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daughter’s personality? It seems clear that she appreciates the clothes and shoes she
1
gets to wear because they are new — in fact, the sadness she experiences when one
of her new shoes gets nicked conveys how important they are to her. These details
reveal that new clothing is not an everyday experience for the daughter, and perhaps
they provide some insight into what she values about appearances: clothing shows
the world who we are and influences how others see us. This attention to
appearances also extends to the world around her — her fearful response to the paper
strewn across the floor at her new school contrasts with others’ apparent lack of
awareness or concern.
Analyzing Short Fiction
Similarly, the mother values money, or at least the security it can bring, whether in
the form of proper clothing, adequate school supplies, or access to services and
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opportunities. Finally, the way both mother and daughter interact indicates the close
relationship they have. From her recognition of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church as her
mother’s “rock,” we know the daughter has a keen sense of what matters to her mom
and, therefore, what should matter to her. Her insistence on wearing her mother’s
perfume — which she must trust is behind her ears because she cannot smell it — also
shows how the daughter’s sense of who she is rests in large part with what her mother
thinks and does.
Character Development
Authors can develop characterization either directly or indirectly. Direct characterization
DIFFERENTIATION occurs when a narrator explicitly describes the background, motivation, temperament,
Scaffolding or appearance of a character. While “The First Day” provides few details about
the physical descriptions of the characters, there are some details that serve to
Provide students with a list of directly characterize the daughter. In two instances, she refers directly to her
characterization words. Then, ask them own “whining” (pars. 1 and 2). In the first, the daughter explains that her mother
to characterize themselves using direct
characterization in a paragraph that gives in to her requests to wear some of her mother’s perfume. In the second,
includes a claim (the characterization word) she wants to take supplies given to her by the neighbors to school even though
and evidence from their own lives. Ask her mother believes they are unnecessary. The daughter also tells us directly
students to share with a partner. she cares so much for Miss Mary and Miss Blondelle that “the
®
AP TIP women are as precious to [her] as [her] mother and sisters”
(par. 2).
While main characters are
®
often great subjects for AP Indirect characterization occurs when an author requires the
Prose Fiction Analysis audience to infer what a character is like through what the character
Essays, don’t forget to says, does, or thinks, or what others say about the character.
consider minor characters. Edward P. Jones uses indirect characterization in “The First Day” to
If you can identify enough
evidence to sustain a line emphasize how perceptive the daughter is of other peoples’ shifting
of reasoning about a minor attitudes without the daughter explicitly telling us about her ability.
character, your essay is For example, the daughter perceives her mother’s reluctance to
more likely to have a fresh, believe the staff member at Seaton Elementary who insists her
original voice.
daughter has to go to Walker-Jones, and the daughter also notices
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DIFFERENTIATION
Scaffolding
Provide students with a list of characterization
words. Then, ask them to pull three or four
items from their purse or backpack. Ask
them to find a partner who may not know
them very well, and ask that partner to infer
something based on those objects alone.
Each student will share their objects.

6 chapter 1 / Analyzing Short Fiction

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