Analysis Of Richard Rodriguez's Days Of Obligation

Cultural Loyalties One of the greatest questions we ask ourselves is “Who am I?” We gain life experiences, entertain ourselves with personality tests, and even inquire psychics about our being. The truth is, our identity is not a static matter. Richard Rodriguez struggles with his cultural identity between California and Mexico. His conflicting feelings are conveyed within the introduction of his written work, Days of Obligation. Through juxtaposition, paradox, and oxymoron, Rodriguez compares the cultures, and eventually comes to the conclusion that both represent him equally.
To demonstrate how California and Mexico’s cultures compare, Rodriguez uses juxtaposition. He labels California as a comedy, and Mexico with tragedy. Theses two genres
When one usually thinks of comedy, they picture it as happiness, opulence, and sweetness. Contrary to the reader’s expectations, the author categorizes these adjectives to describe Mexico’s tragedy. This pattern creates an oxymoron within the paradox. In addition, he describes California and its comedy as “. . . such a sad place”, with “. . . divorced husbands living alone in candos.” The author grew up in California, but he does not feel the overbearing sadness that comes with it, he feels Mexico’s joy. Rodriguez’s feeling of confusion are conveyed within this unorthodox paradox. Even with this analysis, the author still does not know which country his loyalties are placed. Rodriguez’s internal struggle to find identity is outlined in his introduction to the book Days of Obligation. He compares and contrasts California and Mexico through juxtaposition, highlighting their differences in culture. Along with this comparison, he associates the words comedy and tragedy to California and Mexico respectively to define each’s culture. With this, he utilizes paradox and oxymoron by reversing their connotations, thus illustrating his confusion about his cultural loyalties. Despite his written confusions, Rodriguez is still inconclusive about if he views himself more as Mexican or