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Stephanie Li
Professor Pines
Rhetoric 101
8 October 2011
Word Count: 1394
Rodriguez's Transformation: Developing a "Sociological Imagination" In his essay, "The
Achievement of Desire," Richard Rodriguez informs readers that he was a scholarship boy
throughout his educational career. He uses his own personal experiences, as well as Richard
Hoggart's definition of the "scholarship boy," to describe himself as someone who constantly
struggles with balancing his life between family and education, and ends up on the side of education.
In recognizing himself as a "scholarship boy," he shows that he has gained what sociologist C. Wright
Mills terms the "sociological imagination," which "enables its possessor to understand the larger
...show more content...
When Rodriguez is in London, he reads Richard Hoggart's The Uses of Literacy, and is able to
see himself in the essay. We see that he gains a "sociological imagination" and that he realizes that
he fits the definition of the "scholarship boy" when he says that he "realized that there were other
students" (517) like him. Hoggart says that this type of student must be "more and more alone"
(517) in order to succeed, and that this student must "cut himself off mentally, so as to do his
homework, as well as he can" (517). Rodriguez shows us that he not only grasps what the
"scholarship boy" is, but he also understands what the "scholarship boy" goes through because of
personal experience. Although he agrees with Hoggart's definition, Rodriguez also adds to the
meaning of the "scholarship boy" by giving his readers the insight of exactly what they go
through, how they think, and why they do what they do. For example, he shows readers that he is
forced to be "more and more alone" (517) by writing about how his relationship with his parents is
weakened, and how the books he reads makes him feel lonelier. This insight not only asserts
Hoggart's definition of the "scholarship boy," but also lengthens and specifies it. Rodriguez also
shows us that he has gained the "sociological imagination" by writing about his appreciation and
understanding
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Late Victorians Richard Rodriguez Analysis
In the 1980's and 1990's, society wasn't the most accepting of places for people who were
different from the "social norms". Now I know, people today still struggle with trying to fit in and
be "normal" but it was different. Being a gay man living in San Fransisco at the time, which had a
large gay population, Richard Rodriguez had a hard time dealing with the discrimination he faced.
Richard Rodriguez was an American journalist who wrote and published a memoir about his life as a
gay man. In October of 1990, Rodriguez published his memoir "Late Victorians" in Harper's
Magazine, a critically acclaimed publication of the time. In his memoir, Rodriguez describes what
it was like to realize he was gay and watch as the country changed to become a more accepting
place. He does this by setting up how things can change and then explaining the actual ways things
change for the gay population. In "Late Victorians", Rodriguez tries to show...show more content...
He continues to use architecture to show how the acceptance is building and people are starting to
believe that it is okay to be whoever you truly are. If you live in a place where you feel comfortable
enough to be who you are, you will be a more confident person overall. "What strikes me is the
confidence of Victorian architecture. Stairs, connecting one story with another, describe the
confidence that bound generations together through time – confidence that the family would inherit
the earth" (Rodriguez 59). Rodriguez wrote this to show that he began to feel like he was accepted
for who he was and it gave him the confidence to be his true self and that our country is climbing in
the right direction. By doing this, he urges people to open their hearts and realize that everyone
deserves to be accepted and our country has had too much discrimination in our history. We don't
need
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Learning a new language seems to have only positive effects. However, for a Mexican American,
accomplishing this goal brought him drawbacks in the interaction with his family. In his essay,
''Public and Private language,'' Richard Rodriguez describes the difficulty in learning a new
language and the sacrifice he makes to accomplish his goal. Richard Rodriguez shares the
difficulty for older people, as they learn a new language; however, for younger generations is
easier to learn a new language. Also, the new language creates a lack of communication for
Richard Rodriguez. In the text, we can easily see how the author argues his implicit thesis
through logos, one of Aristotle's appeals. Even though the thesis is implicit because it is not
stated, it is developed all over the text clearly and specifically. A credible evidence of the thesis is
found when Rodriguez states, '' At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had been
technically true since my birth: I was an American citizen.'' This is meaning that however difficult
it is to learn English, it is only a matter of time because he is an American citizen. So, the
argument is logical and organized in a reasonable way. An example of this can be found in the
middle of the text when Rodriguez says ''Again and again in the days following, increasingly angry,
I was obliged to hear my mother and father: Speak to us en ingles.'' This sentence means that
Rodriguez was disappointed because his parents were
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Hunger Of Memory Richard Rodriguez
Richard Rodriguez, the author of Hunger of Memory, is a Mexican man who rose above prejudices
to become a distinguished member of society through education. Sherman Alexie, the author of
"Superman and Me," is a Native American man who grew up on an Indian reservation with a love of
books and a penchant for learning in an attempt to exceed further than the predetermined path set in
front of him. Rodriguez perceives education as something that has built a division between him and
his family but allowed for assimilation into American life and achieve more than the initial
expectations of him, meanwhile, Alexie, who remains close to his family and defied all odds,
perceives education as a life–saving tool that could potentially change...show more content...
The author, being an educated man, is against these programs because he believes success is
attainable without added help. Rodriguez was a "'socially disadvantaged' child" as he put it;
however, he accomplished everything without help, and believes through dedication achieving
whatever you wish is possible. At the end of the excerpt, the author mentions a Mexican maid. He
ponders on the circumstances which have separated their staunchly different lives. For Rodriguez
education has "Carried me far," whether it is for better or worse.
