Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez

Excellent perspective, honest, fresh and relevant

I have no idea why 'Bill, a professor' or some of the other reveiwers think this book should have been imaginative. This is someone's life, an adult looking back at how his educational experiences changed him on the deepest levels, not a sci fi novel. Rodriguez honors me by sharing his private family life with me, as well as his beliefs and his fears. Most refreshing is the candid and honest way in which he discusses his own battle with the cruelty and foolish hypocrisy of affirmative action, and his own feelings of guilt for having taken advantage of being 'socially disadvantaged.' I found fascinating the recurring theme of paradox: once you are educated enough to write or speak about the uneducated lower-classes, you are no longer one of them. He is separate from his family because of his education and where it has taken him, because he has 'grown apart' from his parents, not because he hasn't tried hard enough to stay connected. It is a necessary growth, an unavoidable seaparation. The resentment and shame that first generation children feel toward their under-educated and unassimilated parents is perfectly described. Rodriguez uses many threads to weave with poignancy and relevance the tapestry of his life. The parenthetical asides made me feel as though I was inside his head during the writing of this book, making it even more open and intimate, if possible. An excellent insight into history as it affected one man...Berkley student rioting, affirmative action, bilingualism. Don't pass this one up!

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is disappointing.

Reading this book in high school and another time in college I know this story like the back of my hand. The story really doesn't go anywhere the author remembers how poor he was though his story. The average person has to really read over the story sometimes twice just to understand what the author meant in some sections. The overall story lacks creativity, and the excitement that a wonderful story contains. The book isn¿t an overall easy read that engages a reader¿s imagination. It honestly reads like a college freshman¿s autobiography who¿s trying to sound more intelligent by adding more jargon.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A book of insperation

Hunger of Memory
By Richard Rodriguez
When you come from a different background and speak s different language
than the one you speak you feel like a stranger because you don¿t know what there saying. Every time you go out on public you feel like you don¿t belong there, and
act different to fit with the rest of the people. But when you go back to your house
you feel relive because you don¿t have to pretend anymore. Your house is like
your small world because you¿re not afraid of speaking Spanish. Because when you speak Spanish you can express your self like you couldn¿t in English. When you got to
school you try your best to learn fast, and what ever it takes to become a successful
person and make your dream come true no matter how hard it is.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

It's not praticurally captivating, but it is good.... if that makes any sense

i have to read this for summer reading for school. and like others who have read it the only reason I did was because i was required to. That said, it wasn't a bad book. Many of his ideas were interesting and thought provoking and all, but the book was boring. I can't imagine someone reading this purely for enjoyment. So if you have to read it for school, don't complain too much. You could be forced to read something considerably worse, trust me. Try to read it with an open mind and if all else fails, at least its only a couple hundred pages.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

I had to read this book as a summer reading project and high school and did not find it captivating once. Rodriguez keeps complaining about his loss of culture and has nothing wonderful or interesting that would make me get pulled into the book. Overall, I found this book a failure and wish I could have read something else instead.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A must read for teachers

This book was captivating for me. As a teacher, I often struggle to understand my bilingual, lower-income students. This book has given me great insight into their minds, homes and lives. As a result, I know the types of encouragement to give these often struggling students. Any teacher who works with bilingual kids needs to read this.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Slow going

Although Rodriguize's topic may hold strong with some... so far chapter one: Aria, is rather unentertaining

Sell Out

I personally thought this book was boring. This guy took advantage of government programs that were there for minorities and then he asks for them to go away. He is a sell out and a hypocrit.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

hunger for memory was horrible

i was given this book to read for a summer reading book going into my junior year of high school, from start to finish it failed to captivate me once, i read it simply because i was compelled to do so, a more boring topic could not even be published and i have no idea how this 'author' was given the privilege, for anybody looking for an enjoyable read put down this book immediately

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hunger of Memory was very disapointing and not captivating at all

