The most memorable thing about Edward P. Jones “My First Day” is the narration. Despite the story being mainly about a mother trying her best to provide her daughter an education, the story is in the point of view of her daughter, written when the daughter was grown up, but from the memories of when the daughter was five. 

The choice of narrator has some interesting effects. Given that the mother is the main character, not being able to hear her thoughts would normally limit the depth of the story. Indeed, the story leaves some ambiguity regarding the mother’s motives and past experiences. In exchange we hear the thoughts and perspective of the five year old daughter. Like most young children, the daughter focuses on miscellaneous objects that ultimately don’t matter. The notebooks she and another girl had, the jewelry that the receptionist is wearing, her favorite shoes. Yet these details are important for setting the imagery, and for helping the reader understand the perspective the story is being told through: the daughter that does not quite understand what is happening to her,but still has a sense of its importance that she conveys to the reader. 

Another interesting point of subtlety that results from this narration is the ethnicity of the mother and daughter. While not explicitly stated, it seems both the daughter and the mother are African American. The hairstyle the mother chose for the daughter, the comments about the Ebony magazine, and maybe even the weird stare that the girl next to the receptionist gave all point towards that fact. Ethnicity and race actually matter here as it gives more weight to the struggle that the mother is going through. Combined with the fact that the mother was illiterate, when a quick google search reveals that illiteracy rate was only 2.4% in people over the age of 14 in 1960(around the time the story takes place), the story suggests that the mother lacked the educational opportunity that she wish she had, and that she seems to be trying to provide for her daughter.