Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez Themes

This Study Guide consists of approximately 75 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Hunger of Memory.

Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez Themes

This Study Guide consists of approximately 75 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Hunger of Memory.
This section contains 1,280 words
(approx. 4 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez Study Guide

Childhood

A great portion of Hunger of Memory covers Rodriguez's childhood and his transformation into an adult. He is the third child of two middle-class Mexican immigrants in Sacramento and has two sisters and one brother.

Rodriguez describes his childhood as "awkward, " primarily because of the tension between his private family life and his more public life outside the household. Before Rodriguez was seven, Spanish was the primary language used in his home. He felt clumsy answering questions in English during class and feared any conversation that went beyond a few basic words. But after a trio of nuns from his school asked his parents to speak only English with their children, his world began to expand. Soon Rodriguez was less shy in school, and he became "increasingly confident" of his public identity.

While Rodriguez credits learning English with helping him become an adult, he also bemoans the fact...

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This section contains 1,280 words
(approx. 4 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy the Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez Study Guide
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Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.