Hello! I am working on a discussion for Literature. I have to answer a question about "The First Day" By ______ ______. Idk if anyone's read it, so here's a quick summary: The story begins with a girl and her mother walking to school. When they get there, the people at the school won't let her join. So then they go to a different school and the girl is accepted. Then the mother leaves.
The question is "Why does the narrator say that the story takes place “long before I learned to be ashamed of my mother”?"
Do any of you know why the narrator (The girl) would say that? I am completely confused because it never mentioned why she would've been ashamed. I also think I only read an excerpt? I don't know. Can someone help?
I suspect there are hints in clothes, or something related.
Reminds me when I was a chlld, black kids were not allowed to go to "white" schools"
read the piece: it could be religion, culture, or something else.
I know this is like a year later but this is for anyone who saw this and is also confused. In the story, her mother says that she's illiterate/can't read or write. That is a big factor when answering this because her mom is ashamed of it and people treated her different depending on who they are. Also, if you read this from the book the roundtable there is a picture that's black and white and it shows the little girl and her mom are POC. (people of color) But the reason she was not accepted to the first school was because she did not live in a area close enough to the school so they did not accept her. I do not think that this story takes place when there was a bigger divide in races to where you had to be a certain color to be able to do something or go somewhere.
Also, I read this story in the book "Roundtable" for lesson 1 unit 3 of the GT Literature Study.
Omg I just realized I forgot to fill in the lines I made for the author's name! It's Edward P. Jones. I forgot the name, and forgot to look it up and fill them in before I posted it! 😥😁
Ohhhhhh That makes more sense! One of my thoughts was that it might be that, but didn't want to just assume the character's race, as it did not specify! Thank you!
I just finished rereading before I asked the question. It didn't specify. Like I said, it might be an excerpt?
Based on the information provided, it seems you are referring to the story "The First Day" by Edward P. Jones. In this story, the narrator is a young girl who is starting school. The line you mentioned, "long before I learned to be ashamed of my mother," suggests that at some point later in her life, the narrator began to feel ashamed of her mother. However, the story itself doesn't explicitly explain the reason behind this shame. It is possible that the full story gives more context or background information that sheds light on this, but since you mentioned it might be an excerpt, this explanation might not be provided in the portion you read.
To further understand the narrator's statement and explore the reasons behind her eventual shame, you might need to read the complete story or find additional analysis or criticism on "The First Day" by Edward P. Jones. Reading the full story or researching reputable sources can provide more insight into the character development and themes explored in the narrative, helping you understand why the narrator feels ashamed of her mother later in life.