Talking Point # 2

Aria - Richard Rodriguez

1. " In an instant, they agreed to give up the language. " pg 1

I didn't know how to take this line. I understand he needed to learn English, but to completely give up their language is wrong in a way. I know everyone who lives in America should speak English, not just because its the major language but because it makes their lives easier as well. I come from a family where both of my parents speak portuguese fluently and only my mother can speak english and portuguese fluently my dad does speak english but not perfectly. I grew up speaking english to my family but i learned when i got older to speak portuguese because i think it is a huge part of a child's life to know where their families come from and be able to speak to their families in their language. I also think it is a good to know more than one language because so many people in America are from different countries and need to be assisted as well.

2. " I was an American citizen. But the special feeling of closeness at home was diminished by then." pg 2

I think that is one of the saddest lines. By him feeling as if he finally belonged, he then loses his family. I can't understand why it had to be like that. There are many families who are still connected even with language differences. He came from a family who was so close and then just because of the language it all broke apart.

3. "So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality."

I am not really sure what he means by this. I'm thinking he means that a person will suffer their own individuality if they only care about what the society will think of themselves, instead of what they think of themselves. If that is the case then I think people shouldn't care as much what society may think of them. Instead of trying to fit in they should stand out and be the person they want to become.

I enjoyed reading this, it was a very easy read. I could relate to it more than the other stories we have read. Thinking about my own experience and putting it with this I understand more why he needed to speak English and they understanding of public and private individuality. I come from a family where my parents had to chose to raise me with Portuguese or English as my primary language. It was almost a disappointment for them to see their child not speak the language while I was growing up. I didn't learn Portuguese until after I had already know English very well. I think it is very important for people to know where their families come from and be able to speak their language. It can be sad to not be able to speak to your own family or relate to them anymore, like what happened to Richard.