Hunger of Memory Essay - 595 Words

In 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 world for students of different ethnic background and thus creates a comfort zone limiting the risk-taking factor necessary for the maturation of a child to an adult. Rodriguez argues supporters of bilingualism fail to realize while one suffers a†¦show more content†¦Bilingual education, as Rodriguez states, romanticizes public separateness and trivializes the dilemma of the socially disadvantaged. Rodriguezs autobiography also portrays the social and economic problems with affirmative action for the privileged minority student. He reports, In the late 1960s nonwhite Americans clamored for access to higher education, and I became a principal beneficiary of the academys response, its programs of affirmative action (143). Ironically, the author now regrets having been involved with (or forced into) accepting the assistance these programs offered: For me there is no way to say it with grace. I say it rather with irony sharpened with self-pity. I say it with anger. It is a term that should never have been foisted on me. One I was wrong to accept (143). Potential students from the lowest socioeconomic groups were not even considered by institutions of higher learning simply because the colleges only looked at the boxes checked on applications, and not the actual students financial needs. The author explains, Most blacks simply couldnt afford tuition for higher education. And, beca use the primary and secondary schooling blacks received was usually poor, few qualified for admission. Many were so culturally alienated that they never thought to apply; they couldnt even imagine themselves going toShow MoreRelatedHunger 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 More Hunger Of Memory Essay628 Words   |  3 Pages The theme of separation is an important development in the novels Hunger of Memory and How the Garcia Girls lost their Accent. The novels deal with separation differently. For Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez, the separation allows Richard to move from the private world to the public world. Here, separation is a movement for a solution, which is citizenship. In How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accent by Julia Alvarez, the separation is an effect from Antojo. Richard Rodriguez immediately recognizesRead MoreHunger of Memory Precis1278 Words   |  6 PagesMolina 1 English 116 Professor J. Flynn November 06, 2013 To Care or Not to Care: Obamacare For the past years, our country’s health care programs have been asked and petitioned to be improved. President Obama took action into account and decided it was time for our nation to have an affordable and well operated health care program, known as Obamacare. A bill that would allow us to grow and succeed at an affordable cost, but to what expense? Obamacare has severe consequences that willRead MoreHunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez1011 Words   |  4 Pages To be an ethnic American is a culture all on its own. Hunger of memory by Richard Rodrà ­guez gives an insight into the rarely viewed world. A person that no longer falls into either category of family or American community. Such an individual is stuck between two worlds, in which two different cultures collide yet form a rift through family, language and education. Family is the first thing anybody grows to know. You become familiarized with the traditions and the people of the unit. In the caseRead MoreHunger Of Memory By Richard Rodriquez1268 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican 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 predominately white neighborhoodRead MoreHunger of Memory, by Richard Rodriguez1459 Words   |  6 Pagesas a main struggle for Richard Rodriguez, Luis Rodriguez, Sandra Cineros, and Victor Villasenor and Avtavio Paz. Their writing reflects clear pictures about the challenges and the problems they face to keep going on with their objectives. In Hunger of Memory, by Richard Rodriguez, the author writes his autobiography talking about his life when he was in elementary school. His story starts when his family immigrated to the United State when he was a very young. The author is shy and not confidentRead MoreHunger of Memory: Religion Essay667 Words   |  3 PagesHunger of Memory: Religion Rodriguez is very open about Catholicism and the identities and views that he has had in his life both as a child and now as an adult. He begins by explaining how as a child, the Church had a profound impact on his everyday life. The Church had â€Å"an extraordinarily physical presence† in Rodriguez’s early life as he had a church and a catholic school both within one block in either direction of his home (Rodriguez pg 85). As a young boy, Rodriguez’s first taste of churchRead MoreHunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez620 Words   |  2 PagesIn Richard Rodriguez autobiography, Hunger of Memory, Richard himself writes about his educational journey. Rodriguez wrote such book in 1982. The book revolves around the life a young immigrant child, whom has a difficult time understanding how to adapt himself in the given environment. Furthermore, the book navigates the readers though Richards transition form boyhood to adulthood. Not only so, but Richard discusses h ow the opportunities that were presented to him altered his viewpoints in lifeRead More`` Hunger Of Memory `` By Taghreed Alhaddab Essay1829 Words   |  8 Pageseducation and social mobility have a connection has been around for many years, with people having different views and perspectives on this topic. Some may say the two has no relation at all, while some, like Richard Rodriguez in his autobiography, Hunger of Memory, may presents his argument that education plays a role in social mobility but because of other factors such as affirmative action, obtaining a higher education, after all, does not necessarily mean upward mobility. The purpose of affirmativeRead MoreEducation In Richard Rodriguezs The Hunger Of Memory977 Words   |  4 PagesRichard Rodriguez, the author of â€Å"The Hunger of Memory,† is a Mexican man who rose above prejudices to become a distinguished member of society through education. Sherman Alexie, the author of â€Å"Superman and Me,† is a Native American man who grew up on an Indian reservation with a love of books and a penchant for learning in an attempt to exceed further than the predetermined path set in front of him. Rodriguez perceives education as something that has built a division between him and his family but