Hunger of Memory

Things are getting slightly better...in school. My English professor is making us read 3 different books about immigration. At first I instantly thought it would be completely boring...and it partially is. Partially. The first book we have to start reading is titled: Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez. There is a quote he has that has intrigued me, and i think obviously is to catch the reader's attention as well. A few of you might probably relate this to your own lives, (I know its something that temporarily reflects my daydreams) but here it is:

"She tells people, her neighbors, that I am a 'Ph. D Professor'. I am doing some writing, she explains. But I will be going back to teach in a year or two. Soon. In private, she admits worry. 'Did somebody hurt you at Berkeley?...why don't you try teaching at some Catholic College?' No, I say. And she turns silently to my father, who stands watching me. The two of them. They know i have money enough to support myself. But I have nothing steady. No profession. And I am the one in the family with so much education. (All those years!) My brothers and sisters are doing so well. 'All i want for you is something you can count on for life,' she says. In honor of my mother and father " (Hunger of Memory. Prologue introduction)

This is a part of the prologue where the author struggles to distinguish his Mexican and American heritage from each other. He feels that the English language that has been enforced upon him and his family was meant for the "social life" outside the house. He valued the Spanish that was spoken between his family because he felt it was a private conversation versus a social one that society wanted. When he heard his father or mother struggle with pronouncing words in english, they seemed so weak and broken to him. Spanish was the only language that would keep that closeness apart from the world. What he realizes later on, is not the language itself but the intimacy behind the words. (remember "L?" you tried to explain how Kyo's words touched you?) The rugged and strained english that he heard his family speak was nothing compared to the soft-spoken and fluent spanish they talked. He found a balance that intimacy was the source that kept people together. Like singing...the words were merely poetry. But the sounds that come from the voice, the feelings of pain and joy were the ones that sent the message out to people. Lyrics are only a part of a great song. The book is slightly boring yet interesting...to some extent. But this is barely the first chapter...i'll see if its good or not.