The non–Indians and Indians alike alienated young Alexie at school. In order to conform to
subservient expectations, smart Indian children were bullied into not actively talking or participating
in class further emphasizing "Indian children who were expected to be stupid" (Alexie). Teachers
would ignore the peer pressuring and bullying happening around them. Because the non–Indians
actively denied the Indian kids of participating in school, they could not assimilate. Despite the
persistence of non–Indians and Indians to deny Alexie the right to learn, he persevered and
overcame adversity. His father inspired him "My father loved books, and since I loved my father
with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well" paving the road to the rest of his life
(Alexie). Alexie assimilated to the American way of life, but he did not forget his roots. Contrary to
what he originally thought the direction his life was heading toward,
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Education Experience The Lonely, Good Company of Books by Richard Rodriguez is an excerpt
from HUNGER OF MEMORY: THE EDUCATION OF RICHARD RODRIGUEZ by Richard
Rodriguez. The Lonely, Good Company of Books was published in 1982. Rodriguez is a
Hispanic from San Francisco, California. He struggled with learning to read in English even
though both of his parents spoke English and Spanish. Throughout the whole excerpt, Rodriguez
talks about his struggles and his efforts in reading books that were tough. He criticizes the school
system in the way that it does not help students with reading. When Rodriguez was a child his
mother always told him to not write in the books so that the books could be sold at the end of the
school year. He would go to school and come to the realization that reading was the central
activity of the class. There would be signs all over the wall encouraging students to read. As
Rodriguez would listen to the constant lectures of reading will help you learn, he got lost in all
the words as he began to read. Rodriguez did not understand words, sentences, paragraphs or even
pages at a time. He would have to look the meaning of the words up to fully comprehend the
meaning of the book. Additionally, Rodriguez did not like what reading meant. Reading to
Rodriguez was more of a chore rather than for enjoyment. Reading meant that he would be all alone
in isolation trying to understand what the meaning behind the book was. In order to fix his
loneliness, he felt
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Richard Rodriguez "Real Work" Essay Analysis
D'Auvray Xan D'Auvray
Kevin Knight
English 111
September 12th, 2012
"Real Work" by Richard Rodriguez is about a young man struggling with self–confidence. He seeks
to build his self–esteem by participating in real manual labor over a summer job. When Rodriguez
is offered a job working on a construction site he doesn't hesitate to say yes. His father had always
told him he could never understand the hardships of "Real work', and Rodriguez felt that
completing this summer job would make his father proud of him, and in many ways consider him
to be a "Real man". Richard Rodriguez was raised in America, unlike his family. He never really
knew anything different. This made it very easy for his father to tell him that "he didn't really know
...show more content...
The father figure depicted in this story could be viewed in a few different ways. At first I thought
the authors father was kind of a stuck up, rude man, who was sour about the advantages of living
a normal life in American society. I felt that he had made his son feel like he could never do what
he had down. If a parental figure makes you feel like that, there tends to be a reaction. It could be
positive or negative. In Rodriguez's case he took what his father said, and harnessed it into a positive
learning experience. When I thought about more in depth, it became clear that Rodriguez's father
wasn't putting his son down at all. He was simply explaining to his son how different their worlds
where. He was stressing that although his son had more opportunity, and was presented with much
greater potential to be excellent, that the work he did growing up was much harder, and tough than
most people realize. His father was just making it known that in his working years he did not have
many options as to career choices. But on the other hand I can easily see why the author felt that
his father had challenged him. Much like I felt my father was challenging me. Rodriguez felt like
he needed to prove that he could perform the same task that his fathers use to do to provide for their
families. Working with you're your hands, completing messy, strenuous, sometimes painful jobs was
almost a part of Hispanic culture. A part of
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Richard Rodriquez
In the article, "Aria: The memoir of a bilingual childhood" Richard Rodriquez explains the
difficulty to learn English at a young age. He is building up skills that will help him speak fluently
to the public. He began to lose the connection with his family from not speaking Spanish when they
helped him to develop his English. From the essay, Rodriquez heard so many words in the public
that it was a mystery to him. There were syllable words that he began to discover from people
talking to him in the public. It shows the potential that he has to make an effort to understand the
English from what he hear from another person communication. It brings him to develop the
variation what he had learned Spanish to English. It also shows in the essay that he was more
challenge to understand his parent accent in English to the public....show more content...
Later it made him speak more fluently in English from his household and have confidence to speak
to the class. Rodriquez had eventually noticed the loss of communication in Spanish often to their
family as they go far apart for each other. While at the same time, he will be like every other people
with the same identity, personality, and traits. In the end of the essay Richard Rodriquez explains he
did not much listen his parent accent or their grammatical structure in the public. It had not made
him worry to correct his parent word. The setting had shown the support the language has been
greatly effective to his parent, but also shown Rodriquez personality has changed that transition from
Spanish to English. What it has also shown Spanish had been the memory of him that give the idea
of communication through songs, work days, and fun time. The skills also affect the main access to
the main that show positive of getting the effective to the public, but it had it been making the
connection to English to the public
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'Blaxican' By Richard Rodriguez
In Richard Rodriguez's, "Blaxican" he talks about assimilation and how it is bound to happen
whether we like it or not. Assimilation isn't something that we should be against but rather
welcome it with an open mind and open arms. America has always been divided into "black and
white" conversations, he says; and Richard Nixon is one to blame. Richard Rodriguez blames
President Nixon for classifying all races and putting them into limited categories. Throughout the
insert he makes it clear that a person's culture should not be dictated on their skin color but rather
on what makes them feel comfortable, which is he why he classifies himself as being "Chinese" at
one point. Richard Rodriguez goes more in depth about how just because he is Mexican,
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“Richard Rodriguez: A Bilingual Childhood” Essay
"Richard Rodriguez: A Bilingual Childhood"
For more than 300 years, immigrants from every corner of the globe have settled in America,
creating the most diverse and heterogeneous nation on Earth. Though immigrants have given much
to the country, their process of changing from their homeland to the new land has never been easy.
To immigrate does not only mean to come and live in a country after leaving your own country, but it
also means to deal with many new and unfamiliar situations, social backgrounds, cultures, and
mainly with the acquisition and master of a new language. This often causes mixed emotions,
frustration, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. In Richard Rodriguez's essay "Aria: Memoir of a
Bilingual Childhood", the author...show more content...
