Aria

"Fortunately, my teachers were unsentimental about their responsibility. What they understood was that i needed to speak a public language. So their voices would search me out, asking me questions. Each time I'd hear them, I'd look up in surprise to see a nun's face frowning at me. I'd mumble, not really knowing the answer. The nun would persist, Richard, stand up. Don't look at the floor. Speak up."

The teacher in this quote seemed to make Richard extremely nervous when it came to answering a question in English. I feel as though he was pressured to learn the "public language" because it's what our society expects. By his teachers calling him out in front of the class it did embarrass him but it also seemed to push him. He mentions that he would have felt less afraid is the teacher addressed him in Spanish but i don't think that he would have learned from that. Being pushed helped him to face his fear and eventually helped him to reach his goal of speaking the English language. I believe that it's a good thing he learned English as a child because when you get older its harder to absorb new things such as a new language.

"One day in school I raised my hand to volunteer an answer. I spoke out in a loud voice. And i did not think it remarkable when the entire class understood. That day, I moved very far from the disadvantaged child I had been days earlier. The belief, the calming assurance that I belong in public. had at last taken hold."

This quote is saying that Richard finally faced his fears. He volunteered to answer a question in English. I believe that this is the first time he feels accepted by society because its hard to live in America and not know how to speak English. I feel as though he was so worried because our society can be very judgmental. He has heard people speak perfect English so he probably without knowing set high expectations for himself. Where as this reminds me of the saying "practice makes perfect." In the end he faced his fears and could finally feel accepted.

"I had used earlier mama and papa- I couldn't use that anymore. They would have been too painful reminders of how much had changed in my life."

I find it different that Richard changed languages completely. He went from speaking Spanish to transitioning entirely to English. If this was me I think I would prefer to be bilingual because it can be an advantage, especially in our society. I have been on several job interviews where they asked if i speak another language, because it's beneficial in today's society. I believe that he said it was painful reminders because he lost communication with his family. Which I still don't understand why he did this because its seems like he traded his family for being accepted to our society.


I liked this article because it is written in the first person. You are emotionally given an idea of how Rodriquez is feeling. You don't really think on a day to day basis how important it is in our society to know the English language, but after reading "Aria" I realized this. We tend to take little things for granted and forget how big of an asset English is to us. I cannot imagine how frightening it would be to live in a foreign country and not know a word of that cultures language. This relates to Delpit because the English language is the power in our culture.

I also was a little confused to why he switched languages completely. Especially since he lost communication with his family. As I mentioned previously in today's society it can be extremely beneficial to be bi-lingual. In general I did admire Richards determination to reach his goals.