A Literary Analysis of Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez

The universal "growing pains" that all children experience in one form or another are easily recognized in Richard Rodriguezīs autobiographical excerpt from Hunger of Memory.

Rodriguezis 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 excerpt from the autobiography, he learns a great deal about Rodriguezis family and his relationship to it, his conflict of speaking English versus Spanish, and the paradox that became evident as he used English as his primary language.

Furthermore, the reader learns that Rodriguezis experiences have contributed to his beliefs that a bilingual education is harmful.

First of all, Richard Rodriguez came from a family where his parents had been born and raised in Mexico. After moving and settling in America, Rodriguezis parents gave birth to him and his siblings. Rodriguez refers many times to "los gringos", a colloquial, derogatory name charged with "bitterness and distrust" with which his father described English speaking Americans.

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This evidence made it apparent to the reader that definite animosity existed between his parents and the society around them.

Resultingly, assimilation into the American culture was not a very comfortable process for his parents. Despite this, the authors parents created a comfortable haven for him and his siblings in their adopted country. The author shares with the reader how close and tightly-knit his family was.

He describes in numerous instances the "special feeling of closeness" that he shared with his family.

He also mentions the fact that he used to feel a "desperate, urgent, intense" feeling of wanting to be home. Spending time at home, speaking his "personal" language of Spanish, and being with his family gave Rodriguez comfort and a feeling of safety that was not felt outside of his home.

Rodriguez was forced to leave that comfort and safety every morning though once he began attending school. The author describes hearing the cold, harsh sounds of the English language and wishing that his teachers would welcome him in Spanish, instead. The author explains that, as a child, he regarded Spanish as his own personal language. In his autobiography, at the young age of seven, he did not see himself as an American citizen like the other children in his class, and this discouraged him from readily learning English Ultimately, Rodriguez did learn to speak the public language. Some of the teachers at Rodriguezis school were concerned with his and his siblings unresponsiveness in class and their unwillingness to speak English. They spoke with his parents and suggested that speaking English at home would make an easier transition for the children rather than switching back and forth. It was not until later in his life that Rodriguez realized that his teachersl actions were ones to appreciate.

The conflict between speaking Spanish and speaking English had come to a head. No longer did Rodriguez hear the warm sounds of Spanish fill his house. Speaking English began to separate his family. As he and his siblings began speaking more and more English outside of the home, primarily at school, the parents had a more difficult time communicating with their children and, therefore, conversations became strained and less frequent. While his home life considerably changed, Rodriguezīs life at school became drastically different.

Previously reserved and unsure, Rodriguez became more confident. Speaking English made him more vocal in class and he had an easier time associating with the other children. Back at home, his mother started taking a more active role in the neighborhood. Rodriguezis father, however, became much more reserved around the family.

Rodriguez felt that his close-knit family ceased to exist as it once did when happy sounds of the Spanish language were so much a part of his home life. Conflicting with these negative feelings were the positive feelings that were beginning to stir in him of belonging somewhere other than home. For the first time in his life he began to feel that he was an American citizen, and he did have the right as well as the obligation to speak the public language.

An ironic paradox surfaced during this period of Rodriguezis childhood. As a young child he was very dependent on his family for reassurance, and speaking Spanish kept him and his family safe and sheltered while they were at home. In order for Rodriguez to grow and become independent, he had to assimilate into another way of life, the life of the English speaking American. Most concepts of independence and individuality do not include assimilation. In order for him, however, to become a participating and responsible member of society, Rodriguez had to put aside the pain from the loss of intimacy in his family and fulfill his obligation to communicate with the environment around him. Rodriguez further explains, " While one suffers a diminished sense of private individualism by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individualism" (39).

Rodriguez presents his story to the reader in order to speak out against support for bilingual education. In the beginning of the excerpt, Rodriguez explains, "Supporters of bilingual education today imply that students like me miss a great deal by not being taught in their familyos language. What they seem not to recognize that as a socially disadvantaged child... I needed to learn in school that I had the right-- and the obligation --to speak the public language." He goes on to say that "the bilinguists simplistically scorn the value and necessity of assimilation." Rodriguez does not leave much personal interpretation concerning his beliefs on this subject to the reader. Rather, he presents his memory and viewpoints, allowing the reader to make his or her own personal judgment regarding the issue. Rodriguez explains that "While one suffers a diminished sense of private individualism by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individualism" (39).

Finally, it was the contrast between the home and the school settings that gave the reader a very clear understanding of the authoris life experience. Through the technique of flashback, the author describes how the dichotomy that existed between his home identity and his social identity shaped the "public" individual that he had become. While the reader is subjected to only a short excerpt from Richard Rodriguezīs autobiography, he recognizes, specifically, that it was this inner core of the family setting that Rodriguez struggled with the trial of growing up as an American citizen. Without this family setting, he would not have confronted the same obstacles that influenced who he became; without the school setting he would never have grown beyond the sheltered life from which he came.