On the one hand, English was the language used to communicate with outsiders. It was a tool for
survival and held no personal meaning. It was crucial for public success. On the other hand, in
Richard Rodriguez's own words: "Spanish was associated with closeness". By reading the
previous passage, we can clearly infer that Spanish was the key to Richard's confort. Hearing
Spanish brought Rodriguez feelings of love, acceptance, family, and security. Spanish was a
reminder of home and seemed to him a private language. In other words, he was surrounded by a
web built by the family love and security which is conveyed by using the Spanish language, as the
following passage shows: "...Spanish seemed to me the language of home...It became the language
of joyful return...". Moreover, if we consider the following passage:"You belong here. We are
family members. Related. Special to one another" it is possible to say that Spanish language made
Rodriguez felt as part of his family, creating a feeling of belonging and reinforcing family ties and
ethnic heritage.
Another effect to take into account is Richard's relationship with his parents. As time went by,
language became a real problem for him and together with this, Rodriguez developed negative
feelings towards his family. English seemed odd and difficult for Richard until a few of his teachers
visited his house. In order to improve Richard's master of English
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Bilingual Education: Richard Rodriguez
People of all ages constantly learn how to speak multiple languages. Children are taught to become
bilingual, which increases their knowledge. A young boy named Richard Rodriguez grew up in San
Francisco, California with a household of Spanish speaking family members. Rodriguez barely
knew English when he entered his early years of Elementary school. Through the course of his
education Rodriguez took note of how different he was from his family, and slowly began to lose
his heritage. Rodriguez's family embarrassed him since he was categorized as a Scholarship boy,
which means a good student yet also a troubled son whose moderately endowed (Rodriguez 19). "In
this gray room her eyes shine with ambition. She keeps nodding at all I say; she
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Education By Richard Rodriguez Summary
The younger son, Richard Rodriguez, wrote his story of growing up and being educated in his
family. He explains, very early in his life education change him and brought upon him. School
focus his to speak only English, his parents encouraged him becoming an educated person and they
pushed him to work hard at school. At the same time his parents didn't want him to forgot his
language and culture. After that he challenge himself, speak more English than Spanish until
English become his primary language. The more he successes the less he connects with his family,
this is a big effect his family life, his parents would feel so painful about his life had changed. In
his reading see like he doesn't happy with his successes.
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Achievement Of Desire Summary
In his essay "The Achievement of Desire," Richard Rodriguez has certain ways of speaking and
caring. In particular, he focuses on his education and his family. These two will eventually clash and
interfere with each other. Rodriguez contrasts school, family, teachers and most importantly himself.
He also tells us how left his childhood and family for education, but when he wanted to return he
couldn't fully do so. He learned he couldn't fully return due to his conforming to education that leads
him to observe and analyze everything.
At the beginning of his educational journey, Rodriguez learns that he can't relate to his family
anymore. They were part of the working class and as they were, he was too. Rodriguez is separated
from them by his devotion to school and learning. This left Rodriguez unaware of his family in his
presence. When it came to homework it wasn't pleasant for him, he was annoyed that he couldn't
get parental help on his assignments., "The night my father tried to help me with an arithmetic
exercise, he kept reading the instructions, each time more deliberately, until I pried the textbook out
of his hands, saying "I'll try to figure out some more by myself" (339). Rodriguez couldn't bear to
watch his parents try to understand his books, homework, and ways of learning. After this
experience, he started trying to do things on his own or seeking help from his teachers.
He sees as he furthers his education that he stays further away from his family mentally.
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Richard Rodriguez Complexion
Authors utilize rhetorical devices in order to convey the true meaning of his work.
In his essay, Complexion, Richard RodrГguez uses the rhetorical modes of description and
symbolism. The description gives the work a story–like flow, while the symbolism makes the reader
more able to experience the emotions and feelings present within the authors "complexion." The
utilization of the stylistic tools aids in conveying the true message of the author's claim which is
that he received mass racism out in the society. Since the essay is an account of his own
experiences with racism, the description works well to take the reader to different periods of time
and events in Rodriguez's life.
The use of description allows the essay to be...show more content...
His mothers friends would also often talk about what a burden or curse it was, to have dark skin, "...it
was a woman's spoken concern: the fear of having a dark–skinned son or daughter." (Rodriguez
449). This displays that in his culture, people preferred light skin children over dark skin, knowing
that a light skinned child would not face as much prejudice a dark skinned child would growing up.
The use of symbolism
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Our education system is perhaps one of the most complex institutions in the United States. Students
are taught to be their most authentic selves but yet are told to think a certain way. In reality,
students really don't have the freedom to be their genuine identity. Our society tells us that a
typical student speaks the language, excels in all areas of study, and loves to read. Children who
do not fit this mold are often at a disadvantage and do not attain the same acceptance. In the essay,
"Achievement of Desire" Richard Rodriguez was a first generation immigrant from Mexico. His
parents spoke little English, and had no education. Automatically, his family is an outcast.
Throughout Rodriguez's schooling career he learned to fit the perfect mold of the "typical"
American student. He finds himself to be in an internal struggle between social versus family
isolation, authenticity and finding his place in the American society. As Rodriguez grows into an
intellectual student, there is an apparent shift of authority in his life. He found himself to be
ashamed his parents and instead yearned to be like his educated teachers. He notes, "I was not
proud of my mother and father. I was embarrassed by their lack of education" (Rodriguez 538). In
his early school years, Rodriguez often compared himself to his other classmates. American children
have educated parents who can help with homework, Rodriguez does not have this relationship with
his parents. For example, when trying to
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Aria By Richard Rodriguez Summary
Richard rodriguez, the author of Aria, uses his experience in his childhood to show how kids like
him faced problems trying to adapt to the society that they lived in. Richard grew up as a immigrant
and as a son of two latino immigrants from mexico that lived in a middle class community. The
middle class community that he lived in mainly consisted of english speaking americans. When the
family moved to their middle class community in america, the family sought out the english language
since it's the country's main language to try and adapt to the country.
