Can you provide an essay outline on the character Byron?
At eNotes, we cannot write an essay or complete an assignment for you. Instead, we can act as a resource to help understand the material and set up you up for success with your assignments. Instead of offering a complete essay on the character of Byron, I will help craft a thesis statement that will give you an idea of the essay as a whole, so that you can tweak it and incorporate supporting information from the text to argue the point throughout the three paragraphs.
Because of Byron’s bullying nature, an accurate thesis statement would have to take a stab at what his motivations and intentions are so that you can understand him as a well-rounded character. To that end, an appropriate thesis statement might read as follows:
Byron is a strong-willed and intimidating individual, even for a child. He wishes to be seen as strong and independent, but...
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he cares deeply about his family. You can see this dichotomy in the numerous delinquent actions he takes, his paradoxical but frequent protection of his younger siblings, and his constant conflict with authority figures.
Using those three sections, you can craft each paragraph of the body by finding supporting evidence to strengthen the claims about Byron. You can adjust the thesis statement as needed to find something with which you relate more, but this is a good starting point.
How can I write an essay about the character Byron?
If you're writing a character analysis on Byron, it's important to note that he is a dynamic character—maybe more so than any other character in the novel. When the plot begins, Kenny refers to his brother only as a "juvenile delinquent," which pretty much fits his antics. He gets his mouth frozen to the mirror on the car, he comes home with a haircut so bad that Dad "repairs" it by shaving his head, and he terrifies sweet Joey by telling her that if she doesn't wear her winter clothes she'll end up as one of the many frozen bodies stuffed into the back of a garbage truck. At the beginning of the story, Byron doesn't seem to assimilate like the other family members, lacking their sensitivity and possessing a rather dark sense of humor.
Near the end, things change Byron. When Kenny almost drowns, it is Byron who fishes him out of the water and his reaction is different from what we'd expect near the beginning of the book:
Byron dropped me on the ground right on top of all the water and junk that I’d thrown up. I knew he was going to make a stupid joke about me landing face-first in all that mess but he didn’t, he just wrapped his arms around my shoulders real tight and put his mouth right on top of my head! Byron was shaking like he was getting electrocuted and crying like a baby and kissing the top of my head over and over!
Byron seems transformed by nearly losing Kenny, and he is quite emotional in the aftermath. Within a week, he fears he's lost Joey in the church bombing, and as soon as he hears the news, Byron bolts into action:
“A guy just came by and said somebody dropped a bomb on Joey’s church.” And he was gone, exploding out of the front door trying to zip up his pants at the same time he ran off the porch.
When Kenny has a hard time processing the violence, it is Byron who is finally able to reach him and help him begin to move forward in life.
Byron shows evidence of great maturation as the novel progresses, and he is perhaps a reminder that everyone is capable of goodness and the capacity for change.