Alexsis Arvelo, Jones Critique

Edward P. Jones “The First Day” follows the story of a little girl beginning her first day of school at the age of five years old. Throughout this piece several details are provided that I found to be unnecessary. While reading this I found myself wondering “what is the point of this?” I kept waiting for something big or important to happen but it never did, which was disappointing. At the very end of this reading when the little girl recalls her mother telling her to listen to the teacher and not go anywhere I felt there was something the mother was hiding. One quote specifically stood out to me which is when the author stated “ And even when the teacher turns me toward the classroom and I hear what must be the singing and talking of all the children in the world, I can still hear my mother’s footsteps above it all.” After reading that sentence I got the feeling the mother wouldn’t be coming back, especially because she had brought so much paperwork to enroll her daughter in school. I thought it was interesting the way the author worded this sentence because it was almost as if I could hear the mother’s footsteps walking away. Overall, I struggled understanding the purpose of this text and wish I knew why this day was so significant for the little girl. I also wish I had an answer as to why the mother wanted her daughter to go to one specific school so badly.