Richard grew up in a household that was bilingual. He attended a school that spoke english only and
had student there that spoke only english. His transition from being full latino to latin
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In the narrative called 'Scholarship Boy', by Richard Rodriguez. One can say that the biggest
turning point is when Mr. Rodriguez himself realizes, at the age of thirty. The biggest attribute to
his success and determination is schooling as a young boy. This is when Mr. Rodriguez had to live
two separate lives. One as a young boy eager and willing to learn and develop, and another as a son
and sibling to his family. At the age of thirty he finally is able to come to terms with this fact and
be able to talk about in public and not have to keep it bottled up any longer. During this time in his
life he is writing his dissertation and finds a written piece by Richard Hoggarts called, 'The
Scholarship Boy'. At this point in his life he sees that he is not alone with his life struggles. This
was figuratively like lifting weights off of Mr. Rodriguez's shoulders, you can see how while
telling this part of the story stress is taken off of him. It is interesting to see that during the entire
narrative Mr. Rodriguez seems unappreciative and ungrateful for the life his parents had given him.
He is obviously resentful to the idea that his parents didn't appreciate or value the idea of education,
or at the very least learning the primary language of a country they moved to. Nothing in the story
states that they were ignorant parents and didn't know how to do simple math, the struggle that kept
his parents from being able to give Mr. Rodriguez the attention and affection but most of all
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Richard Rodriguez's Relationship With Parents
Richard Rodriguez had faced a lot of problems that most students in America do not have to deal
with. Richard had to deal with parents that couldn't help him in school and wanting to be
successful academically. He had become embarrassed of his background and where he came
from and did not want to embrace his culture. When Rodriguez was in third grade he was
"annoyed when unable to get help", on a math problem from his mother. I can understand why
Richard would get aggravated about such a problem. When I was young and would ask for help
on my homework and my mom wouldn't help me the same way that my friends parents would help
them (give them answers) I would get immensely frustrated. I didn't think it was fair. My friends
would get help painlessly and my mom would sit there and know the answer and not tell me, but try
to teach me how to do it. And to add insult...show more content...
But like me, it pushed Rodriguez to learn more and to be more studios. Instead of just asking his
mom when he struggled he had no choice but to focus hard in class so when it came time to do
his homework he was already prepared to do the problem correctly. Rodriguez lost all connection
with his family. He was unable to converse with them he had grown so far apart. Rodriguez felt
"embarrassed" to embrace his personal background. He spoke of when his parents came to school
and could not not speak English fluently and how it made him embarrassed because he did not
want to profess his ethical background. Remember those days in school when you would
"popcorn" read? You dreaded the end of a paragraph because it meant you had a shot of being the
next reader. You feared even more when the reader before you performed perfectly. You hear your
name and the hell begins. You misread a line or completely butcher a word. It was terrible for the
average sheepish and awkward
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In his essay "Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans" Richard Rodriguez supports his claim that
identity is a choice by providing an anecdote that exemplifies his point. Rodriguez gives an anecdote
about going to San Diego where he went to a convention of mixed–race children and he expected for
the parents to be black and white. Then Rodriguez met a young girl. Rodriguez stated, "But this girl
said that her mother was Mexican and that her father was African. The girl said "Blaxican." By
reinventing language, she is reinventing America (lines 187–189)." Rodriguez is demonstrating that
the young girl is reinventing herself. She is reinventing herself by believing in who she is and
choosing her identity.
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To fully comprehend a work you cannot just read it. You must read it, analyze it, question it, and
even then question what you are questioning. In Richard Rodriguez's The Achievement of Desire
we are presented with a young Richard Rodriguez and follow him from the start of his education
until he is an adult finally having reached his goals. In reference to the way he reads for the
majority of his education, it can be said he reads going with the grain, while he reads a large volume
of books, the quality of his reading is lacking.
Richard Rodriguez states himself he was an "imitative and unoriginal pupil" (Rodriguez 516). He
takes what he reads and goes along with it; there is no analysis or individual thought. Unlike his
brother or his...show more content...
Furthermore Richard Rodriguez not only "reads with the grain" but it appears he takes the same
approach in every other aspect of his life. He states he idolized his teachers, even imitating them and
trusting their every direction. (Rodriguez 518). While most children do not question authority
openly and frequently, Rodriguez is so impressed and awed by his teachers he can't possibly form
his own opinions about what they are telling him. He just shakes his head yes in agreement.
Eventually Richard Rodriguez develops bitterness towards his parents. For being uneducated and
ignorant, His thirst for knowledge has transformed him into someone who holds a distain for those
without knowledge or esteem. Then he transforms into someone who feels guilt over his success. His
family life has turned into an atypical situation where there is very little closeness between him
and the other members of his family. This is caused by his increasing want to distance himself
from what he believes to be uneducated. This separation from his family caused a longing in his
life. But this longing was superseded by what he suspected his teachers could give him. Rodriguez
develops a double personality of sorts. The person he is at home, the polite child who lovingly does
what his parents ask of him. And then the academic persona he
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An Analysis of Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood by Richard Rodriguez Aria: A Memoir of
a Bilingual Childhood by Richard Rodriguez is an essay that shows his readers a part of life that
many have never experienced. Rodriguez uses this essay to show how he fights through his
childhood to understand English. Speaking clear English will help him to fit in to society. He faces
society while forfeiting his happy home life, to try to become a typical English–speaking student. As
a young child, Rodriguez finds comfort and safety in his noisy home full of Spanish sounds.
Spanish, is his family's' intimate language that comforts Rodriguez by surrounding him in a web
built by the family love and security which is conveyed using...show more content...
Rodriguez begins to become more involved in his classroom by his new grip on the English
language. He shares fewer and fewer words with his mother and father. His tone now transforms
into guilt. As Rodriguez's public language becomes more fluent, he forgets how to speak Spanish.
"I would have been happier about my public success had I not recalled, sometimes, what it had
been like earlier, when my family conveyed its intimacy through a set of conveniently private
sound.? He begins to break out of the cocoon as a slow or disadvantaged child and blooms into a
regular kid in his white society that only uses English. He feels a great sense of betrayal of his
Mexican past. His connection that held him so close to his family is destabilized. Rodriguez's
parents think they are doing the best job possible raising their three children. Being a lower class
family, money was not something that was always available. His mother and father can always
supply them with love and nurturing. The way they let their children know they are special and
close is to talk to them in their private language. His parents could not speak good English; they
could not translate their terms of endearment for the children without the saying losing its meaning.
