Summary Of 'Scholarship Boy' By Richard Rodriguez

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His ostracized youth compels him to spread the message to all other Hispanic Americans in assimilating the necessary skills to survive in the American society while not forgetting his roots like he momentarily did. He describes himself as a “Mexican-American who, in becoming an American, forgets his native society” (Rodriguez, p.230). Feelings of emotional intimacy and belonging are human traits. Everyone wants to belong somewhere. Rodriguez ascertains the theories that ethnic Americans face more dilemmas at finding their place in the world than the average American. Rodriguez has been labeled a ‘privileged’ minority student and his inner turmoil at being a bilingual along with the cultural clashes is evocatively phrased. During the African American Civil Rights movement, when attention was drawn to the poor education of the African Americans the Hispanics also raised their voices which led to numerous academic aids. Rodriguez, being the typical”scholarship boy” was …show more content…

One taught the things the other forbade. Though not an exclusive experience for ethnic Americans, this does hit too close to home for many. The American system parades on being public and open minded. Rodriguez was taught by his mother ‘madre’ to keep his personal details and business to himself. The author says that as he had already made up his mind to follow the American way of life, he chose the publicized way of life. A paradox, in theory, Rodriguez says that the louder and more vocal he got, the quieter his culture and parents became. This choice should not have been mutually conclusive and yet it was. His regret and loss can be felt profoundly through his words. One cannot have the best of both worlds. To have something of value another thing of equal value must be given up. This kind of irrevocable loss and the guilt he felt for having chosen the one that wasn’t his initial home are feelings which are not foreign to ethnic

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