Plot summary

In Paris, early-teen Antoine Doinel always seems to be in trouble. He has a short attention span and is easily distracted, which leads to him doing poorly in school. Some of his problems stem from his home life with his mother, Gilberte Doinel, and his stepfather, Julien Doinel, who is the only father he has ever known as Gilberte and Julien married when Antoine was an infant. When Julien and Gilberte aren't working, they leave Antoine alone to fend for himself. And even when they are home, they are often arguing and their parenting is inconsistent, leading to Antoine having no clear boundaries. On the most part, Antoine truly believes that his mother does not love him. Those issues for which he is blamed are not always his fault, and many of his contemporaries just don't get caught as often as Antoine seems to get caught. Even when Antoine tries to do the right thing, he often is not given credit for his efforts, or his efforts lead to a bad result. The former issue is especially prevalent at school, where his teachers just believe that his school work will not be worth a passing grade. In general, punishments have been ineffective in curbing his behavior as he just rebels more against them. Antoine is often supported and/or egged on in his activities by his best friend René, who often skips school with him. Unless something drastic changes in Antoine's life, he is destined down a path that will lead to nothing good, which is more problematic as he gets older.—Huggo