Aria
Richard Rodriguez

Authors Argument:
Rodriguez argues that people’s identities can be change in the culture and routines of their society. He also argues that there are personal family and traditional lifestyles that are being changed when they try to become a member and fit in with society and those of the culture of power. Rodriguez believes that a person should have pride in who they are as an individual and should now let the culture of power or their society change who they are or have an effect on their lives.

Quotes
1 - "That day I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been only days earlier. The belief, the calming assurance that I belonged in public, had at last taken hold." For so long Rodriguez has been trying to keep a conversation going in the public language and trying to speak it well. When he finally became familiar with the English language and could hold a conversation he was so proud and happy. It’s kind of sad how “white” people take advantage of this language power they have and don’t realize the true meaning of being able to speak publicly.

2 - "But the special feelings of closeness at home was diminished by then. Gone was the desperate, urgent, intense feeling of being home; rare was the experience feeling myself individualized by family intimates. We remained a loving family, but one greatly changed. No longer so close; no longer bound tight by the pleasing and troubling knowledge of our public separateness." This quote that I chose mad me upset. I couldn’t believe a family was getting diminished within a language barrier. Rodriguez expressed how tradition and family meant to him, and by losing all of it, he felt that he also lost his family. I believe a family should stick together with what they are comfortable with not what is expected of them. What good is it to be accepted by society if you lose your family trying to fit in with other people?

3 - "In an instant, they agreed to give up the language, the sounds that had revealed and accentuated our family's closeness." I chose this quote because it made me feel remorseful, not only for Rodriguez, but for all the people who speak different languages and have to change their traditions to be accepted into the society and culture of power. It's not fair for people to have to change who they are to be accepted by others around them. People should be able to speak their own language when they want to and should not be judged if their language is not what the majority of the people in the society are speaking.

Questions/Comments:
I really enjoyed reading this article. The author shows how people struggle to learn the public language but how it can destroy who they are as an individual and as a family. He also shows how people have to give things up like languages or who they are to fit in society and to actually be recognized. Although Rodriguez shows the down sides of having to only speak the “public language” like losing a personal identity he also states that there is an upside to this. He shows how people work hard and practice to accomplish these speaking skills and how people look at them and notice them differently and more respectively

talking points #1

Jonathan Kozol: Amazing Grace
Author's Arguments:



Kozol argues that people’s lives get ripped away from them when tragedy hits hard. He believes that no matter why a person is in the situation they are in; they deserve a better life or another chance to have an equal chance in life as the people who do deserve it from working hard. He also argues that even though people live in poor quality homes and towns, they deserve to have a good life, without the threat of tragic situations occurring.

Quotes:
1- "I am in hell and you are not and so I hate you and I have to try to bring you down to where I am. I feel pity for them and fear because they are lost." It seems as though Kozol feels the pain of these people and trying to put himself in their shoes to see how it feels and to know what they go through. I think that everyone can change how they act but sometimes people get sucked into their lives of poverty because of the chances they have missed and because they are just so used to the way things are change isn’t even an option for them.
2 - "When roaches crawl on virtually every surface of the houses in which many children live. Rats emerge from holes in bedroom walls, terrorizing infants in their cribs" when I read this I almost gagged. I live in New York and reading this made me sick. Children should not be living under these conditions it’s horrible. Children who have to sleep with jackets on to avoid getting sick should be better taken care of.
3 - "The $150 million spent to build the dazzling new structure..., is almost exactly the same as what the city spent in the same year to purchase the massive prison barge that it has moored at Hunts Point in the South Bronx, where it accommodates the graduates and dropouts of much less attracting high schools on six floating floors of prison cells."
This quote makes you think about how much money the cities and states waste on people who have screwed up and are in prison, instead of spending it on the people who can barely make it through the day and who can hardly afford to take care of their families.

Questions/Comments:
I enjoyed this article; because it made me think about people struggle to get through the day. I showed me how some people have it so easy and some have it so terrible. Kozol points out problems that really effect people in everyday life and why they may be in the situations they are in. He points out how some people have to change their whole lifestyle because of their living conditions and to support their families.