The first day by edward p jones answers

Doucet

Essay # 1: Analysis and Interpretation of Short Fiction (MLA documentation style)
Write a 4 to 5 page, typed and double-spaced essay that discusses the causes and the effects of Paul’s compulsion to ride his rocking-horse in “The Rocking-Horse Winner.” What commentary might the story make on life in the modern world? Use specific evidence from the text to support your claims.

OR

Write a 4 to 5 page essay, typed and double-spaced that discusses the epiphanies or lack of epiphanies of the principal characters in “The Lesson,” or “The Conversion of the Jews.” If these characters have epiphanies, at what insights do they arrive about themselves, the human condition and/or the world? Use evidence from the text to support your claims.

OR
Write a 4 to 5 page essay, typed and double spaced, discussing the how the author’s choice of the child’s point of view helps communicate the central themes in the story “The First Day.” How does the narrator’s point of view help the reader recognize and understand the themes? Use specific examples from the texts to support your claims.

OR
In “My Singular Irene,” Irene is dis-empowered and silenced. In a 4 to 5 page essay, typed and double-spaced, discuss how the character can be considered a symbol of modern oppression and triumph over oppression. What does the story say about the human need for personal freedom and the need for companionship? Use specific examples from the text to support your claims.

OR

Write a 4 to 5 page essay that discusses Bak Goong’s sojourn in Hawaii in terms of a heroic quest in “The Great Grandfather of the Sandalwood Mountains.” What is the object of his quest, and does he achieve it? What character traits mark him as heroic? What other elements make the narrative like a heroic quest? Use specific passages from the text to support your claims.

Ahram Kim

Doucet Wilfred

English 2 #2017

23 October 2015

The First Day
Child’s Point of View in the First Day by Edward P. Jones

“The First Day” is a short story by Edward P Jones that makes use of a child’s perspective in development of the story and the themes. This is an interesting story based on the first line by the child which is intended to capture the attention of the audience. The short story is created with an intention of using the first person position of a child to indicate their perception about people, the hopes that parents have for their children and the guilt that one has at times when ashamed by their parents. And the excerpt reads “before I learned to be ashamed of my mother” (Jones, 2015) which hooks any reader to the story.

The main idea is to show the theme of innocence in a child. Children in general are innocent and do not have certain untamed guilt in what they have. When people grow up there are those who are quite ashamed of their mothers and would not want to move around with them and that is what the author starts up the story with. The fact that her mother did not know how to read and write did not disturb her any bit, this is because she was still young and had not yet learnt how to get ashamed about her mother. This could not be the case if she could have been a little older. This is a strategy by the author to show how children are innocent and naïve when it comes to things that concern adolescents and young adults.

The author creates the theme of abandonment at the first day in school. The lines by the child are quite simple but evoke powerful emotions that can be associated to the theme. The child is able to elaborate the dichotomy that exists between as child and the mother through the words he uses. The abandonment is elaborated by the echoing footsteps of the mother. “She passes through the doors and I can still hear the sound of her footsteps” (Jones, 2015).

There is a connection between a mother and a child which is elaborated in this short story. The use of the child is indicative of what mothers can be able to do in order to ensure that the children are comfortable and happy. The narrator’s mother while preparing her for her first day in school, she puts in much efforts as well as time to ensure that the daughter would appear superb when she gets to school. “My mother has uncharacteristically spent nearly an hour on my hair that morning” (Jones, 2010). The mother understands that the child is about to start a new challenge in life, and this can be made possible through getting the child new slip and underwear. This is a simple statement that is used by the child but it has a huge significant meaning behind it.

It is the concern of the mother to take the child to school in the first day and then to come back and pick the child. “I’ll be back to pick you up at twelve o’clock, I don’t want you to go anywhere”. The child has exhibited the connection that exists between a mother and a child as the relation is so connected that at one point they are able to play together. “I touch her lips and press them together. It is an old game between us”.

The childhood perception of people is importantly indicated in the short story. At one point the narrator and her mother meets a child whose mother is deceased and the child has a longing look at the narrator’s mother. It is a longing look showing that the girl is missing her late mother. The narrator has a different perception as a child and stares at the child, “Don’t stare, you know better than that”, her mother said. This is an indication of how mothers teach their children certain mannerism and they expect them to adhere to the rules that have been set (Wilson, 2007).

Parents have hopes for their children and that is why they send them to the best schools where they believe that their children must be able to gather the best of knowledge which will enable them to be better people in life. “I want her to go here, if I had wanted her to go somewhere else I would have taken her there”. The mother is a woman who is uneducated but has got good intentions for the child, she is well meaning and that is why she takes her to a wrong district school which she believes is the best for the daughter. The mother does not feel embarrassed by the fact that she cannot fill the forms. Her concern is that she takes the child to school and enable her to get that education that she needs.

Most authors while coming up with a story that whose theme is touching on issues that happen in the society, they tend to make use of people who are seen to have less impact in the society. There are authors who have used mad men to pass a message, they have also used drunkards too, but this author in particularly takes back years from a grown woman and uses her to write the story which is rich in thematic expressions. The child narrator has helped the author show certain stylistic devices that could not have been expressed through other characters. “Plaiting and replaiting so that my scalp tingles”. This is a stylistic device that can only be applied in the child’s context as it did happen by the author. The fact that the author wanted to describe the environment could not seem realistic if it was done by a grown woman, so the author took several years back and it did work out so well for him. “Each twisted into an uncommon sturdiness, will last until I go to bed that night”, this is an indication of the fact that things that are seen by kids during the day forms the largest part of their illusion during the night.

Narrators’ point of view in helping the reader understand the theme

Firstly the narrator describes of the situation in home where the child is being prepared by the mother in so to go school. The narrator tries to show how determined the girl is where he elaborates that she is assembling a pencil, sharpener and other learning items. Additionally, the description of how the girl doesn’t feel hungry show the excitement she has on hearing she is joining school.

Secondly the narrator talks of the first school, which is next to their church at home, it was a missed opportunity since the mother could not be able to read and fill the admission form (Ford& Sills, 2005). This seems further to be a challenge to the girl where the mother cannot write or read. It is helping the author demonstrate how much the mother valued education and wants the best for her she doesn’t want the girl to have the same fate as her.

Additionally, I believe the author aimed at showing the relevance of the first day in school. Therefore, this could have been a good way to ensure that the kid remained focused in school in order to become enlightened. This is one way of challenging learners to be cautious in school and not to take everything they learn for granted.

A child has many parents as s/he grows and this is also well shown where the girl is introduced to the new teacher. It implies that they will be spending many hours together in order to be formed and hence she has to respect her. The mother has entrusted the teacher with the responsibility of seeing the daughter maintains discipline as she grows and become intelligent. Immediately after the teacher introduced herself, the mother left and was to return later to pick the girl. It also helps to show that as young children grow they are mentored by several people so as to become responsible people in the future.

Work Cited

Jones, E. (2015). Edward P. Jones – The First Day. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from http://genius.com/Edward-p-jones-the-first-day-annotated

Wilson, K. (2007). Short stories for students: Presenting analysis, context, and criticism on commonly studied short stories. Detroit: Gale.