Analysis Of Richard Rodriguez's The Hunger Of Memory

In this reading it follows the life of a man by the name of Richard Rodriguez who is the son of Mexican-American immigrants. In the Hunger of Memory he discusses significant social issues that amount from his family and the world around him. This illustrates the change from Spanish to English upon beginning school and assimilating to the culture around him. He experiences his first recollection of language when he attends a Catholic Elementary School in Sacramento, California. He is astounded at the realization of adopting the public language that is English, while having learned Spanish, he is becoming educated as a public person with a public language. “But then there was Spanish. Espanol: the language that seemed to me a private language” (Page 15). This quote shows how at a young age he didn’t look at Spanish as a public language like …show more content…
The Americanization had alienated his family because they were not as close as they once were, Richard’s identity was misplaced and lost. He would later mature and gain a different identity, an American one not a gringo. He has found his place in society, his individuality fully achieved. He had realized that no matter how different he looked or talked, his education and knowledge erased the prejudice. Now, as a public person, he can defend himself and his rights, which leads him to finally embrace who he is. Richard could now live comfortably knowing he can seek full rights and opportunities necessary for a public individual in society. I can’t necessarily relate to Rodriguez directly, but I can relate in how it was difficult for him to found out who he was as an individual. He felt alienated because of his skin color and ethnic background, I myself have felt that way at my high school. Going to a predominantly African-American school I was an minority and felt out of place. I was uncomfortable but glad I experienced it because I learned