Richard Rodriguez Hunger Of Memory Analysis

When Rodriguez was a child his mother always told him to not write in the books so that the books could be sold at the end of the school year. He would go to school and come to the realization that reading was the central activity of the class. There would be signs all over the wall encouraging students to read. As Rodriguez would listen to the constant lectures of reading will help you learn, he got lost in all the words as he began to read. Rodriguez did not understand words, sentences, paragraphs or even pages at a time. He would have to look the meaning of the words up to fully comprehend the meaning of the book.

“How Reading Changed My Life” is the book from where the piece of fragment that we read was taken. This book was written by Anna Quindlen. I was able to relate to Quindlen’s perspective and strongly agree with her. Although children have more extra time to read their favorite books over and over again, adults were children and if they liked to re-read books in the past because the book was in their interest, they will also reread their favorite novel in the present.

The representation of New York City is different for everyone. Despite sharing the same city, no two people will experience it the same way. This is proven in the texts of The Colossus of New York, “Goodbye to All That,” and “Here is New York,” by Colson Whitehead, Joan Didion, and E. B. White respectfully. While all three authors have their own point of views about New York, they do manage to use some similar elements to express their knowledge of city while still having differences. All three authors use imagery to create a mental picture of what is being read. However, Whitehead uses satire, Didion uses the literary device of hyperbole, and White uses cacophonous words, to write about New York in a way that is

In his essay, Rodriguez shows all four characteristics of expressive writing which are self-definition, emotional responses, the expression of values, and subjective language. Rodriguez defines himself as someone who struggles with the validity of reading and learning to read. He states books were “unquestioned”. Rodriguez asked, “What was the connection between reading and learning? (172)? “Did one learn something only by reading it .“(172) He was made to think he should value books as a friend when he found reading a “chore”. Still, he values the opinion of others and “basked in the praise” by reading for academic approval. His narration of learning to enjoy reading is an emotional roller coaster from the loneliness of reading to the pleasurable joy he learned through experience. Thus the title of the book makes sense,

In Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire, Abbey readily argues for the beauty of the desert and for its complexity, yet simple life. Abbey clearly states that his purpose for writing this book is not for the mere purpose of making a guide book to the beautiful Arches National Park in Utah, but rather a eulogy to the dying wilderness of the desert, due to the spread of the commercialism. Similar to Henry David Thoreau, a renowned environmental essayist in the 1840s, Abbey believes in removing oneself from the life the metropolis lifestyle and secluding oneself in the wilderness of nature and relishing its simplicity of life.

Elliott J. Gorn’s The Manly Art is a unique book that tells readers the origins of boxing in American culture. The book was published in 1986 by Cornell University Press, the book discussed the development of boxing and American society. Gorn takes sport history, a commonly misunderstood and misinterpreted topic and wrote a book that not only was easy to read but allowed readers to gain knowledge on the sport. Gorn says “To understand prize fighting, I have discovered, is necessarily to understand something about nineteenth-century America. Ideology, ethnicity, social class formation, violence, urbanization, gender roles, religious world views, productive relationships, all are a part of sports history in general and boxing in particular.” (Gorn, pg. 12)

My memories are blurry. They are fragments of disjointed moments, without a linear narrative. I remember reading. It was in Mrs. Davidson first grade class. My reading proficiency skills were very poor, the English language still thick and unnatural on my tongue. While some of the other students took a Gifted class, I had to take a remedial course—English Learners (EL)— just so that I could hold onto the edge. I remember reading. I had a hard copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar in my little hands, reciting only the first page of the book from memory. The classroom was dark; the stream of sunlight filtering through the windows served as our only illumination. The rest of the words on the book looked like a mess of jumbled letters. I couldn’t make out anything other than the words “the” and “and.” I remember enthusiastically pointing out my “fluency” to my teacher, seemingly applauding my menial abilities: “The catpater at droo!” (The caterpillar ate through). In the first-grade, my free time was spread sporadically between watching The Little Mermaid, catching ugly black crickets and pretending that I was Sailor Moon, guardian of the galaxy. In the first grade, I was not at all concerned with words, literacy and books. In the first grade, I did not know the power that words hold. I did not know that books would change my life.

