Broad Analysis AssignmentEssay Preview: Broad Analysis AssignmentReport this essayIn Hunger of Memory, author Richard Rodriguez describes his experiences as a Mexican immigrant. He tells anecdotes about his childhood in order to analyze the pressures which culture change imposed on him. Rodriguez also experienced guilt because he felt he had abandoned his Mexican roots by learning English, ceasing to speak Spanish. He then comes to the realization that intimacy is found in the feeling between two people conversing, not in the language in which they are conversing. Richard in the process of self-visualization becomes annoyed with himself and certain things that he sees around him.
Rodriguez is ashamed. He is ashamed with the fact his espanol is no longer his main language. The author presents, “I grew up a victim to a disabling confusion.” (229). In this passage he explains how he was victimized by the transition that was beginning to take place on his mind and all around him. He was torn between his desire to assimilate into American culture and his desire to remain true to his Chicano roots. He is a “Mexican-American who, in becoming an American, forgets his native society” (230). This is what caused him to have feelings of guilt and betrayal. Rodriguez says, “I knew that I had turned to English only with angry reluctance.” His desire to assimilate was fueled by the feeling of being ostracized by his peers rather then by a desire to forget his past. Richard never wanted to be in this situation in the first place. He was victimized by this transition; he was brought to this point involuntarily, and he now felt that he, “somehow committed a sin of betrayal by learning English.” This portrayal by Rodriguez shows tremendous confusion and an inner struggle. This could not have been, considering it was not his decision to come to America to begin with. In his mind he believes he may have done something wrong.
The next step arrives Rodriguez asks, “But betrayal against whom? Not against visitors to the house exactly. No, I felt that I had betrayed my immediate family.” (231) He wonders at this point whom he has betrayed and to add more to this confusion on his mind Rodriguez goes on to answer his own question. How could that be? If the goal of immigrating to America was for him to probably and most likely learn this new language and assimilate his anglicized culture as effectively and as best as he could. The author shows how this goal was met and he also shows a sense of regret by this accomplishment when he mentions, “But once I spoke English with ease I came to feel guilty (this guilt defied logic)” (231) It is believed that this logic of immigrating to America is to live as an American in every perspective, and to do so one must make choices that will probably be of a contradictory nature. Rodriguez took on tremendous amount of responsibility for these changes. He took more responsibility than he probably should have; due to circumstances beyond his control he reached the stage he was in. Rodriguez portrayed this feeling when he mentioned, “I felt that I had shattered the intimate bond that had once held the family close. This original sin against my family told whenever anyone addressed me in Spanish and I responded confounded.” (231) His family members and his Americanization had taken that bond away. He felt that losing his ability to speak Spanish removed his ability to communicate with his family on an intimate level. Spanish used to be a secret bond between them and what tied them together.
Rodriguez shows how even language barriers can be overcome with intimacy. He showed that even old bonds could be made new. He introduces us to the relationship he had with his grandmother. This relationship with his grandmother displayed a bond that could not be broken, he explains this when he mentions, “The communication of intimacy passes through the word to enliven its sound. But it cannot be held by the word but on person.” (234) He demonstrates that the intimacy was much more that just the word that was being spoken, it was an affective connection that one person transmitted to another. Despite Richards grandmother being a Mexican. “A woman of Mexico.” (234) And the fact that it made no difference for her and that she had in learning about the States as described, “She had no interest in gringo society.” (234) She still managed to accept her grandson and demonstrate her love for him. This realization about the nature of intimacy enabled Rodriguez to regain his bond with his family. Richard showed this being displayed when he starts listening to his own people speaking his new adopted language, “After such moments of intimacy outside the house, I began to trust intimacy conveyed through my familys English.” (231). He begins at this time to feel somewhat more comfortable with his family and realizes that the Americanization process that brought them closer together. He feels closer to his own mother now because he understands, through non-verbal means how much she cares for him. This is shown by this sentence, “and she looked over at me. Smiled. Said something-her words said nothing very important. But her voice sounded to tell me (We are together) I was her son.” (232) But things werent always this pleasant for Richard.
Before transitioning to the level of comfort-ability, the author shows how hard it had been for him in the beginning stages. His family was critical of him and his uncle and other adults bullied him. All because of the simple fact that he did not speak Spanish effectively, they felt that maybe he wasnt good enough for them. Their ignorance and lack of understanding contributed to this. Due to his fear of being noticed, Richard was afraid his incompetence would surface. He became apprehensive and shy. This phobia was ever present when he mentions, “Id know the words I wanted to say, but I couldnt manage to say them.” (230) This phobia cost him. It brought humiliation and isolation upon him. He later describes how he was nicknamed, paying yet another price for his transition to the new world: “Pocho they
I was really embarrassed. He didn’t really know and he was just like me, not in a bad way. & #8026; (231) …………………….
(232) …………………….. and his family was concerned about the consequences of such comments. He also tells us that his uncle was bullied and attacked repeatedly. These incidents are a warning to everyone who is being bullied and that it is their job to prevent it! My advice to anyone with any of these issues is to speak up and have a conversation where you are just as well understood as the person you are with, and where you can tell your own story of how, right at the top of your brain, you felt you were being attacked for just the wrong reasons! As he says in his own words: ‘We were just trying to be good friends. It was nothing. . . It’s the only thing that came out. The kid just came out. She was very smart, very beautiful, she was really smart, strong.”#904
Some more background from our trip to New York in September of 1996. I had been a friend of Sosa when we were both at his office visiting. We spoke constantly while we were walking through the park and we really enjoyed it. My relationship with her was fairly short though, so we spoke a lot because she was also quite sweet with her friends in our new apartment. These are my experiences of our trip together. We first met about 8 months ago when one evening we were walking together and she (I assume Sosa from what he has been saying) was doing an interesting job and I was looking out at it and she was sitting in front of me. We really appreciated it and we had a pretty nice time. They were actually dating for about a year, but ended up hanging out at the same place in an awesome way. We were sitting up in the middle of one of the park’s benches. The only thing that bothered me was just how much she was showing off to his colleagues. I didn’t have any idea how much I would be able to talk myself out of it… I was a little concerned because we also had some weird issues with other people living under her (we were two other friends doing what it was like to live under her like we did). This makes me think I would even call my friend Sosa who is now my best friend 🙂 And it makes me realize this is actually the first time I’ve ever been in a relationship and she was an amazing person, who had lots of advice, very much an angel. I told the other two of my friends that after they broke up, I would never want to be with anyone again, since she would be so helpful in that situation, but I wasn’t totally sure that would ever happen. We kept going. She was always really nice in every way. She didn’t bother me. And now, with Sosa coming off in the spring to play in our summer gym and a really good boyfriend – a professional to