Hunger Of Memory Summary
Christian Ramirez 12/18/12 Hunger of Memory The Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez was a story about a Hispanic kid who went through a lot of changes throughout his childhood. This boy moves to California to live with his family and start his new life. He had never learned to speak or understand English, so you can only imagine how difficult a time he must have had. He tried to keep quiet his entire time in class so he didn’t humiliate or just flat out embarrass himself. He went to a catholic school and the nuns their wanted to do their best to make Richard learn how to speak in English because they had a feeling that he did want to learn but he was just shy. He grew up thinking that English was a public language while Spanish was a private one. Through the next six months to a year he started to pick up English much more fluently but kept on talking in Spanish when he was at home. One day his parents were told by the teachers the nuns that he needed to speak English at home if he was going to really pick it up well, and to stop speaking Spanish. This really disturbed Richard a lot and he tried not to follow through it because to him his language was really all he had. Richard’s parents didn’t want Richard
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to stop speaking Spanish because they didn’t want him to lose his first language and they knew that if he still knew Spanish after learning English he will still remember where he came from and what he was at first. As time went by Richard knew that he wanted to be a successful writer so he started attending college many people would look at him and their stares would make him feel like if he didn’t belong.
His parents would tell him that he is no less than anyone just because his appearance they would also tell him that they never want him to work outside like most Hispanic men do because they wanted better for him and not for people to take advantage of him. One day a guy that Richard new told him that his father was looking for some workers and that if he was interested that they worked outside he told Richard that he was used to that, thinking of what his mother had told him he had agreed just because he really needed the
money. Though college was a time where he was going to learn a lot it was also a time of loneliness for Richard. He was little by little forgetting his Spanish and that was something he didn’t want from the start. Richard he had missed his parents and was ashamed for what he had done to them. When people Richard thought were important, that wanted to talk with his parents Richard just tried to ignore that because he was embarrassed by his parents. He had told his mother that he didn’t want her to be embarrassing herself just because she didn’t know English. He also had to struggle a lot because the way people would just come and discriminate him. He knew that once he had his education and went home that he was going to prove everyone that things can be different. Once Richard got his Ph.D., that made him feel accomplished and very happy. He shows his readers that struggling to reach something you want to be a very long process but can be done. This book wants readers to realize that not just by the color of your skin or your background you can’t be successful in something you want to accomplish.
to stop speaking Spanish because they didn’t want him to lose his first language and they knew that if he still knew Spanish after learning English he will still remember where he came from and what he was at first. As time went by Richard knew that he wanted to be a successful writer so he started attending college many people would look at him and their stares would make him feel like if he didn’t belong.
His parents would tell him that he is no less than anyone just because his appearance they would also tell him that they never want him to work outside like most Hispanic men do because they wanted better for him and not for people to take advantage of him. One day a guy that Richard new told him that his father was looking for some workers and that if he was interested that they worked outside he told Richard that he was used to that, thinking of what his mother had told him he had agreed just because he really needed the
money. Though college was a time where he was going to learn a lot it was also a time of loneliness for Richard. He was little by little forgetting his Spanish and that was something he didn’t want from the start. Richard he had missed his parents and was ashamed for what he had done to them. When people Richard thought were important, that wanted to talk with his parents Richard just tried to ignore that because he was embarrassed by his parents. He had told his mother that he didn’t want her to be embarrassing herself just because she didn’t know English. He also had to struggle a lot because the way people would just come and discriminate him. He knew that once he had his education and went home that he was going to prove everyone that things can be different. Once Richard got his Ph.D., that made him feel accomplished and very happy. He shows his readers that struggling to reach something you want to be a very long process but can be done. This book wants readers to realize that not just by the color of your skin or your background you can’t be successful in something you want to accomplish.