"Using Spanish, he (the father) was quickly effusive...his voice would spark, flicker, flare alive with
varied sounds.? Only speaking English, the father is a completely different person.
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Richard Rodriguez Essays

  • 1. Stephanie Li Professor Pines Rhetoric 101 8 October 2011 Word Count: 1394 Rodriguez's Transformation: Developing a "Sociological Imagination" In his essay, "The Achievement of Desire," Richard Rodriguez informs readers that he was a scholarship boy throughout his educational career. He uses his own personal experiences, as well as Richard Hoggart's definition of the "scholarship boy," to describe himself as someone who constantly struggles with balancing his life between family and education, and ends up on the side of education. In recognizing himself as a "scholarship boy," he shows that he has gained what sociologist C. Wright Mills terms the "sociological imagination," which "enables its possessor to understand the larger ...show more content... When Rodriguez is in London, he reads Richard Hoggart's The Uses of Literacy, and is able to see himself in the essay. We see that he gains a "sociological imagination" and that he realizes that he fits the definition of the "scholarship boy" when he says that he "realized that there were other students" (517) like him. Hoggart says that this type of student must be "more and more alone" (517) in order to succeed, and that this student must "cut himself off mentally, so as to do his homework, as well as he can" (517). Rodriguez shows us that he not only grasps what the "scholarship boy" is, but he also understands what the "scholarship boy" goes through because of personal experience. Although he agrees with Hoggart's definition, Rodriguez also adds to the meaning of the "scholarship boy" by giving his readers the insight of exactly what they go through, how they think, and why they do what they do. For example, he shows readers that he is forced to be "more and more alone" (517) by writing about how his relationship with his parents is weakened, and how the books he reads makes him feel lonelier. This insight not only asserts Hoggart's definition of the "scholarship boy," but also lengthens and specifies it. Rodriguez also shows us that he has gained the "sociological imagination" by writing about his appreciation and understanding Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 2. Late Victorians Richard Rodriguez Analysis In the 1980's and 1990's, society wasn't the most accepting of places for people who were different from the "social norms". Now I know, people today still struggle with trying to fit in and be "normal" but it was different. Being a gay man living in San Fransisco at the time, which had a large gay population, Richard Rodriguez had a hard time dealing with the discrimination he faced. Richard Rodriguez was an American journalist who wrote and published a memoir about his life as a gay man. In October of 1990, Rodriguez published his memoir "Late Victorians" in Harper's Magazine, a critically acclaimed publication of the time. In his memoir, Rodriguez describes what it was like to realize he was gay and watch as the country changed to become a more accepting place. He does this by setting up how things can change and then explaining the actual ways things change for the gay population. In "Late Victorians", Rodriguez tries to show...show more content... He continues to use architecture to show how the acceptance is building and people are starting to believe that it is okay to be whoever you truly are. If you live in a place where you feel comfortable enough to be who you are, you will be a more confident person overall. "What strikes me is the confidence of Victorian architecture. Stairs, connecting one story with another, describe the confidence that bound generations together through time – confidence that the family would inherit the earth" (Rodriguez 59). Rodriguez wrote this to show that he began to feel like he was accepted for who he was and it gave him the confidence to be his true self and that our country is climbing in the right direction. By doing this, he urges people to open their hearts and realize that everyone deserves to be accepted and our country has had too much discrimination in our history. We don't need Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 3. Learning a new language seems to have only positive effects. However, for a Mexican American, accomplishing this goal brought him drawbacks in the interaction with his family. In his essay, ''Public and Private language,'' Richard Rodriguez describes the difficulty in learning a new language and the sacrifice he makes to accomplish his goal. Richard Rodriguez shares the difficulty for older people, as they learn a new language; however, for younger generations is easier to learn a new language. Also, the new language creates a lack of communication for Richard Rodriguez. In the text, we can easily see how the author argues his implicit thesis through logos, one of Aristotle's appeals. Even though the thesis is implicit because it is not stated, it is developed all over the text clearly and specifically. A credible evidence of the thesis is found when Rodriguez states, '' At last, seven years old, I came to believe what had been technically true since my birth: I was an American citizen.'' This is meaning that however difficult it is to learn English, it is only a matter of time because he is an American citizen. So, the argument is logical and organized in a reasonable way. An example of this can be found in the middle of the text when Rodriguez says ''Again and again in the days following, increasingly angry, I was obliged to hear my mother and father: Speak to us en ingles.'' This sentence means that Rodriguez was disappointed because his parents were Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 4. Hunger Of Memory Richard Rodriguez Richard Rodriguez, the author of Hunger of Memory, is a Mexican man who rose above prejudices to become a distinguished member of society through education. Sherman Alexie, the author of "Superman and Me," is a Native American man who grew up on an Indian reservation with a love of books and a penchant for learning in an attempt to exceed further than the predetermined path set in front of him. Rodriguez perceives education as something that has built a division between him and his family but allowed for assimilation into American life and achieve more than the initial expectations of him, meanwhile, Alexie, who remains close to his family and defied all odds, perceives education as a life–saving tool that could potentially change...show more content... The author, being an educated man, is against these programs because he believes success is attainable without added help. Rodriguez was a "'socially disadvantaged' child" as he put it; however, he accomplished everything without help, and believes through dedication achieving whatever you wish is possible. At the end of the excerpt, the author mentions a Mexican maid. He ponders on the circumstances which have separated their staunchly different lives. For Rodriguez education has "Carried me far," whether it is for better or worse. The non–Indians and Indians alike alienated young Alexie at school. In order to conform to subservient expectations, smart Indian children were bullied into not actively talking or participating in class further emphasizing "Indian children who were expected to be stupid" (Alexie). Teachers would ignore the peer pressuring and bullying happening around them. Because the non–Indians actively denied the Indian kids of participating in school, they could not assimilate. Despite the persistence of non–Indians and Indians to deny Alexie the right to learn, he persevered and overcame adversity. His father inspired him "My father loved books, and since I loved my father with an aching devotion, I decided to love books as well" paving the road to the rest of his life (Alexie). Alexie assimilated to the American way of life, but he did not forget his roots. Contrary to what he originally thought the direction his life was heading