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Internal Conflict In Richard Rodriguez's The Hunger Of Memory

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Internal Conflict In Richard Rodriguez's The Hunger Of Memory
Richard Rodriguez is a writer, but he once said, “Once upon a time, I was a socially “disadvantaged” child. (Rodriguez 1). When cultures collide, a person not only experiences conflict with others and society, but also within themselves. In the memoir, “The Hunger of Memory,” by Richard Rodriguez, Richard undergoes internal conflict by struggling to maintain connection with his family and despises in learning about his own history.
Rodriguez is ignorant of his relationship with his parents that he has no knowledge about his own heritage. He states, “the name, i carry from my parents - who are no longer my parents, in cultural sense.” (Rodriguez 32). This portrays that Rodriguez is no longer aware of his cultural connections with his parents. In addition, Rodriguez …show more content…
Even though he has no intention of finding his ancestry or a cultural relation with his parents, Rodriguez experiences internal conflict by others, influencing him to not care about others opinions. Such as when he said, “The great luxury of my life is the freedom to sit at this desk.” (Rodriguez 28-29). This exemplifies the passion he has for writing rather than focusing on his class and/or culture, that makes him distant from everybody else. Whether his Mexican heritage separates him apart, Rodriguez internally overcomes his conflict by overthrowing the negative assumptions from society.
Richard Rodriguez experiences internal conflict having two different outcomes, he faces battles in connecting relations, but he also improves within himself. The judgement from society has made Rodriguez stronger and more confident with himself. He has learned to not concern about their opinions because his culture or customs have nothing to do with him achieving his goals. Consequently, Rodriguez conveys that, you can not give up your goals in life or ambitions due to the fact that your culture and/or heritage is different than someone
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