from “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez

Directions:Read the first section titled, “Aria” then answer the following questions.

  1. What is an aria? (Check all definitions – not just the first one – use the one that applies to this essay.)
  1. Why do you think Rodriguez chose it for his title?
  1. Is it an appropriate title?
  1. Is it effective?
  1. Explain how Rodriguez establishes his ethos in the opening four paragraphs.
  1. One way to read Richard Rodriguez’s essay is as a discussion of two discrete education philosophies. What are they?

b.

  1. According to Rodriguez, how can language define community – both negatively and positively?
  1. What does Rodriguez mean when he says, “[I]n a way, it didn’t matter very much that my parents could not speak English with ease… And yet, in another way, it mattered very much.” (paragraph 15)
  1. What does Rodriguez mean by calling Spanish a “private language” (paragraph 17)?
  1. Even if you do not speak more than one language, does your family have what you would characterize as a “private language”? Explain
  1. Rodriguez admits, “Matching the silence I started hearing in public what was a new quiet at home (paragraph 38). Later he says, “The silence at home, however, was finally more than a literal silence” (paragraph 41). Does he convince you that this change in family relationships is worthwhile in terms of his “dramatic Americanization” (paragraph 37)? Why or why not
  1. What does Rodriguez mean in the following statement: “[W]hile one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individually” (paragraph 43)?
  1. In several sections, Rodriguez makes his point by narrative (such as the moment in school when he first hears his name). How does narrative contribute to the effectiveness of Rodriguez argument?
  1. Write one major counterarguments Rodriguez addresses. (He does not address them all at once; identify a specific passage).
  1. Rodriguez develops his argument largely through his own experience and opinions, but without quantitative data from research or the views of experts. How convincing is he?
  1. Do you think more formal evidence would have strengthened his argument? Explain.
  1. Rodriguez draws the following analogy in paragraph 58: “Just as Spanish would have been a dangerous language for me to have used at the start of my education, so black English would be a dangerous language to use in the schooling of teenagers for whom it reinforces feelings of public separateness.”
  1. Define analogy
  1. Do you find this analogy convincing? Why or why not?
  1. What is Rodriguez’s argument for bilingual education? Is he for or against it? Explain.