Sunday, September 25, 2011

Tres Citas (3 quotes) Aria

In Aria Richard Rodriguez recalls the experience of learning English as a child. "I couldn't believe the English language was mine to use. (In part, I did not want to believe it)" he said.  This shows his initial hesitation to learn the English language. He looked at it from an outside perspective, and from the outside it was clearly the source of power.  So powerful in fact that he wanted nothing to do with it perhaps out of fear of the power.

This leads me to the next quote.  "Did I some how suspect that once i learned public language my pleasing family life would be changed?"  This really corresponds to the story because it is as excellent use of foreshadowing.  Later in the story he talks about how much things change at home.  Happy family dinners were replaced by awkward silent meals, small talk subsided and the life at home became a lot less friendly. His mother grew restless as her children spoke to her less and his father became very withdrawn as the family learned English.

"At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had technically been true since my birth: I was an American citizen"  This reminds me of Lisa Delpit's ideas that knowing the rules makes acquiring power easier.  Once he knew the language he felt as though he belonged and he had equal opportunity to acquire power as anyone else.

3 comments:

  1. I like the tie that you made to Delpit's piece from an earlier reading. Rodriquez unknowingly had the same power as his fellow classmates - he just had to acknowledge and accept that fact. Once he did so, he succeeded in the classroom and no longer felt isolated.

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  2. I agree with Heather in tying the readings. But for him not to be isolated he had to learn another language and that made him separate from his family. Even though he may be successful he still has the separation with his family.

    -Ariel Croce

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