Education In Richard Rodriguez's The Hunger Of Memory

With all the negative thoughts and feelings about his family, Rodriguez never took the time to repair his relationship with him and his family, because books were very important to him than his family. As Rodriguez begin to separate from his family and culture, his Spanish accent also begin to disappear, which he felt very excited. In the beginning of his article he talked about the first day, he enters the class and could “barely able to speak English” (239). Rodriguez felt that he did not fit in with the rest

This is revealed when Rodriguez, now an adult, was reading Richard Hoggart’s The Uses of Literacy when the idea of the scholarship boy is presented. Hoggart presents that “…the scholarship boy must move between environments, his home and the classroom, which are at cultural extremes, opposed. With his family, the boy has the intense pleasure of intimacy, the family’s consolation in feeling public alienation.” (Rodriguez 15-22) Rodriguez had no problem separating his home life from his school life, as he was too embarrassed to talk about his family due to their broken English. He admired his teachers, spending hours in their rooms, even when he did not have to. It was not until Rodriguez discovers Hoggart’s description of the “Scholarship Boy” that he realizes that he is not alone in his feelings and there are others like him. Rodriguez states, “…For the first time I realized that there were other students like me, and so I was able to frame the meaning of my academic success, its consequent price—the loss.” (Rodriguez 15-22) He then recognizes that his family is in fact very proud of him, despite their

Richard Rodriguez had faced a lot of problems that most students in America do not have to deal with. Richard had to deal with parents that couldn’t help him in school and wanting to be successful academically. He had become embarrassed of his background and where he came from and did not want to embrace his culture.

In the excerpt from The Hunger of Memory Rodriguez faced adversity early on in his life. As a little kid he described himself to be a “socially disadvantaged” child (Rodriguez 1). This was due to the “...extreme public alienation” he and his family faced (Rodriguez 1). Being Native American in today's society makes one stick out like a sore thumb. Discrimination is still very much alive today. Assimilating what it’s like to be any race other than caucasian is a task that we are too inadequate to imagine. Following a passion will in some cases require losing things in return. Instead of pursuing a regular job Rodriguez stuck to writing. When he began this book the “...words wouldn’t come” (Rodriguez 2). The money ran dry and he was “...forced to take temporary jobs” (Rodriguez 2). This sacrifice proved to be nothing to him as writing was his life. His choice to persevere subsequently led him to towns such New York, Los Angeles, and even a cocktail party in Bel Air! With all this being said his works eventually led to non-existent relationship with his parents. This really affects Rodriguez emotionally as he says “the separation I endure with my parents is a loss” (Rodriguez 2). His parents ridiculed his decisions and that ultimately led to the absent relationship.

In his essay, “The Achievement of Desire,” Richard Rodriguez informs readers that he was a scholarship boy throughout his educational career. He uses his own personal experiences, as well as Richard Hoggart’s definition of the “scholarship boy,” to describe himself as someone who constantly struggles with balancing his life between family and education, and ends up on the side of education. In recognizing himself as a “scholarship boy,” he shows that he has gained what sociologist C. Wright Mills terms the “sociological imagination,” which “enables its possessor to understand the larger

This separation from his family caused a longing in his life. But this longing was superseded by what he suspected his teachers could give him. Rodriguez develops a double personality of sorts. The person he is at home, the polite child who lovingly does what his parents ask of him. And then the academic persona he

Many are quick to disregard education’s role outside of the classroom. According to Mike Rose, “a good education helps us make sense of the world and find our way in it” (Rose 33). Rose emphasizes the value in the experience of education beyond the value of education for the purpose of custom or intelligence; he explores the purpose of going to school in terms of how he defines himself and his personal growth in the stages of his academic career. By reflecting on his personal experiences and how those gave him the tools applicable to his daily life, he emphasizes why education should never be overlooked. Rose’s use of referencing relatable experiences in a logical manner makes his argument persuasive to the readers and he succeeds in making the readers reconsider why education matters to them. Mike Rose’s Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us effectively persuades his audience of the importance of education beyond the classroom, which proves true in our everyday lives because the essential aspect of education is what we do with it and how it helps develop one’s personal growth.

