Point of View

“Fifth Grade Autobiography,” as the title suggests, is written from a first-person perspective. The word “autobiography” literally means a story of oneself, and so the speaker, a fifth-grade student, is telling their own story. The opening phrase “I was four in this photograph” (Line 1) quickly establishes the speaker, the setting, and the distance between them and the moment they’re describing. Despite the first-person narrative, the voice is relatively objective; they describe the elements of a scene with little emotional filter. Even phrases like “I am staring jealously” (Line 17) are delivered with objectivity; the speaker is saying, “this is what happened.” The reader is left to infer the speaker’s true feelings through their attention to detail.

Language and Meaning

The language in “Fifth Grade Autobiography” is clear, straightforward, and objective. In the poem, the speaker is describing an image from their childhood. They don...