Aria by Richard Rodriguez - Essay Example

In “Aria”, the has talked about his childhood experiences that had given him two distinct identities. He has a ‘private’ personality that bonds him closely with his family and culture. The second personality, which he called as public society, referred to the people and places outside his home. The writer has explicitly expressed his feelings of unease and a sense of being an outsider when he is outside his home but those feelings are immediately transformed into a sense of belonging and love whenever he enters his home and hears the familiar Spanish language that they converse in, when at home.

The language barrier has been shown as the major drawback into assimilation processes that an immigrant comes across when he/she comes to a foreign land. I agree with Rodriguez about the changes that he underwent were necessary for him to finally accept his new country as his own. The changes were also needed for the natives to accept him within their fold. According to Rodriguez, the initial years were tough for him as a child because he and his family had not made concerted efforts to overcome the barriers of the language and were satisfied with the little knowledge of their host country’s language.

Inside their home, they all felt comfortable because they could express their feelings and emotions in their won language. But outside the home, they were diffident and awkward because of the lack of adequate knowledge of the English language which made communication with outsider difficult. Once he became confident that he could express himself in the native language of English, it became easier for him to interact with others, feel more comfortable and develop a sense of belonging. These are the common challenges immigrants face and overcoming language barriers becomes the key to the process of assimilation.

Rodriguez had undergone the painful experiences of two societies, public and private. While the public society had made him self conscious, the private society at home had given him love and happiness. Looking at the wider implications of the two and the role of languages, he found it is imperative one learn the foreign language or English, so the immigrants can effectively overcome the feeling of alienation. The language is the main mode of communication that facilitates better understanding as well as helps to build relationship.

It also ultimately lets one have an identity in a foreign land and promotes acceptance of immigrants within mainstream society. The middle class ethnics and early settlers mainly socialized within their own communities and interaction with people, outside their community, was confined to the workplace or the market. They were unable to understand the traumas of the children and adolescents who had to struggle to make a place for them in a foreign land. The myopic outlook of middle class did not allow them to overcome the differences of language and culture.

No, I would not call myself middle class ethnic because I know it is important to understand and accept the cross cultural values and adapt them into one’s daily life for peaceful co-existence. The language, being the most effective communication process, also becomes the most important tool in the process of assimilation. Assimilation ultimately helps to change the status of immigrants to the citizens of the country and brings forth the feeling of pride as well as belonging that are essential parts of human relationships.

Reference Rodriguez, Richard. (2004). Aria from Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. Bantam Publishers.