As Rodriguez became more involved with his academics he drifted further away from his family. The intimacy once shared between them was disappearing. “He takes his first step toward academic success, away from his family.”. His family also understood the importance of education, as his siblings did well in school, but were never “so anxious about their schooling”. Upon making sure that her children learned English, Rodriguez’s mother would tell them to maintain their Spanish. This was obviously a hint to the children to remember their culture. While soaking in all his academics, Rodriguez intentionally abandons his culture. He makes it obvious that he wants nothing to do with his heritage by imitating the accents and diction of his teachers. He also doesn’t participate in family gatherings, which is evident when he tells us, “Nights when relatives visited and the front rooms were warmed by Spanish sounds, I slipped quietly out of the house”. Rodriguez actually uses his academics to move further away from his culture. He believes that being educated in academics will truly make him successful, and “like his teachers”.

The repeated exposure to different concepts helped to improve his understanding of the language. This is when Rodriguez would become assimilated to American culture. As he grew up, these practices allowed him to have increased opportunities to earn degrees from Stanford and Columbia University. Moreover, he spent time in London as a Fulbright Scholar. This is showing how assimilation is a critical factor for anyone to take advantage of the opportunities available in society. (London, 2009)

In Richard Rodriguez’s “The Achievement of Desire,” he compares himself to author Richard Hoggart’s “scholarship boy,” the type of student anyone can become. The “scholarship boy” is “anxious and eager to learn,” but is overbearing in his ways of learning and conveying knowledge (Rodriguez 534). Born as a son of two Mexican immigrants, Rodriguez quickly detached his life at school from his life at home. Hoggart helped Rodriguez to see near the end of his education exactly how harmful this type of lifestyle would become for Rodriguez’s learning. In my own experience, and specifically in my four years of high school, I tried my best to avoid being a “scholarship boy,” because that would prove detrimental to myself in relationships, my education, and my health and wholeness.

Rodriguez begins to actively distance himself from his family and heritage. On nights when the house is filled with Spanish speaking relatives, he leaves the house as a way of breaking the connection. He begins to imitate his teachers? accents and use their diction. As time goes on, he desires more solitude. Again, this is all normal according to Hoggart. ?He has to be more and more alone, if he is going to get on?the boy has to cut himself off,? (47). This is exactly what Rodriguez does; he chooses his education and the classroom over his

In ‘Miseducating the Young’, David Brooks uses metaphors along with life expectation of growing up and questions that propose how society is able to prepare the next generation for their future in a way for them to navigate everything life throws towards them. David Brooks talks about how college students are left to figure out their life the moment after they receive their diplomas. Brooks continues to mention about how children are placed into school for years and years becoming book smart, but students are not receiving meaningful tactics on how to prepare for their future in the real world.

In his essay “The Achievement of Desire,” Richard Rodriguez has certain ways of speaking and caring. In particular, he focuses on his education and his family. These two will eventually clash and interfere with each other. Rodriguez contrasts school, family, teachers and most importantly himself. He also tells us how left his childhood and family for education, but when he wanted to return he couldn’t fully do so. He learned he couldn't fully return due to his conforming to education that leads him to observe and analyze everything.

Richard became resentful to his parents when they could not help him with school work which only pushed him to read more and more and pushed his family’s bond even farther away. He slowly became embarrassed at his family’s lack of education. He was ashamed when they had a difficult time to speak English in public. Throughout all this a small part of him was still grateful of their support towards him and the way they wanted him to succeed. His parents sent him to a school totally out of their economic abilities because they wanted to provide him with the best education possible. After he graduated from high school he was accepted into various colleges like Stanford and later went to Columbia and Berkeley for graduate school. Throughout his life he always struggled with the way he was labeled as a minority. A life changing event for Rodriguez was in 1967 when African American civil right leaders worked together to bring attention to the poor education African American students were receiving, and how due to this they weren’t adequately prepared for college. This brought a light to Hispanic- American activists they complain as well that there were not enough Hispanic students attending college and concluded that it was because of racism and the way society had them labeled as a minority group. Soon after this he was offered various offers for academic

As Rodriguez grows into an intellectual student, there is an apparent shift of authority in his life. He found himself to be ashamed his parents and instead yearned to be like his educated teachers. He notes, “I was not proud of my mother and father. I was embarrassed by their lack of education” (Rodriguez 538). In his early school years, Rodriguez often compared himself to his other classmates. American children have educated parents who can help with homework, Rodriguez does not have this relationship with his parents. For example, when trying to