Critical Analysis Summary Of Aria By Richard Rodriguez

Great Essays
Register to read the introduction… Ricardo describes his childhood as a child of Mexican immigrant parents studying in an English school in America, where he had problems in communicating at school because he did not know the “public language”, English. At first, he was shy and timid at school because he was feeling uncomfortable with English, but with his parents’ and teacher’s help he “raised his hand to volunteer an answer”, from that day he “moved very far from the disadvantaged child”(288). He then started feeling as an American citizen. Although Rodriguez admits that he lost the strong intimacy at home with his parents, he emphasizes that the “loss implies the gain”(291). Rodriguez supports his argument against bilingual education by using mainly the contrast technique in order for the readers to become more sensitive to his topic and argument

Richard’s entire essay is based on the contrast between “the loss” in private and “the gain” in public. By presenting those two opposed extremes, readers become more sensitive to his argument as his essay becomes more realistic.
In the part of the private loss, Ricardo faces problems at home, since he came to believe
…show more content…
Richard, most probably, associates the word childhood with his past, before he came to believe that he was an American citizen; a past where he had strong bonds with his parents, the feeling of security and other that they are his parents, Spanish united them. However, as he became less confident with his private identity, he started becoming increasingly confident of his new public identity because the belief that he belonged in public had taken

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    also uses the three traditional means of rhetorical persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos to create a sense of moralcharacter,appeals to the audience’s feelingsand add more logic to his work. The author, a native Spanish speaker strongly speaks out against bilingual education. His position is based on his belief that “language gets learned as it gets used” (467). In other words, the learners master the language as they talk with other people and interact with them.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The United States has rapidly conformed into a multiracial society. Bilingual individuals come to America in hopes to find equal rights and freedom and face discrimination by Americans. American values are forced upon these people and according to Tan and Anzaldua, a certain way of life is expected of them. The struggle of “fitting in” and accepting the cultural background is a major point in both essays, Mother Tongue by Amy Tan and How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua. Their experiences with the discrimination in the United States have given them they reason to stand against social inequality.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    During this essay, I will be discussing the differences between Gloria Anzaldua’s, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” and Richard Rodriguez’s, “ Aria”, as well as the similarities, to determine which one is a personal preference as an acceptable debate. Firstly, let’s go over the key details in each reading, starting with Gloria Arizaldua’s “ How to Tame a Wild Tongue.” This reading sort of threw me off in the beginning, but as you slowly and carefully read through it you gain its sense of purpose.…

    • 1176 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    is so far behind in advancements academically and socially. Every other country encourages and supports bilingual education. In each claim and argument Rodriguez presents there are harmful consequences that the reader takes away from them. He believes that one’s native language and the public language are unable to coincide, not based on research or statistics, merely based on his own personal experience with not being able to handle the two. The takeaway from this belief is that there should only be one language in America, the public language.…

    • 1405 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hispanic Stereotyping Many Hispanics come to America seeking a good life, amazing education, and the “American dream”. Many of these Hispanics are discriminated or assumed they are illegal immigrants that need to be deported. Many Latinos are seen as gang bangers, lazy, criminals, and Drug addicts. But they are so much more than that, and without them the U.S wouldn’t be as successful as it is today. Many people today discriminate Hispanics because of a lot of efforts to remove illegal immigrants.…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While Rodriguez speaks from his personal experience about bilingual education, his experience can not be extrapolated to all bilingual people. Espada’s arguments focus more on fairness and justice for bilingual people as a…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Amy Tan Comparison

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Assignment 3 Comparison Although Richard Rodriguez and Amy Tan both had a distinct perception of the importance of their intimate family language, they both had the same similarities of facing the struggles they perceived society required of them which was learning the English language. Both Tan and Rodriguez faced these struggles at different points of their lives and had to manage whether they would let the English language conflict with their family’s language. They are fighting to identify whom they want to be in society and whether they want to maintain their roots and language of their culture or adapt to where they now reside. Aside from their differences the similarities they both shared with each other was significant due to them being in the same position and deciding whether they wanted to…

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Richard Rodriguez in his is personal narrative “Aria” gives the reader his perspective of learning English while being a native Spanish speaker. As a child he attended a monolingual school. He was told that by not speaking Spanish at home he would be able to quickly develop his English. Rodriguez attributes much of his success in life to this event of learning English, which is why he is against bilingual education. “The Pros of Bilingual Education” by Stephen Krashen challenges Rodriguez’s stance by stating the positive impact that bilingual education has on students, and how bilingual education gives students an educational advantage compared to those without it.…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Universally, bilingualism is know as the speaking of two or more languages fluently. However, bilingualism has a far deeper meaning. I believe that bilingualism is the combination of two or more cultures and their languages into one’s life, and that it is the ability to communicate with a variety of people, not just people from one’s own countries. Throughout their essays, essayists Rodriguez and Espada develop different definitions of bilingualism.…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Puerto Rico Research Paper

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The United States won control over Puerto Rico in 1898 after the Spanish-American War was over, Spain had surrendered the remainder of its overseas colonial empire to the United States. Even though Puerto Ricans were not considered citizens of the United States till 1917 with the Jones Act some say that “Puerto Ricans have been ‘born in the U.S.A’ since 1898.” (Nieto, 515) Once the United States had control over Puerto Rico, they had to decide the relationship with them and in 1952 they establish the status as a commonwealth. Puerto Rico gained its own Constitution and although they can organize their local government how they want to, Congress power over the U.S territory did not change or decreased. Once this relationship was established…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bless Me Ultima Analysis

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the book Bless Me, Ultima Antonio encounters many conflicts throughout his journey with Ultima such as evil spirits, brujas(witches), and religious devotion. One of the most significant conflicts was between English and Spanish speaking students at school. Another serious struggle was the clash between the two different lifestyles of the Marez blood and the Luna blood within his family. When Antonio starts school, he soon discovers a major struggle that will be there for most of his life.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “Hunger Of Memory”, Rodriguez wrote an admirable prologue in which he introduced himself. An introduction, not only built by his past but also by the common misconceptions from his surroundings. In the prologue, I noticed how Rodriguez exposed numerous signs of rejection from such categorisations. To provide an example; the author stated that “There are those in White America who would anoint me to play out for them some drama of ancestral reconciliation” (3).…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Quintana Thesis

    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In the beginning of his paper he stated his fear of being unable to effectively communicate even though he spoke English well. This fear was realized when he desperately struggled in his classes and failed to confidently verbalize his thoughts in English to the people he met. He was also afraid that “the Americans” would not accept him because he was from Mexico. This foreshadowing event turned out to be unfounded since he was quickly accepted by those around him.…

    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Therefore, he wisely covers both pro and anti bilingualism interests with the previously explained system of counterargument-argument. In this way, he gives his audience a significant amount of what it needs. Moreover, Fallows provides simple and clear cases to unfold his ideas. For instance, he uses the "it is like having two children" (260) explanation of bilingualism to keep it simple and fulfill the audience needs while being effective. Thus, the author is aware of his audience's traits, which allows him to address them…

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis: Positivity of Bilingual Education Bilingual education has positively affected foreign children with their overall lives. Kenneth Jost’s, Harvard College and Georgetown University Law Center alumni, article, “Bilingual Education vs. English Immersion” is about the positive significance of bilingual education in public schools. Jeff Bale’s, a language education professor at Michigan State University, article, “Bilingual Education is the Best Approach for English Language Learners” also explains why this type of education is effective for foreign students. Together, both of these authors provide an effective argument with the use of reasoning, credibility, and emotion, but also include logical fallacies. Jost’s and Bale’s…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays