The First Day

Hvis du skal lave en analyse af novellen “The First Day” (1992) af Edward P. Jones fra lærebogen Texting - 1st Year Fiction (s. 50), så er denne study guide det helt rigtige værktøj for dig. Her dækker vi alle de væsentligste analytiske elementer i novellen og giver dig det store overblik over indhold, opbygning, karakterer og temaer.

Edward P. Jones (1950-) er en amerikansk novelle- og romanforfatter. Hans mest kendte litterære værk er romanen The Known World, for hvilken han blev belønnet med Pulitzer-prisen i 2004.

Uddrag

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Symbols

The gardenia perfume, which is “the last present my father gave her [mother] before he disappeared into memory” (p. 51, ll. 18-20), symbolizes the narrator’s connection with the past. At the narrator’s insistence, the mother dabs a little of it behind her ears. This suggests the narrator’s wish to hang on to her own, familiar world by having something of her family with her when she goes out into the unknown. The woman who greets her at Seaton is “enveloped in a perfume that I only know is not gardenia” (p. 52, l. 9), which suggests that she represents a new, entirely different world.

Seaton Elementary School represents an ideal which is out-of-reach for someone of the narrator's social status. This is supported by the narrator’s mother’s insistence that she should attend Seaton (p. 52, ll. 19-23). However, that ideal remains unattainable, as symbolized by the “closing gate” (p. 52, l. 27), which makes the mother admit defeat. The closing gate also symbolizes a missed opportunity.