Talk Point # 2

Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez Jenna Petrucci
1.“Id rarely leave home all alone or without reluctance. Walking down the sidewalk, under the canopy of tall trees, I’d warily notice the –suddenly- silent neighborhood kids who stood warily watching me.” This quote shows how isolated the author felt when he was a child trying to learn a new language. He felt that he could not even leave the house, because people would stare at him as if something was wrong with him. Learning a new language is hard enough as it is and when others make a person feel bad about themselves it can make it that much harder. It also makes a person feel unmotivated to learn.
2.“Without question, it would have pleased me to hear my teachers address me in Spanish when I entered the classroom. I would have felt much less afraid. I would have trusted them and responded with ease.” His home language gave him a sense of comfort and when he was not able to speak it, he felt uneasy. If he was able to go to school and speak in Spanish and not have to speak in English, it would have been much easier for him. Kids are supposed to been at ease when they are in school. They are not supposed to feel afraid and they are supposed to be able to trust their teachers. He was very young and it is sad that he was afraid to go to school. It is such a big part of a child’s life and they should be comfortable with attending school and he was not able to do that.
3.“With great tact the visitors continued, “Is it possible for you and your husband to encourage your children to practice their English when they are home?’ Of course, my parents complied.” The nuns visited the authors home and asked them to speak English to their children at home. For some reason this kind of shocked me. I would not have expected a teacher to visit a student’s parents at home and ask them to change their whole way of living. The parents only spoke Spanish and now they have to change their lifestyle and only speak English to their children. It would definitely be beneficial to the children since they spend a lot of time at home.
This article was an easy read and interesting. I thought it was sad that a young boy had to go through that growing up. He felt secluded and uneasy doing something as simple as going to school. I don’t think twice about going to class and he spent so much time worrying about it. Many people have to go through that and it is something I don’t even have to think about.