Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez
"Hunger of Memory" is a memoir by Richard Rodríguez that reflects on his experiences growing up as a Mexican American in California. The narrative delves into themes of identity, language, and cultural alienation, presenting a nuanced exploration of the challenges faced by individuals straddling multiple cultural worlds. Central to Rodríguez's story is his coming to terms with the implications of adopting English as his primary language, which he sees as a public necessity that leads to a sense of displacement from his Spanish-speaking roots.
Rodríguez critiques contemporary educational practices, particularly bilingual education, arguing that they hinder children from fully engaging with the public language that facilitates success in society. He also addresses his reservations about affirmative action, suggesting that it can diminish individual merit, and reflects on the evolving nature of the Roman Catholic Church, lamenting the loss of its traditional rituals and language. Throughout the memoir, Rodríguez articulates his journey toward self-discovery as a writer, using his love of words to navigate his complex identity. This introspective work invites readers to consider the interplay of language, culture, and personal growth in shaping one's sense of self.
On this Page
Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez
First published: 1981
The Work
Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodríguez is a memoir that explores Richard Rodríguez’s coming-of-age in an America that challenges him to understand what it is to be a Mexican American and what it is to be a Catholic in America. At the heart of this autobiography is Rodríguez’s recognition that his is a position of alienation, a position that he accepts with resignation and regret. As the title of this collection of autobiographical pieces suggests, he remembers his early childhood with nostalgia, while acknowledging that his coming-of-age has resulted in his displacement from that simple, secure life.
The most critical aspect of his education and his development of an adult self is language. He explores his first recollection of language in the opening essay, which describes his hearing his name spoken in English for the first time when he attends a Catholic elementary school in Sacramento, California. He is startled by the recognition that the impersonality and public quality of this announcement herald his own adoption of public language—English—at the expense of his private language—Spanish. Rodríguez has begun to be educated as a public person with a public language.
This education, as he recalls it, occurred before the advent of bilingual education, an event that Rodríguez soundly criticizes. In his view bilingual education prevents children from learning the public language that will be their passport to success in the public world, and he uses his own experience—being a bilingual child who was educated without bilingual education as it was introduced into the American school system in the 1960’s—as an example.
Rodríguez offers himself as another example in criticizing affirmative action programs. Turning down offers to teach at various postsecondary educational institutions that he believed wanted to hire him simply because he was Latino, Rodríguez began what has been his persistent criticism of affirmative action policies in America.
Still another object of his criticism in Hunger of Memory is the Roman Catholic church and its changed liturgy, language, and rituals. Recalling the religious institution that had shaped his identity, he regrets the changes that he believes have simplified and therefore diminished the mystery and majesty that he associates with the traditional Catholic church. He is nostalgic about what has been lost while accepting the reality of the present.
In providing an account of his education, Rodríguez also provides an account of his profession: writing. From his early choice of a public language to his later choice to write about this decision, he paints a self-portrait of a man whose love of words and ideas compels him to explore his past. Rodríguez accepts the adult who writes in English and who writes about the person whose identity is defined by his struggle to find his own voice.
Bibliography
Diaz, R. “Thought and Two Languages: The Impact of Bilingualism on Cognitive Development,” in Review of Research in Education. X (1984), pp. 23-54.
Hakuta, Kenji. Mirror of Language: The Debate on Bilingualism, 1986.
Hortas, Carlos. Review in Harvard Educational Review. LIII (August, 1983), pp. 355-359.
Kirkus Reviews. L, January 1, 1982, p. 55.
Laosa, L. M. “Ethnicity, Race, Language, and American Social Policies Toward Children,” in Child Development Research and Social Policy, 1984. Edited by H. H. Stevenson and A. Siegel.
The New York Times Book Review. LXXXVII, February 28, 1982, p. 1.
Newsweek. XCIX, March 15, 1982, p. 76.
Publishers Weekly. CCXXI, January 15, 1982, p. 88.
Rivera, T. “Richard Rodriguez’ Hunger of Memory as Humanistic Antithesis,” in MELUS. XI (Winter, 1984), pp. 5-13.
Rodríguez, Richard. “Mexico’s Children.” The American Scholar 55, no. 2 (Spring, 1986): 161-177.
Zwieg, Paul. “Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodríguez.”The New York Times Book Review, February 28, 1982, 1.