Autobiography of My Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers
"Autobiography of My Dead Brother" by Walter Dean Myers is a poignant novel that explores the lives of two young African American boys, Jesse and Rise, who navigate the complexities of friendship, identity, and the dangers of their environment in Harlem. Although not siblings, the boys share a deep bond forged from childhood experiences and mutual support. The narrative opens with the funeral of a friend, highlighting the harsh realities of violence in their community, as one boy has fallen victim to a drive-by shooting.
As the story unfolds, themes of peer pressure and the struggle against gang culture emerge, particularly through the influences of their social club, the Counts. The characters grapple with choices that impact their futures, including Rise's turn towards drug dealing and Jesse's artistic aspirations. The novel also touches on the aspirations of the boys, with Jesse being an artist and C.J. pursuing music, reflecting Myers's own experiences and passions. Celebrated for its emotional depth and realistic portrayal of life in urban America, the novel received critical acclaim, including a nomination for a National Book Award, making it a significant work in young adult literature.
Autobiography of My Dead Brother by Walter Dean Myers
First published: 2005
Illustrations by Christopher Myers (1974- )
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: Early twenty-first century
Locale: Harlem, New York
Principal Characters:
Jesse , a promising fifteen-year-old African American visual artist, who is sad that he and his oldest friend Rise have grown apartRise , Jesse’s former best friend, whose decisions to deal drugs, wear flashy jewelry, and drop out of high school drive him away from JesseC. J. , Jesse’s current best friend, a budding jazz musician who plays the organ in Jesse’s churchSidney Rock , an African American police officer who grew up in Harlem and acts as a surrogate father to the boys in the neighborhoodMontgomery , also known asLittle Man , a fourteen-year-old African American boy whom neither Jesse nor Rise trusts and whom C. J. fearsMason , a nineteen-year-old African American man currently in jail
The Novel
The title of Autobiography of My Dead Brother refers to Rise, a young African American whose life is chronicled by his oldest friend, Jesse, through pictures and comic strips. Jesse and Rise are not literally brothers, but they grew up together. Rise’s grandmother babysat Jesse while Jesse’s parents were working. Neither child had siblings, and they became best friends. After watching an old movie about Native Americans on television, they cut themselves to exchange blood and became “blood brothers.”
The opening episode of the novel is a funeral for a fourteen-year-old African American, a friend of both Jesse and Rise. They attend the funeral, while their friend C. J. plays the organ. The deceased had been killed in a drive-by shooting, and the police do not have any suspects.
The next night Jesse, Rise, and C. J. attend a meeting of the Counts, a social club for teenage boys that meets at a local armory. They are not a gang, although one of the oldest members, Mason, has been trying to convince them to become one. Mason has recently been arrested and has asked the Counts to talk to the main witness against him in the hope of intimidating him into not testifying. Several of the members, including Rise, are in favor of the action and several, including C. J., are against it, so they table their decision. Jesse does not express an opinion.
Another item of business for the Counts is the admission of a new member, Montgomery, nicknamed Little Man, but they again table their decision until the next meeting. There is something about Little Man that bothers them. This scene introduces two significant elements of the novel: the pressures on the Counts to become a gang and Little Man, who reappears several times in the book and represents a random element that affects the other characters’ lives.
Later that night, Jesse goes to Rise’s house. They are listening to music when Sidney Rock, a police officer who grew up in their neighborhood, arrives to warn them against taking any action toward the witness in Mason’s case. A few days later, Sidney invites Jesse and Rise to visit the prison at Riker’s Island, New York, but he actually takes them to a halfway house to meet Mason. Mason does not really want to talk to them, but eventually Rise and Mason get into an argument over the leadership of the Counts. No resolution is reached.
Jesse, C. J., and some others decide to start a Cuban band. C. J. plays keyboard, Jesse plays the conga drum, and the others sing and play guitars. The band, called the Caballeros, later plays at a party for about twenty-five twelve-year-olds. The hosting parents are rich African Americans, but most of the guests are white. The band is a success, mostly because of C. J., and everyone can see that he has a future in music.
Rise becomes a drug dealer and is given a territory within Harlem. Although he never recruits Jesse and C. J. into his life of crime, he does use them to establish an alibi when his associates kill some young rivals. After the police hold him for a week as a suspect in that murder, he decides to leave New York for Florida.
The Characters
All three of the central characters contain autobiographical elements, but Rise is the one who the most resembles Walter Dean Myers as a teen. Rise has been skipping school, much as Myers did during his junior and senior years in high school. Myers never dealt drugs, but he had a close friend who made deliveries for a drug dealer. After a gang marked Myers for death and the police sought him in connection with an assault, Myers left Harlem for the relative safety of the U.S. Army when he was seventeen. Rise is also seventeen, but his plan for survival is to leave Harlem to live with relatives in Florida.
Jesse and C. J. resemble Myers in that they are passionate about their arts. Myers was a writer from a young age, and he started composing poetry when he was in the fifth grade. Jesse always carries his sketchbook with him and draws pictures of Rise from memory. He has also created a comic strip featuring the characters Spodi Roti and Wise. C. J. wants to become a jazz musician, although his mother would prefer that he specialize in church music and become a minister.
Critical Context
Autobiography of My Dead Brother was critically acclaimed when it was first published. It was nominated for a National Book Award in the Young People’s Literature category and was listed by the American Library Association as one of the Best Books for Young Adults in 2006. The only controversy among the reviewers concerned whether it ranked among Myers’s best work.
Bibliography
Bishop, Rudine Sims. Presenting Walter Dean Myers. Boston: Twayne, 1991. First book-length treatment of Myers’s life and work; argues that he is one of the most important young adult fiction authors of his time. Provides detailed analysis of his work up to 1990.
Burshtein, Karen. Walter Dean Myers. New York: Rosen, 2003. Study of Myers’s life and work; aimed at young adult readers with emphasis on how events in the author’s life generated ideas for his books.
Jordan, Denise M. Walter Dean Myers: Writer for Real Teens. Springfield, N.J.: Enslow, 1999. Biography of Myers and a critical study of his work. Written for young adult readers and meant to inspire young African Americans.
McElmeel, Sharon L. “A Profile: Walter Dean Myers.” Book Report 20, no. 2 (September/October, 2001): 42-45. Biographical essay that provides insight into Myers’s writing and life experience.
Myers, Walter Dean. Bad Boy: A Memoir. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. Myers’s autobiography concentrating on his childhood and teenage years.
Myers, Walter Dean. “An Interview with Walter Dean Myers.” Interview by Olumbunmi Ishola. World Literature Today 81, no. 3 (May/June, 2007): 63-65. Emphasizes Myers’s views on music; provides insight into his representation of C. J.’s musical ambitions.
Odean, Kathleen. “Football, Fire, and Fear: High School Boys.” Teacher Librarian 33, no. 4 (April, 2006): 23. This review of several young adult novels featuring teenage boys, including Autobiography of My Dead Brother, points out how Christopher Myers’s illustrations complement the story.
Patrick-Wexler, Diane. Walter Dean Myers. Austin, Tex.: Raintree-Steck Vaughn, 1996. Biography aimed at preteen readers that emphasizes Myers’s early life.
Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. Walter Dean Myers: A Literary Companion. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006. Organized alphabetically by topic, this analysis of Myers’s work includes a map of Harlem, a time line, and a genealogy of Myers’s main characters.