Hunger of Memory is a very slow read. Rodriguez pulls the reader in at the beginning, but after that the book gets very long winded and repetitive. Rodriguez does a good job getting all his points across, in the sense that by the end of the book, they have been pounded into the readers head. His life could have been interesting if phrased another way. It is surprising that a man who, 'from my first day of school, I was a student of language' (6), can not write this piece in a more captivating way. Rodriguez has good ideas about education and assimilation, coming from someone who truley experienced them. He truley appeals to the readers pathos, in a way that someone who did not experience education as a 'minority' can not do. The two thing I do not like about his points is how education seperated him from his family and how Christianity made a difference in his life. If he wanted to stay close to his family, he would have made an effort. Instead he shyed away from them he fely superiority because he was a scholarship boy. He still regrets how his family is not close by the end of the book and still does nothing about it. If he won't move to change his relationship, then he should stop griping about it. Then he writes about the influences he had as a catholic during his education. I don't like that he includes this because it implies that everyone needs religion in the life in order to do well and go down the right path. Ridriguez has a very good story to show the world and very intersting views, but he writes about them in a tedious manner, making the book hard to read.

Hunger of Memory...lol

In reading Hunger of Memory, one learns about the different linguistic sensitivities that characterize the life of a bilingual child. Rodriguez highlights the difference between a public and a private identity, each of which has its own purpose in its own place. By setting up this contrast, Rodriguez is enabled to battle 'the bilingualists,' who say that by using Spanish (or, theoretically, any other home language) in the classroom, students will meet greater success. ........ Rodriguez, however, notes that as a child, the only thing that prevented him from staying in his monolingual cage, ignorant of English aside from 50 words, was the use of English in school. To remove that requirement would be a detriment to the thousands of youths that would be affected. Their public identities would remain undeveloped, and thus public success would remain impossible. They would be doomed like certain characters in Rodriguez's book--the Mexican construction workers, who are paid less than they deserve and are unable to question or challenge el patrón. These Mexicans reflect Rodriguez's own monolingual Mexican uncle: 'The gringos kept him digging all day, doing the dirtiest jobs. And they would pay him next to nothing. Sometimes they promised him one salary and paid him less when they finished.' ........ Rodriguez, then, has come a long way. His only time spent in construction work was out of curiosity. But nevertheless, his labourious family past is not so far off that he has forgotten the lessons learned. Never will Rodriguez agree to bilingual education, because by using only the language of the private family life, one is limiting one's choices in life. It would be very possible, in such a situation, to be forced to live a life like the Mexican construction workers, or his uncle--a hunchback in his twenties. ........ I recommend this book to someone who is extremely curious either about bilingual education or the details of a Mexican-American's life. Oh, and be prepared for a riveting, detailed account on his years as a Catholic schoolboy.

Original and esoteric but still a must read for everyone!!!

I lived Richard Rodriguez¿ life--that's how I felt while reading his empathetic essays. This ¿scholarship boy¿ is truly a martyr for writing this novel. Even with anticipated criticism from everyone--including his family-- Rodriguez mans up and writes about ¿private life¿ to ¿un gringos¿. This is a must read for everyone (even those who differ in opinion) since it is an example of the ¿individuality¿ of people who are stereotyped about having only one way of thinking.

honest, erudite and human

Though at times self-absorbed, the author is bright and honest. Very illuminating for those of us who are 'different', and must claim our happiness even if somewhat outside the usual parameters of mainstream America. How refreshing that he has positive things to say about being Catholic!

This one will make you think

I actually read this book for a college course and I have to admit as a hispanic it stired up a lot of different feelings in me .. but mostly anger! This is the type of book that demands a lot of understanding on the readers part. Even though I dont agree with the authors ideas I admire him for being so honest and putting his life in the open knowing that his "people" might not agree. I also feel this autobiography helped me identify my role and position as a hispanic in the United States. I cant wait to read more of his work.

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