toward, Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 5. Education Experience The Lonely, Good Company of Books by Richard Rodriguez is an excerpt from HUNGER OF MEMORY: THE EDUCATION OF RICHARD RODRIGUEZ by Richard Rodriguez. The Lonely, Good Company of Books was published in 1982. Rodriguez is a Hispanic from San Francisco, California. He struggled with learning to read in English even though both of his parents spoke English and Spanish. Throughout the whole excerpt, Rodriguez talks about his struggles and his efforts in reading books that were tough. He criticizes the school system in the way that it does not help students with reading. When Rodriguez was a child his mother always told him to not write in the books so that the books could be sold at the end of the school year. He would go to school and come to the realization that reading was the central activity of the class. There would be signs all over the wall encouraging students to read. As Rodriguez would listen to the constant lectures of reading will help you learn, he got lost in all the words as he began to read. Rodriguez did not understand words, sentences, paragraphs or even pages at a time. He would have to look the meaning of the words up to fully comprehend the meaning of the book. Additionally, Rodriguez did not like what reading meant. Reading to Rodriguez was more of a chore rather than for enjoyment. Reading meant that he would be all alone in isolation trying to understand what the meaning behind the book was. In order to fix his loneliness, he felt Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 6. Richard Rodriguez "Real Work" Essay Analysis D'Auvray Xan D'Auvray Kevin Knight English 111 September 12th, 2012 "Real Work" by Richard Rodriguez is about a young man struggling with self–confidence. He seeks to build his self–esteem by participating in real manual labor over a summer job. When Rodriguez is offered a job working on a construction site he doesn't hesitate to say yes. His father had always told him he could never understand the hardships of "Real work', and Rodriguez felt that completing this summer job would make his father proud of him, and in many ways consider him to be a "Real man". Richard Rodriguez was raised in America, unlike his family. He never really knew anything different. This made it very easy for his father to tell him that "he didn't really know ...show more content... The father figure depicted in this story could be viewed in a few different ways. At first I thought the authors father was kind of a stuck up, rude man, who was sour about the advantages of living a normal life in American society. I felt that he had made his son feel like he could never do what he had down. If a parental figure makes you feel like that, there tends to be a reaction. It could be positive or negative. In Rodriguez's case he took what his father said, and harnessed it into a positive learning experience. When I thought about more in depth, it became clear that Rodriguez's father wasn't putting his son down at all. He was simply explaining to his son how different their worlds where. He was stressing that although his son had more opportunity, and was presented with much greater potential to be excellent, that the work he did growing up was much harder, and tough than most people realize. His father was just making it known that in his working years he did not have many options as to career choices. But on the other hand I can easily see why the author felt that his father had challenged him. Much like I felt my father was challenging me. Rodriguez felt like he needed to prove that he could perform the same task that his fathers use to do to provide for their families. Working with you're your hands, completing messy, strenuous, sometimes painful jobs was almost a part of Hispanic culture. A part of Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 7. Richard Rodriquez In the article, "Aria: The memoir of a bilingual childhood" Richard Rodriquez explains the difficulty to learn English at a young age. He is building up skills that will help him speak fluently to the public. He began to lose the connection with his family from not speaking Spanish when they helped him to develop his English. From the essay, Rodriquez heard so many words in the public that it was a mystery to him. There were syllable words that he began to discover from people talking to him in the public. It shows the potential that he has to make an effort to understand the English from what he hear from another person communication. It brings him to develop the variation what he had learned Spanish to English. It also shows in the essay that he was more challenge to understand his parent accent in English to the public....show more content... Later it made him speak more fluently in English from his household and have confidence to speak to the class. Rodriquez had eventually noticed the loss of communication in Spanish often to their family as they go far apart for each other. While at the same time, he will be like every other people with the same identity, personality, and traits. In the end of the essay Richard Rodriquez explains he did not much listen his parent accent or their grammatical structure in the public. It had not made him worry to correct his parent word. The setting had shown the support the language has been greatly effective to his parent, but also shown Rodriquez personality has changed that transition from Spanish to English. What it has also shown Spanish had been the memory of him that give the idea of communication through songs, work days, and fun time. The skills also affect the main access to the main that show positive of getting the effective to the public, but it had it been making the connection to English to the public Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 8. 'Blaxican' By Richard Rodriguez In Richard Rodriguez's, "Blaxican" he talks about assimilation and how it is bound to happen whether we like it or not. Assimilation isn't something that we should be against but rather welcome it with an open mind and open arms. America has always been divided into "black and white" conversations, he says; and Richard Nixon is one to blame. Richard Rodriguez blames President Nixon for classifying all races and putting them into limited categories. Throughout the insert he makes it clear that a person's culture should not be dictated on their skin color but rather on what makes them feel comfortable, which is he why he classifies himself as being "Chinese" at one point. Richard Rodriguez goes more in depth about how just because he is Mexican, Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 9. “Richard Rodriguez: A Bilingual Childhood” Essay "Richard Rodriguez: A Bilingual Childhood" For more than 300 years, immigrants from every corner of the globe have settled in America, creating the most diverse and heterogeneous nation on Earth. Though immigrants have given much to the country, their process of changing from their homeland to the new land has never been easy. To immigrate does not only mean to come and live in a country after leaving your own country, but it also means to deal with many new and unfamiliar situations, social backgrounds, cultures, and mainly with the acquisition and master of a new language. This often causes mixed emotions, frustration, awkward feelings, and other conflicts. In Richard Rodriguez's essay "Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood", the author...show more content... On the one hand, English was the language used to communicate with outsiders. It was a tool for survival and held no personal meaning. It was crucial for public success. On the other hand, in Richard Rodriguez's own words: "Spanish was associated with closeness". By reading the previous passage, we can clearly infer that Spanish was the key to Richard's confort. Hearing Spanish brought Rodriguez feelings of love, acceptance, family, and security. Spanish was a reminder of home and seemed to him a private language. In other words, he was surrounded by a web built by the family love and security which is conveyed by using the Spanish language, as the