Richard Rodriguez

2301 Words10 Pages
Community is one of the greatest aspects that allows people to represent their family’s culture and traditions. A group of American sociologists, Robert Bellah and others, authors the essay “Community, Commitment, and Individuality” utilize the idea of how people create a community of memory and hope throughout different experiences that take place in the lives of people. The idea of community of memory and hope leads to multiple advantages with people and their communities to allow for a stronger bond that not only benefits themselves but also society as a whole. While Bellah et al. wrote about the importance of creating a strong community to improve society, Stanford graduate, lecturer, and educational consultant Richard Rodriguez talks about…show more content…
Depressed by their vulnerability. [He] would not shorten the distance [he] felt from los pobres with a few weeks of physical labor. [He] would not become like them. They were different from [him]” (Rodriguez 462). There had been multiple experiences in Rodriguez’s life where he assumed the los pobres had been treated differently from people of a different skin color. Being in that, moment he realized the los pobres lifestyle was not what he had wanted to experience at all. This propelled him to utilize his education so he could move away from the typical stereotypes the workers had faced. Creating this new lifestyle will allow him to strive to make more of an impact towards the prejudicial stereotypes that take place towards his race, just like Angelo did for the Sons of Italy. Through people like Rodriguez and Angelo attempting to change the way their cultures and heritages are viewed in society, they are able to create a strong community that can make a beneficial impact towards the way they are being viewed in society. However, the traditions and values that people experience through their families tend to take a prominent role in the lives of their future…show more content…
When struggling to connect towards a public life there is no chance for Ted to create a community that will be able to benefit from what he has experienced. While Bellah et al. utilizes the idea of individualism to showcase how a community can be built, Rodriguez demonstrates how a person can attempt to create a better sense of community of memory and hope through a type of individualism. In Rodriguez’s essay he talks about not blaming his mother for being so protective of him due to the fear of becoming his uncle, and also agreeing that he will never experience the same type of work his father did in a factory, but rather “ [His] long education would favor [him]. [He] could act as a public person – able to defend [his] interests, to unionize, to petition, to speak up – to challenge and demand” (464). Rodriguez is capable of improving the societal view more so than his parents were able to do, because of the advanced education he received. This allowed him to combat situations a multitude of ways, but to create a community of memory and hope he will need to reach out to others that are going through the same struggles that he had gone through. This will empower others to attempt to move into a better lifestyle rather than falling into the los pobres lifestyle like most
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