illustrated close-up of Kenny Watson with fire in the background behind him

The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

by Christopher Paul Curtis

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Discussion Topic

Joetta's early departure from the church in "The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963"

Summary:

Joetta's early departure from the church in "The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963" is pivotal. She leaves because she feels overheated and uncomfortable in her new clothes, which ultimately saves her from the tragic bombing that occurs shortly after she exits.

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What caused Joetta to leave the church early in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963?

On the fateful Sunday of the bombing, Joetta is at the church for Sunday school. Kenny decides not to go to church, explaining that he woke up too late. In truth, he is still shaken up from the incident at Collier's Landing. He notes how hot the morning is already. It is this heat that likely saves Joetta's life.

When word spreads that the church has been bombed, the whole community flocks there in a panic, including Kenny. After surveying the damage and coming to the conclusion that his sister must be among the victims, Kenny returns home in a state of shock. As he despairs that he had not properly said goodbye to his sister or thanked her for saving him at Collier's Landing, Joetta comes into his room.

Joetta does not seem to be aware of what happened at the church. Kenny asks her where she has been. This is when she tells him that it was too hot to stay in the church. Instead, she left and went to the porch. She claims she saw Kenny waving to her and laughing and running down the street and she left to chase after him. Joetta remarks that he was wearing different clothes. Kenny is confused. He does not know what Joetta is talking about.

This is a strange occurrence. Joetta claims that it was Kenny that lured her away from the church. However, Kenny wasn't there. Byron explains that it must have been a part of Kenny that was there to save his sister. Kenny concludes that it must have been an angel.

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What caused Joetta to leave the church early in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963?

In chapter 14 of The Watsons Go To Birmingham, being too hot at church protects Joetta from the bomb. Since the novel is told to us from Kenny's point of view, he tells us about that Sunday and its events. He tells the reader that he knows it was a Sunday, because he saw Joey getting ready for church and remembers her dress, lacy socks, and shiny black shoes. That morning he is taking a nap in the backyard when the noise wakes him. Kenny hears from Byron that someone dropped a bomb on the church, so he runs to the church to see what happened. Once he arrives there, he sees the chaos and people everywhere. In horror, he sees a shiny black shoe just like the one she was wearing that morning. He believes the worst: that she is a victim of the bomb.

Kenny goes home and tries to remember how he treated her that morning. He doesn't believe it when he looks up and sees that Joey is alive. Once he realizes that she is alive, he explains what happened, and she explains that she had to leave the church early because she was too hot. She tells Kenny, “It was so hot in there that I went and stood on the porch and saw you."

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Why does Joetta leave the church in "The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963", and who saves her?

Kenny is horrified when Byron suddenly tells him that the church where their sister, Joey, is visiting has been bombed. After a moment of shock, he makes his way to the church to look for her.

When he arrives at the church, the scene is horrifying. There is smoke and dust everywhere, and it looks like a tornado has been inside the house of worship. Kenny catches a glimpse of someone who has died, and then he decides to walk back to Grandma Sands's house.

Suddenly, Joey is standing in front of Kenny and demands to know where everyone is. Kenny is baffled and asks her if she knows what has happened. Joey has no idea about the scene at the church and says that it got hot inside, so she had decided to go stand on the porch. Then she had seen Kenny, who waved at her from across the street. Joey had followed Kenny, who laughed and ran ahead of her.

Interestingly, this was before the bombing, and Kenny was nowhere near the church at that time. Later, Byron tells Kenny that he believes Kenny sent "a part of [himself] that took Joey outta that church." Because Joey believed she saw Kenny waving to her, she left the church before it was bombed and was therefore not injured. Even Byron, who doesn't believe in "magic" or "angels," believes that something incredible about Kenny's bond with Joey saved her on that day.

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