The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

Chapter 4 Summary: 4. Froze-Up Southern Folks

Momma makes Kenny and Joey wear an excessive number of clothing layers, worried that they will get sick from the cold. At school, Kenny helps Joey out of her coat, boots, and extra layers. He feels that the extra clothing is unnecessary and complains to Byron about it. Byron tells Kenny and Joey that people freeze to death in Flint every day, and the garbage trucks haul the frozen bodies away each morning. Byron says that since Kenny and Joey have a parent with Southern blood, they are at risk.

Kenny receives two pairs of leather gloves each winter. If he loses the first pair, Momma attaches the second pair to the sleeves of his jacket with string. Since Rufus does not have gloves, Kenny gives his first pair to him. Kenny’s second pair of gloves are stolen from his jacket during school. While Larry Dunn is rolling Kenny and Rufus in the snow, they notice that Larry is wearing Kenny’s gloves, but has tried to dye them black with shoe polish. When Kenny tells Byron, Byron drags Kenny to where Larry is harassing other kids. Byron beats on Larry and gives the gloves back to Kenny. Byron then tells Kenny to punch Larry, but Kenny does not want to. Byron makes Larry run into a chain link fence over and over, while the other kids make fun of Larry’s lack of winter clothes and the holes in his shoes. Kenny feels bad for Larry and wishes he had not told Byron about the gloves in the first place.

Summary: Chapter 4

The theme of family is once again explored through the challenges presented to the Watsons by Michigan’s frigid winters. Byron’s story about the garbage trucks hauling away frozen bodies is significant because it demonstrates Byron’s influence over and ability to manipulate his younger brother and sister while highlighting his intention to protect them. The manipulative and frightening delivery of Byron’s story exemplifies a familiar power dynamic between older, more informed children and their naïve younger siblings. Both Kenny and Joey look up to Byron even though he frequently teases them. In this instance, his influence proves effective when Joey finally stops complaining about wearing many layers of winter clothes. Although Byron’s story frightens his siblings, particularly Joey, it also emphasizes their close family bond and the trust they have in one another. Ultimately, Byron tells the story to protect his siblings’ well-being because he knows it’s important for them to stay warm.

The story of Kenny and Joey’s frustration with wearing so many layers juxtaposed with Rufus not having gloves at all provide an an impetus for Kenny to mature as he begins to understand poverty. Though the Watsons aren’t wealthy and have to be careful about how they spend their money, they have what they need, particularly warm winter clothes. Kenny’s growing awareness that some children have what they need and others do not is an example of his growing awareness of class and poverty. This compels him to share one of his two pairs of gloves with Rufus. Similarly, after realizing that Larry has stolen his last pair of gloves, Kenny is able to understand that Larry may have taken them because he needed them. That, along with the beating Larry gets from Byron, leaves Kenny feeling sorry for Larry even though Larry stole from him. These two vignettes demonstrate Kenny’s enormous capacity for empathy as well as his growing awareness of inequities in the world around him.

Previous section Chapters 2 & 3 Next section Chapters 5 & 6