School Days is the story of a little boy, brought up in the colonial era in Fort-de-France, Martinique. The story portrays different childhood adventures of the writer Patrick Chamoiseau. According to the novel, in the colonial period, there is a discriminatory mindset of superiority complexion. The system of the deliverance of knowledge in the colonial period is limited in scope. The modernity of any civilization is not being judged appropriately.
Every character in the story plays a significant role." The little boy" is the protagonist of the story. He is curious about learning new things. He is a Creole language speaker. His mother is a caring and warm-hearted woman. She wants to fulfill every wish of her children. The little boy's teacher presumes himself as a missionary who has a responsibility to educate native uncivilized society. He believes in the French model of the deliverance of education. The Director of the school never talks to children but to punish them for their mistake.
The story is written from the third person's viewpoint. The story starts with the little boy's excitement to go to school as his elder siblings go. First, he attends nursery school. Here, the teacher is kind and helps the little boy to feel comfortable. He feels good to learn new things. The little boys' curiosity for learning is going to be satisfied here. He makes new friends and makes his life much more entertaining than the previous one.
Later, he attends real school. Here, his experiences are different. This school is not on the line for which he is expected. The teacher has inappropriate behavior against Creole students. Students are being harassed in front of the class. Students are being taught the French language which is practically very difficult for the students of Creole civilization background. On the other hand, the little boy enjoys playing with friends. A special break for drinking milk is also an adventurous time for the little boy in school. Ultimately, his sensible approach to read a lot and rewrite the stories through his imagination helps him to become a good writer.
The native culture of Creole people has become subordinate to the French rule. It shows the subjugation of identity of Creole people in the colonial period. No student is allowed to communicate in their mother tongue in the school. The self-identity of Creole people and the glory of their ancient culture have been given no importance. The teacher always expresses that Europeans are a superior race. The little boy is unable to understand how his culture is inferior to the French civilization. Cultural differences, preoccupation in the human mind, problems with the system of the deliverance of knowledge, class discrimination have been expressed in the story.
