth and citizenship in children.