Analysis Of Edward P. Jones's Short Story 'Old Girls'

I wouldn’t consider school a second home even though it did take up a majority of my life. Remembering of a place that meant so much to me was hard because I’ve only known so much. The place that came to mind is a place that I would have never thought of revisiting because once I left I never looked back. It may sound silly to think that a middle school can be such a dangerous and gut-wrenching place, but that is how I felt back in the seventh grade in 2007. Edward P. Jones and his short story “Old boys Old girls” highlights Caesar Matthews as someone who had to struggle with change, losing friends and nearly dying while making a home for himself at Lorton’s prison. Jones also characterizes Pancho Morrison as the vulnerable repenting
I on the other hand struggled with making friends, fitting in, and just adjusting to this new class. Caesar was influenced by Cathedral and Multrey to force Pancho Morrison into giving up his bottom bunk as a way of showing dominance and letting “him know who rules”(Cathedral, 77). Similar to how they convinced Caesar I was also convinced by my friend Gabe to bully a Chinese boy named Sam. I don’t blame my friend as much as I blame myself for carrying out all the verbal and physical abuse that we caused him. I can’t remember if I did it to seem cooler in front of Gabe or to show how tough I can be, but all I know is that I would regret it later on. During History class my teacher called out Gabe and me to report to the dean’s office. As we were leaving my teacher held the door open with the look of disgust and shame, I already knew what this was about, considering Sam wasn’t in the room. I was considered one of his better students and he would never look at me the same. The dean didn’t call our parents. Instead he had us apologize to Sam and gave us a warning that if either one of us continued harassing Sam that he would get the cops involved. I could try and play the “I was just a kid” card, but I knew what I was doing just like Caesar did when he assaulted Pancho. Ever since that
Besides being exposed to the reality of drugs, alcohol, sex, gangs, and racism I can also relate myself to Pancho Morrison when Jones mentions how “though he could have got up he stayed there, silent and still.” I was actually bullied myself by a couple of people throughout my two years in this class. I remember this one time I was sitting at my desk when all of a sudden I felt arms around my neck and my breathing rapidly decreasing. I was turning red, and struggling to breath. The guy flung me to the ground. I stood up and looked at who it was and noticed immediately that this kid was untouchable. He had an older brother with a terrifying reputation and his friends along side with him laughing like the guards as they watched Pancho give in. The kid was shorter than Gabe and I knew I could do nothing because his friends had already had a bad reputation for harming other students. So like Pancho I didn’t say a word and I knew my place and got back to whatever it was that I was doing. There was another individual Mark, who used to slingshot paper with rubber bands, fling the rubber bands themselves in the position of a gun with one end of the rubber band behind your thumb and the other end below your pinky. He was the worst. He would act like a friend and the minute you turn your back he slaps you in the back of the neck. He would