Aria - Richard Rodriguez

Well, when i first started reading this article i was a little confused. However, as i continued it was a little bit clearer the point that Rodriguez was trying to get at. The article starts out by explaining Rodriguez's history, his past. He speaks of how it was difficult for him to speak up in the classroom, that he did not feel comfortable or at ease to speak. That's a little disheartening, because i'm sure that all teachers ever want is for their students to be at ease in their classrooms. So that made me a little bummed out by reading that. He mentions how one day the nuns came to his house to talk to his parents about him and his siblings and how they act in school, meaning that they seem quiet and shy. The nuns asked if his parents could begin trying to speak more English in their household. His parents abliged.
Rodriguez's argument is that once he and his siblings began speaking English more frequently and correctly, they lost their identity. Which is difficult for me to understand, because i was raised on only one language and that language is the dominant language in my country and therefore household. Rodriguez states how as the years went by, his house became a little bit quieter. And it appears that this saddens him a great deal. He states how his father and mother no longer have that connection that they once had with their children. Which is extremely sad.
However, a nice thing that came out of this article is that Rodriguez believes that it was at the age of seven when he realized he had become a full fledged American citizen. It's inspiring that he feels that once he learned how to speak English fluently, that is what made him feel as though he was a true blue American citizen. That is something that many of us take for granted, and that is absolutley wonderful that he felt that sincere proudness of himself. But, you can hear throughout the article a sense of sadness. He states that his family used to have a certain closeness, however it was lost once he and his siblings began to stray away from their Spainish language.
I found this article very interesting, and it was quite enjoyable to read; an easy read. It was remarkable how much he went through personally to get to where he ended up. I comment people like that. : )

Kels!