following passage shows: "...Spanish seemed to me the language of home...It became the language of joyful return...". Moreover, if we consider the following passage:"You belong here. We are family members. Related. Special to one another" it is possible to say that Spanish language made Rodriguez felt as part of his family, creating a feeling of belonging and reinforcing family ties and ethnic heritage. Another effect to take into account is Richard's relationship with his parents. As time went by, language became a real problem for him and together with this, Rodriguez developed negative feelings towards his family. English seemed odd and difficult for Richard until a few of his teachers visited his house. In order to improve Richard's master of English Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 10. Bilingual Education: Richard Rodriguez People of all ages constantly learn how to speak multiple languages. Children are taught to become bilingual, which increases their knowledge. A young boy named Richard Rodriguez grew up in San Francisco, California with a household of Spanish speaking family members. Rodriguez barely knew English when he entered his early years of Elementary school. Through the course of his education Rodriguez took note of how different he was from his family, and slowly began to lose his heritage. Rodriguez's family embarrassed him since he was categorized as a Scholarship boy, which means a good student yet also a troubled son whose moderately endowed (Rodriguez 19). "In this gray room her eyes shine with ambition. She keeps nodding at all I say; she Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 11. Education By Richard Rodriguez Summary The younger son, Richard Rodriguez, wrote his story of growing up and being educated in his family. He explains, very early in his life education change him and brought upon him. School focus his to speak only English, his parents encouraged him becoming an educated person and they pushed him to work hard at school. At the same time his parents didn't want him to forgot his language and culture. After that he challenge himself, speak more English than Spanish until English become his primary language. The more he successes the less he connects with his family, this is a big effect his family life, his parents would feel so painful about his life had changed. In his reading see like he doesn't happy with his successes. Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 12. Achievement Of Desire Summary In his essay "The Achievement of Desire," Richard Rodriguez has certain ways of speaking and caring. In particular, he focuses on his education and his family. These two will eventually clash and interfere with each other. Rodriguez contrasts school, family, teachers and most importantly himself. He also tells us how left his childhood and family for education, but when he wanted to return he couldn't fully do so. He learned he couldn't fully return due to his conforming to education that leads him to observe and analyze everything. At the beginning of his educational journey, Rodriguez learns that he can't relate to his family anymore. They were part of the working class and as they were, he was too. Rodriguez is separated from them by his devotion to school and learning. This left Rodriguez unaware of his family in his presence. When it came to homework it wasn't pleasant for him, he was annoyed that he couldn't get parental help on his assignments., "The night my father tried to help me with an arithmetic exercise, he kept reading the instructions, each time more deliberately, until I pried the textbook out of his hands, saying "I'll try to figure out some more by myself" (339). Rodriguez couldn't bear to watch his parents try to understand his books, homework, and ways of learning. After this experience, he started trying to do things on his own or seeking help from his teachers. He sees as he furthers his education that he stays further away from his family mentally. Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 13. Richard Rodriguez Complexion Authors utilize rhetorical devices in order to convey the true meaning of his work. In his essay, Complexion, Richard RodrГguez uses the rhetorical modes of description and symbolism. The description gives the work a story–like flow, while the symbolism makes the reader more able to experience the emotions and feelings present within the authors "complexion." The utilization of the stylistic tools aids in conveying the true message of the author's claim which is that he received mass racism out in the society. Since the essay is an account of his own experiences with racism, the description works well to take the reader to different periods of time and events in Rodriguez's life. The use of description allows the essay to be...show more content... His mothers friends would also often talk about what a burden or curse it was, to have dark skin, "...it was a woman's spoken concern: the fear of having a dark–skinned son or daughter." (Rodriguez 449). This displays that in his culture, people preferred light skin children over dark skin, knowing that a light skinned child would not face as much prejudice a dark skinned child would growing up. The use of symbolism Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 14. Our education system is perhaps one of the most complex institutions in the United States. Students are taught to be their most authentic selves but yet are told to think a certain way. In reality, students really don't have the freedom to be their genuine identity. Our society tells us that a typical student speaks the language, excels in all areas of study, and loves to read. Children who do not fit this mold are often at a disadvantage and do not attain the same acceptance. In the essay, "Achievement of Desire" Richard Rodriguez was a first generation immigrant from Mexico. His parents spoke little English, and had no education. Automatically, his family is an outcast. Throughout Rodriguez's schooling career he learned to fit the perfect mold of the "typical" American student. He finds himself to be in an internal struggle between social versus family isolation, authenticity and finding his place in the American society. As Rodriguez grows into an intellectual student, there is an apparent shift of authority in his life. He found himself to be ashamed his parents and instead yearned to be like his educated teachers. He notes, "I was not proud of my mother and father. I was embarrassed by their lack of education" (Rodriguez 538). In his early school years, Rodriguez often compared himself to his other classmates. American children have educated parents who can help with homework, Rodriguez does not have this relationship with his parents. For example, when trying to Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 15. Aria By Richard Rodriguez Summary Richard rodriguez, the author of Aria, uses his experience in his childhood to show how kids like him faced problems trying to adapt to the society that they lived in. Richard grew up as a immigrant and as a son of two latino immigrants from mexico that lived in a middle class community. The middle class community that he lived in mainly consisted of english speaking americans. When the family moved to their middle class community in america, the family sought out the english language since it's the country's main language to try and adapt to the country. Richard grew up in a household that was bilingual. He attended a school that spoke english only and had student there that spoke only english. His transition from being full latino to latin Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 16. In the narrative called 'Scholarship Boy', by Richard Rodriguez. One can say that the biggest turning point is when Mr. Rodriguez himself realizes, at the age of thirty. The biggest attribute to his success and determination is schooling as a young boy. This is when Mr. Rodriguez had to live two separate lives. One as a young boy eager and willing to learn and develop, and another as a son and sibling to his family. At the age of thirty he finally is able to come to terms with this fact