Antonio's School

Antonio begins school and must learn how to be independent from his mother who has taken care of him all his life. Learning to act by yourself is one way of growing up as a little kid. Not only is Antonio's school an example of loss of innocence, but also of growing up and learning to act like an adult. This connects to later in the book because Antonio is trying to figure himself out on his own.

“Today I would...trek into town for years and years of schooling. For the first time, I would be away from the protection of my mother. I was excited and sad about it.” (p.54)