The Children in the Classroom

The children in the classroom all exhibit similar behavior. Most of the time they reveal their inattentiveness. While the first boy is reading, they whisper among themselves instead of following along in the text. They also spend a lot of time staring at a paper puppet hanging at the front of the class. They apparently fear the teacher, as noted when they look toward the teacher and reveal "a vaguely questioning, or fearful, expression." As soon as the first boy stops reading, their attention immediately returns to the book.

First Boy

The first boy is one of three boys in the classroom to whom readers are introduced. At the beginning of the sketch, he reads aloud. As he is reading, he suggests that he is obedient as he has been following the teacher's rigid directions about pauses for punctuation. When the boy suddenly pauses...