and be able to talk about in public and not have to keep it bottled up any longer. During this time in his life he is writing his dissertation and finds a written piece by Richard Hoggarts called, 'The Scholarship Boy'. At this point in his life he sees that he is not alone with his life struggles. This was figuratively like lifting weights off of Mr. Rodriguez's shoulders, you can see how while telling this part of the story stress is taken off of him. It is interesting to see that during the entire narrative Mr. Rodriguez seems unappreciative and ungrateful for the life his parents had given him. He is obviously resentful to the idea that his parents didn't appreciate or value the idea of education, or at the very least learning the primary language of a country they moved to. Nothing in the story states that they were ignorant parents and didn't know how to do simple math, the struggle that kept his parents from being able to give Mr. Rodriguez the attention and affection but most of all Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 17. Richard Rodriguez's Relationship With Parents Richard Rodriguez had faced a lot of problems that most students in America do not have to deal with. Richard had to deal with parents that couldn't help him in school and wanting to be successful academically. He had become embarrassed of his background and where he came from and did not want to embrace his culture. When Rodriguez was in third grade he was "annoyed when unable to get help", on a math problem from his mother. I can understand why Richard would get aggravated about such a problem. When I was young and would ask for help on my homework and my mom wouldn't help me the same way that my friends parents would help them (give them answers) I would get immensely frustrated. I didn't think it was fair. My friends would get help painlessly and my mom would sit there and know the answer and not tell me, but try to teach me how to do it. And to add insult...show more content... But like me, it pushed Rodriguez to learn more and to be more studios. Instead of just asking his mom when he struggled he had no choice but to focus hard in class so when it came time to do his homework he was already prepared to do the problem correctly. Rodriguez lost all connection with his family. He was unable to converse with them he had grown so far apart. Rodriguez felt "embarrassed" to embrace his personal background. He spoke of when his parents came to school and could not not speak English fluently and how it made him embarrassed because he did not want to profess his ethical background. Remember those days in school when you would "popcorn" read? You dreaded the end of a paragraph because it meant you had a shot of being the next reader. You feared even more when the reader before you performed perfectly. You hear your name and the hell begins. You misread a line or completely butcher a word. It was terrible for the average sheepish and awkward Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 18. In his essay "Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans" Richard Rodriguez supports his claim that identity is a choice by providing an anecdote that exemplifies his point. Rodriguez gives an anecdote about going to San Diego where he went to a convention of mixed–race children and he expected for the parents to be black and white. Then Rodriguez met a young girl. Rodriguez stated, "But this girl said that her mother was Mexican and that her father was African. The girl said "Blaxican." By reinventing language, she is reinventing America (lines 187–189)." Rodriguez is demonstrating that the young girl is reinventing herself. She is reinventing herself by believing in who she is and choosing her identity. Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 19. To fully comprehend a work you cannot just read it. You must read it, analyze it, question it, and even then question what you are questioning. In Richard Rodriguez's The Achievement of Desire we are presented with a young Richard Rodriguez and follow him from the start of his education until he is an adult finally having reached his goals. In reference to the way he reads for the majority of his education, it can be said he reads going with the grain, while he reads a large volume of books, the quality of his reading is lacking. Richard Rodriguez states himself he was an "imitative and unoriginal pupil" (Rodriguez 516). He takes what he reads and goes along with it; there is no analysis or individual thought. Unlike his brother or his...show more content... Furthermore Richard Rodriguez not only "reads with the grain" but it appears he takes the same approach in every other aspect of his life. He states he idolized his teachers, even imitating them and trusting their every direction. (Rodriguez 518). While most children do not question authority openly and frequently, Rodriguez is so impressed and awed by his teachers he can't possibly form his own opinions about what they are telling him. He just shakes his head yes in agreement. Eventually Richard Rodriguez develops bitterness towards his parents. For being uneducated and ignorant, His thirst for knowledge has transformed him into someone who holds a distain for those without knowledge or esteem. Then he transforms into someone who feels guilt over his success. His family life has turned into an atypical situation where there is very little closeness between him and the other members of his family. This is caused by his increasing want to distance himself from what he believes to be uneducated. This separation from his family caused a longing in his life. But this longing was superseded by what he suspected his teachers could give him. Rodriguez develops a double personality of sorts. The person he is at home, the polite child who lovingly does what his parents ask of him. And then the academic persona he Get more content on HelpWriting.net
  • 20. An Analysis of Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood by Richard Rodriguez Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood by Richard Rodriguez is an essay that shows his readers a part of life that many have never experienced. Rodriguez uses this essay to show how he fights through his childhood to understand English. Speaking clear English will help him to fit in to society. He faces society while forfeiting his happy home life, to try to become a typical English–speaking student. As a young child, Rodriguez finds comfort and safety in his noisy home full of Spanish sounds. Spanish, is his family's' intimate language that comforts Rodriguez by surrounding him in a web built by the family love and security which is conveyed using...show more content... Rodriguez begins to become more involved in his classroom by his new grip on the English language. He shares fewer and fewer words with his mother and father. His tone now transforms into guilt. As Rodriguez's public language becomes more fluent, he forgets how to speak Spanish. "I would have been happier about my public success had I not recalled, sometimes, what it had been like earlier, when my family conveyed its intimacy through a set of conveniently private sound.? He begins to break out of the cocoon as a slow or disadvantaged child and blooms into a regular kid in his white society that only uses English. He feels a great sense of betrayal of his Mexican past. His connection that held him so close to his family is destabilized. Rodriguez's parents think they are doing the best job possible raising their three children. Being a lower class family, money was not something that was always available. His mother and father can always supply them with love and nurturing. The way they let their children know they are special and close is to talk to them in their private language. His parents could not speak good English; they could not translate their terms of endearment for the children without the saying losing its meaning. "Using Spanish, he (the father) was quickly effusive...his voice would spark, flicker, flare alive with varied sounds.? Only speaking English, the father is a completely different person. Get more content on HelpWriting.net