Bilingual Essay, Research Paper

Richard Rodriguez wrote in his essay, Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood, about the battles he faced turning up as a bilingual Hispanic in American society. Throughout his essay, Rodriguez discussed such subjects as assimilation and heritage. He goes into deepness about the pros and the cons of being forced to absorb to the American civilization.

Turning up Hispanic in America was a battle for Richard Rodriguez. This was due to the fact that he was a Spanish-speaking male child life in an English-speaking society, and he felt like he was different than the other kids. Rodriguez attended a Roman Catholic school where many of his schoolmates were the kids of high-class attorneies and physicians. He felt out of topographic point because he was a kid of two immigrant, propertyless parents. Absorbing to the American civilization helped Richard experience more at easiness among the other American pupils. In school, Richard spoke English, but every bit shortly as he got home, Spanish was the linguistic communication of pick. This had a positive and negative consequence on him. By talking Spanish, it helped Rodriguez continue his ain civilization, but as a disadvantage, it yielded his acquisition of English. A few times Richard heard his parents speak English, but that was merely in public. Rodriguez felt safe in his Spanish speech production place because it was familiar to him. English seemed uneven and hard for Richard until a few of Richard? s instructors visited his house. They asked Richard? s parents to promote the usage of English, by utilizing it more themselves. As Richard began to hear English more and more, ? the high, disturbing sounds of los gringos? became unobtrusive to him ( 92 ) . Learning English helped Richard to accomplish many things. He began making good in school, he made friends and he began to experience more comfy speaking to people. It besides had a negative consequence on him and his household. Richard stated, ? I no longer cognize what words to utilize in turn toing my parents? ( 93 ) . By talking English so much, a spread grew between Richard and his parents. His parents chiefly still spoke Spanish, and the kids spoke English. He wanted to bury about his Spanish speech production yearss, and felt that his parents should besides absorb to the American civilization. Rodriguez & # 8217 ; s alteration from Spanish to English, is one of the taking factors to his strong belief in assimilation. He feels that it is necessary to be assimilated to the civilization yo

u live in. This is due to the fact that Rodriguez had a harder clip in life lodging with his ain civilization. Equally shortly as he made the spring to the American civilization, he began holding a? normal? life.

Although Rodriguez believes that assimilation is a necessary portion of society, I would reason that household traditions and backgrounds are merely as of import if non more than conforming to a civilization. I believe this is true because with assimilation, many lose their household background and heritage. Although I feel it is necessary to larn the linguistic communication of the civilization indigen to the part, I believe that people can keep their native civilization within another. I believe that Richard Rodriguez could hold kept portion of his Latino heritage and still go Americanized. Rodriguez feels that assimilation is necessary and because of this belief, he partly lost his household. He now has small contact with his parents, because he assimilated to a society different than his parents. The subject of assimilation is under much examination today. Many Americans feel that they have a? supreme civilization? and that anyone who lives in America should follow along with their beliefs, traditions and linguistic communication. Americans have to recognize that we are all made up of different civilizations, backgrounds and races. No 1 civilization is better than any other. Rodriguez stands strong on his sentiment of assimilation of civilizations as stated in his essay. This has its pros and cons. A pro of assimilation would be that it is rather a spot easier to populate in a society if beliefs and traditions are the same. As I stated earlier, a major con is that your old civilization may be lost.

Rodriguez demonstrated his point of position good through his authorship. Though I don? Ts agree with all that he has to state, I do believe that his statement was heard. Through his authorship, Rodriguez stated non merely facts, but besides existent life experience. This I feel is critical in composing a good essay, because so the author genuinely knows what they are composing approximately. As stated before, the chief point hit on in this essay was that Rodriguez feels it is necessary for people populating in a civilization non native to them to conform to that civilization. I feel Rodriguez? s authorship was good written and was carrying.

Plants Cited

Sara Garnes, David Humpries, Vic Mortimer, Jennifer Phegley, Kathleen R. Wallace, Writing Lives, New York: St. Martin? s Press, 1996, Pgs. 86-96