comment on theme

The children of the migrant families are seldom able to consistently attend school, but the Narrator’s father insists that the Narrator attend as much as possible. While the father won’t go inside with the Narrator on his first day, he encourages the boy to be brave. This is evidence of the father’s own insecurities about being in the school building. It is likely at the heart of the reason the father wants a better life for his son. The father believes the Narrator might grow up to have a job that is better and easier than the farm work done by most of the adults he knows. His pride in the Narrator’s education is evident by the fact that the Narrator is asked to read aloud each time his godfather comes to visit.