In Chapter 1 of Hunger of Memory, entitled Aria, Rodriguez talks of his childhood,family, and education as well as his views of language and bilingual education including how they've changed. Through the chapter he incorporates themes of public identity, private identity, assimilation, and education. He talks of his hatred of his teachers at the beginning of his education due to the fact that they forced him to learn English. Looking back on it now, Rodriguez sees how learning in Spanish would not have been beneficial for him as learning English helped him improve socially, causing him to be more outspoken and successful in his communication with others. This is what caused his negative views of bilingual education because he knows without being forced to learn English, although he would've been more comfortable with his teachers speaking to him in Spanish, he would not haven been pushed out of his shell to develop his individual personality, or his "public" self. Despite this idea, Rodriguez acknowledges that his assimilation and his gaining of confidence in his public self did disrupt his family life and cause him to lose his private self. Though he began to embrace his assimilation, he began to lose his confidence in Spanish and was often scorned by his family. Additionally, his assimilation could be viewed negatively as he began to notice more and more of the accent in his parent's public voice. Not only was he embarrassed, but he also felt unprotected and it placed a burden on him because his parents became dependent on him for translations and communication when children should be dependent on their parents. Regardless, there were positive elements to Richard's assimilation. His language improved and he began to fit in as well as grow up. Furthermore in this chapter, we begin to see how Richard often searches for validation elsewhere, as his loss of language causes him to look for public acceptance from his family, his teachers, and even his classmates.
After reading Chapter 1, I have to admit while the autobiography possesses similar themes to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Rodriguez does establish a much more serious and literal tone making me miss Sherman Alexie's sarcastic and upbeat one. If I'm being honest Rodriguez's book takes me much more time to sit back and comprehend the ideas and it does somewhat take away from the relatability for me. Regardless there were some parts of this chapter which made me put myself in his shoes and think about his feelings at the time. His account of coming to Sacramento only knowing a few English words does hit home for me, not personally but in terms of my day. My dad immigrated to the US when he was around 17 or 18 from Iran. He knew very few English words and many people to this day still treat him differently when they hear his heavy accent so I can see where Rodriguez is coming from. While I don't have to translate for my dad, he'll often ask me how to spell words or he'll say something with poor grammar i public and I'll cringe a bit and then feel guilty that it even bothers me so much of what people think. In that way, which I look for public acceptance from others I definitely relate to Richard. Growing up with strict parents, I always sought validation from them and pushed myself to please them. Slowly it became more for myself than anything but working hard is an ideal that's ingrained in me due to them.
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