New York City’s population is a little over 8.3 million people. 8.3 million people are spread out among five boroughs and each have their own set routine. Each one of those 8.3 million see New York in a different way becuase “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it” (“City Limits” 4). Some people are like Colson Whitehead who “was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else” (“City Limits” 3). Others may have “moved here a couple years ago for a job. Maybe [they] came here for school” (“City Limits” 3). Different reasons have brought these people together. They are grouped as New Yorkers, but many times, living in New York is their only bond. With on going changes and never ending commotion, it is hard to

Traveling between the Bronx and Manhattan has allowed me to see that even though they are so close in distance, everyone is yet so far. Being raised in the Bronx has allowed me to gain a sense of home and recognition, but also how stereotypes are meant to deceive us. The Bronx is labeled as a dangerous place, where violence occurs, but people neglect the beauty and happiness that surrounds it too. Meanwhile, when people think of Manhattan, they see it as the heart of New York where everyone is living their dreams. When in reality, the “heart” of New York is much more distant from itself, and that is not just because it is on an island.

This story takes place in old Sacramento, California around the 1950’s. A lot of this excerpt from Hunger of Memory covers Richard Rodriguez's childhood and how he has become a grown-up. He is the third of two Mexican immigrants in Sacramento and has two sisters and one brother. Rodriguez shows his youth as "unusual," because of to the battle between his private family life and his public life outside of the family. Before Rodriguez was seven, Spanish was the everyday spoken language and is a part of his home, (qtd. par. 17)…

Children can take more than one of these steps at the same time. This list of steps, though, gives you a general idea of how your child will progress toward reading.” (Helping your child become a reader) While these ideas may seem structured, it is also important to allow children to be creative and use their imagination. Although reading is imperative, too many arrangements and rules can turn a child off and lead to feelings of resentment, anger, and resistance. Reading should be set to the tone and pace of the child.

His love for the Desert creates his hatred towards all who wish to destroy the natural beauty of it. Abbey claims, “ If you’re thinking of a visit, my natural reaction is like a rattlesnake’s- to warn you off.” (620) A land so pure can’t be touched by a person that doesn’t see the true beauty, so they must stay away. However, the people who wish to restore and love the landscape of the Desert are encourage by Abbey to save and to protect it with all of their hearts. Abbey expresses, “ defenders of Wildlife operate on this theory- those who learn to love what is spare, rough,wild, undeveloped, and unbroken… will resist the strip miners, highway builders, land developers, tree chainer's , and the greedy crew that succeeds in completely califorcinating what still survives of the Great American Desert.” (624) Abbey desperately wants the people to work together to save a landscape that they wish to change in order for people to happily sustain life in. The Great American Desert should be loved for what it is, not for the advantages that can be designed to make it

We discussed how New York is presented as a big, infernal, dynamic machine that systematically crashes the hopes of those who live in it. It is a metropolis filled with lights and colour moving in such a fast and chaotic pace that leaves its citizens behind. It was supposed to be the promised land for the thousands of immigrants who came and could get rich from scratch, “ the land of opportoonity”(54); instead, it is the place where the American Dream comes to die and the people who inhabit it become disenchanted. A varied city with people from different nationalities, classes and backgrounds but all of them submerged in the incessant wheel of capitalism and industrialization .A fragmented and reifying city that alienates and reifies its inhabitants.

As a child, reading was always something I loved to do. I started reading at an early age. I went to preschool for two years, so I had an advantage when it came to reading. Once I’d gotten into elementary school, I excelled tremendously in that area. Sitting in my kindergarten class, I’d love to hear Mrs. Reed say, “Alright my shining stars get on the magic carpet for reading time.” It was the highlight of my day, every day. Who would’ve known that something as simple as reading would be so beneficial to me later in life? Reading became one of my saving graces, as I got older.

Have you ever read a page or two from a book and realize you have no remembrance of what was written on those pages? It is easy for our minds to drift away from what we’re reading, causing us to lose comprehension of the book. When working with children, it is important for them to comprehend the books they read. Although a child may say a book was “good” or they liked that particular book, did they fully comprehend what they read? To be certain whether children comprehend what they are reading, teachers use retellings in order to evaluate their reading performance. Retellings are truly the reader’s creation of meaning.