What are three major conflicts in "The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963"?

One of the conflicts in the story is Kenny's difficulty with social adjustment. He has a lazy eye which makes him look different, and is very intelligent, a characteristic which does not endear him to his peers when he is held up as an example of academic excellence to other students. Kenny's only friend has turned out to be a thief, and he has trouble finding acceptance both with his classmates and his siblings.

Another very serious conflict in the story is Kenny's brother Byron's rebellious behavior. Byron is thirteen, and intent on being "an official juvenile delinquent". He is insolent and disobedient, hanging around with the wrong crowd, skipping school, starting fires, and straightening his hair in direct defiance of his parents' wishes. Byron's behavior is beyond his family's capablity to handle, and his parents, at wits end, decide to remove him from his familiar environment and leave him with his formidable Grandma Sands in Birmingham, Alabama for awhile to see if she can get him to modify his behavior.

A final conflict is Kenny's inability to come to terms with two terrifying experiences he has in Birmingham. Kenny almost drowns in the "Wool Pooh", and witnesses the aftermath of the tragic bombing of a black Christian Church. It takes the love and understanding of his entire family, even Byron, to help him work through his trauma and live life in health and normalcy once again.

What are the main conflicts between characters in The Watsons Go to Birmingham?

Kenny and Byron exhibit fairly typical sibling conflicts for much of the novel. Most of this is propelled by Byron, whom Kenny classifies as a juvenile delinquent. Byron spits a mouthful of snow in Kenny's face as a joke and verbally insults him throughout the book. However, Byron doesn't allow other people to pick on Kenny, and when Larry Dunn steals Kenny's gloves, Byron humiliates him in front of an entire group of kids.

For the most part, everyone is protective of Joey, but Byron does scare her into compliance with putting on her layers of winter gear. When Joey balks at the coats because they are "too hot," Byron tells her that she has enough Southern blood (because of Momma) that she'll freeze up and be stuffed into a garbage truck like many other dead Southerners which the trucks pick have to up along the roads each morning. Though she is terrified by Byron's warnings, Joey does comply with her clothing.

Byron also finds himself in conflict with his parents several times because of his "juvenile delinquent" behavior. When Momma catches him lighting little army men on fire and parachuting them into the toilet, she gets so angry that she threatens to burn him herself. When Byron comes home with a horrendous haircut, their father finishes the job by shaving his head.

Kenny's most significant conflict is with his buddy Rufus, who is poor. One day when kids on the bus are picking on Rufus because of his clothing, Kenny makes the mistake of laughing at Rufus along with the rest of the group. He immediately realizes this is a poor decision and can't even explain why he did it, but Rufus is understandably hurt, and Kenny works to make amends.

Of course, the main conflict is that the family travels to Birmingham, Alabama just before the historical church bombing that kills four little African American girls in 1963. The background of racism isn't verbalized as a primary conflict throughout most of the book, but the Watsons find themselves in conflict with society as the book ends.

What are two conflicts Byron faces in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963?

The biggest conflict Byron faces is with himself. An immature young man—forever getting into trouble of one kind or another—he really needs to grow up. That's why Byron's folks drop him off at his Grandmas Sands's place. They're sure that the old lady will straighten him out.

Byron's trouble-making ways inevitably put him in conflict with other people, especially with other members of his family. He behaves cruelly toward his brother Kenny, trying to make him dizzy and punching him in the arm for no good reason. Byron clearly has a real problem with relating to other people as well as to animals—as Byron shows by knocking a bird stone dead with rock hard cookie.

Yet somehow, due to his experiences of life in Birmingham, Byron's manages to overcome his inner conflicts. Byron's selfless act of bravery in saving Kenny from the whirlpool shows how much empathy he's developed. His experience of the terrible church bombing also inspired him to be less selfish. By the end of the book, Byron has matured considerably, emerging as a much more responsible young man than he was at the start.