Richard Rodriguezs Autobiography Hunger of Memory Essay

Richard Rodriguezs Autobiography Hunger of Memory There exists in the majority of people a schism between their public lives and their private lives. People should desire to have their public selves match their private selves as closely as possible. A rift between the two causes nothing but pain and suffering for everyone around those people and places a heavy burden on the spirit of the ones responsible. Trust and honesty are essential to our society and the truth should be complimentary, not earned. Richard Rodriguez, a writer and public speaker, expertly illustrates his own experience with this type of double life in his autobiography, Hunger of Memory. In the last section of Hunger of Memory â€Å"Mr. Secrets†, Rodriguez paints†¦show more content†¦They have now been included in that deceitful little game called human interaction. It does not have to be that way; the truth can set them free. Rodriguez’s mother asks of him, â€Å"Why do you need to tell the gringos about how divided you feel from the family?† (Rodriguez 175). She doesn’t think it right that he so freely presents the family’s private life. Why does she feel some things should remain private? What is she afraid of? Perhaps a better question is: what is she ashamed of? Rodriguez’s mother obviously feels self-conscious about certain aspects of their family life or she would not be uncomfortable with sharing the details. This cultural withdrawal, as each family pulls away from their neighbors, is one of the leading causes of the modern exclusivist viewpoint that is becoming all too common. This isolationist attitude is one of the primary causes of today’s crime rate. Rodriguez states that his â€Å"mother must use a high pitched tone of voice when she addresses people that are not relatives† (177). This demonstrates that strangers, even sons/daughters-in-law were never included in the same group as relatives. Imagine how trying that would be for a young fiancà ©e that desperately wanted to feel like part of the family but never could? Later, Rodriguez’s mother asks what Psychiatry is. His answer involves Freud, analysis, and clinically trained listeners to which she replies, â€Å"You mean that people tell a psychiatrist about their personal lives?† (183). WouldShow MoreRelatedEssay on Richard Rodriguezs Hunger of Memory1116 Words   |  5 PagesRichard Rodriguezs Hunger of Memory The universal quot;growing painsquot; that all children experience in one form or another are easily recognized in Richard Rodriguez’s autobiographical excerpt from Hunger of Memory. Rodriguez’s childhood was particularly unique given the fact that while he was born and raised in the United States, he was strongly influenced in the ethnic environment of a Spanish family. Although the reader is introduced to only a short excerptRead MoreSummary of the Book Hunger of Memory and Response to It.1124 Words   |  5 Pagesshould be complimentary, not earned. Richard Rodriguez, a writer and public speaker, expertly illustrates his own experience with this type of double life in his autobiography, Hunger of Memory. In the last section of Hunger of Memory Mr. Secrets, Rodriguez paints an intimate portrait of his parents distinction between public and private life. He starts this by mentioning his mothers disapproval over the inclusion of private family issues in his autobiography. Rodriguez continues to show theRead MoreHunger of Memory Essay595 Words   |  3 PagesIn Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez situates his individual experiences with education in such a way as to expose what he sees as the fallacious logic behind bilingual education and affirmative action. He uses arguments to propagate the systematic problems with such programs. His autobiography explains in great detail the entangling problems all American children face by instituting bilingual programs and affirmative action endorsements. Bilingual education offers a completely different worldRead MoreAnalysis of Hunger of Memory and Self Essay1031 Words   |  5 PagesWhile I read The Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, there were tons of ideas that struck me. It was very interesting because so many of the different parts could relate to my life. Also, given his story, its so interesting to me that he is against bilingual education, having benefited from it in his own life. To me, it places the book in a different light as I read it. This book is a narrative and it is telling in how his opinions were formed because the experiences thatRead MoreHunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez: Book Critique1725 Words   |  7 Pagesfollowing review of Richard Rodriguez’s book titled â€Å"Hunger of Memory,† shows the author’s smart way of writing an autobiography. The book is conformed in six well explained essays of Rodriguez’s life placed together, all in order to show the rea der the different outcomes during his life as a middle class Mexican-American. The author wrote this autobiography on 1982, in where he explains the moments that he and his family went by during their immigration inside the United States. Richard Rodriguez startedRead MoreHunger Of Memory : The Education Of Richard Rodriguez1818 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez is a six chapter book that reads more like a collection of essays than an autobiography. It is written by Richard Rodriguez, a Mexican American author, analyst, educational commentator and intellectual. A large part of his personal treatise is his reflections and dissection of â€Å"contemporary education† and its meaning to a Hispanic American child growing up in the 1950s. It is unusual that a young person would write his own autobiography, butRead MoreHunger of Memory2061 Words   |  9 PagesHunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodrà ­guez Hunger of Memory is an autobiography of the writer Richard Rodrà ­guez and his transition from youth to manhood told through a series of recollected stories. The premise of his writing was centered mainly on his struggle to maintain both his Mexican heritage and closeness to his Spanish-speaking family, while at the same time being assimilated into American culture and obtaining an advanced education. Within the book Richard Rodrà ­guezRead MoreAnalysis Of Richard Rodriguez s Hunger Of Memory 1591 Words   |  7 Pagesor she can become successful. In Hunger of Memory, Richard Rodriguez told the story of how education allowed him to change from a boy who was â€Å"...able to understand some fifty stray English words†(9) to a scholar working in the British Museum. Obviously, Rodriguez appreciates the doors that education opened for him over the course of his life, but his autobiography reveals a dark side to the pursuit of higher education in America. Over the course of his autobiography, he admits that the more time heRead MoreHunger Of Memory By Richard Rodriquez1268 Words   |  6 Pagesface once on American soil. Anything from racial discrimination or bias at work, in neighborhoods, at school, etc., can all be challenges that people encounter when making a move to the U.S. Such challenges are described by Richard Rodriquez in his autobiography Hunger of Memory. In this passage, he explains how cultural differences between Mexican and American ways of life have shaped him into the person that he is today. He also chooses to highlights the problems that he faces growing up in a predominatelyRead MoreMini Task # 3. For This Mini Task, I Chose To Work On A1340 Words   |  6 PagesMini Task # 3 For this Mini Task, I chose to work on a review of the book Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez by Richard Rodriguez. It was very appealing to me do this review this book. When I open the dedication, I feel a lot of emotions, Rodriguez says: â€Å"She tells people, her neighbors, that I am ‘a PhD professor’ [emphasis from the author] I am doing some writing, she explains†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . These first sentences reminded my mother in Ecuador, who does not miss any opportunity to tell people