Friendship: The people we choose to surround ourselves with often play a huge role in determining the people we turn out to be. The Watsons Go to Birmingham displays this idea by contrasting the two brothers' choices of friends. Byron hangs around with Buphead, who exerts a terrible influence on him and encourages him to be a bully and a delinquent. Kenny, however, chooses to spend his time with Rufus, who unwittingly teaches Kenny a few very important life lessons. Kenny learns over the course of the novel that to be a friend means to stand by your friends and that, in the end, friendship is worth the effort.