The Achievement Of Desire Summary

Great Essays
Richard Rodriguez’s article, “The Achievement of Desire,” is a dynamic piece about many hardships Rodriguez faces while growing up in a working class family that is very different from him. Rodriguez’s parents worked as laborers, an occupation that made it very difficult to live off of. With this idea in mind, Rodriguez learned to push himself to the top of the class when it came to school. Rodriguez’s had a strong desire to learn, which led Rodriguez to learn at higher levels, foreign to the rest of his family. Rodriguez quickly surpassed his parent’s knowledge and became more and more independent as he got older.
Rodriguez eventually embarks in college and starts to lose connection with his family. Ultimately, Rodriguez decides “he cannot afford to admire his parents”
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Ever since I can remember, my dad has pounded the idea in my head that life must revolve around school. My dad is a commercial lender (grants loans to businesses), so all he has ever known is education. He thinks that the only way to success is through rigorous reading, writing, and a college education. On the other hand, there is me. To be fair, I value education, but in a different way than that of my dad. I value a balanced education. I value an education in which a person can pump out a solid five-page paper, but at the same time fix the lawnmower if it breaks down. I have always been strong in school, but even better when working with my hands in mechanical situations. If there was ever a problem, I was always the “Mr. Fix-It” and everyone would count on me to fix whatever needed fixing. For example, I was changing oil on my dad’s truck and he came out and yelled at me to go write my paper, instead of maintain his truck. My dad has absolutely no mechanical background, meaning he does not value the skills I possess. Since we are two different types of people, this creates conflict between us while at

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