In an otherwise unremarkable September morning, long before I learned to be ashamed of my mother, she takes my hand and we set off down New Jersey Avenue to begin my very first day of school.
In “The First Day” by Edward P. Jones, what stood out to me most was the first sentence – specifically the phrase “long before I learned to be ashamed of my mother.” This, in particular, struck me as interesting because of the perspective childrem have of their parents when they are younger in comparion to the view they have as adults. I remember looking at my own mother when I was five and thinking that she did not have a single flaw. As I got older I found this to be not only unrealistic but also untrue. In the story, the reader sees the mother through the child’s eyes. We witness the childs dificulity with grasping something that is potentially embarrassing for both herself and her mother: the mothers inability to read. I would assume that this is the first flaw that the young girl is seeing in her mother, and that it is the start of other flaws coming to light down the road. While the narrator does display some shame for her mother, there is also a sense of pride for her. To see her mother handling a dificuilty with such fierceness can do nothing but create pride for her. You can tell that the daughter loves her mother even more for the experience.