Divided Identities: Linguistic Self-Representation in Richard Rodríguez´ Hunger of Memory
Keywords:
Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory, Autobiography, Chicanos, BilingualismAbstract
This article studies Richard Rodriguez’ autobiography Hunger of Memory, in which the author builds his personal and literary identity through considerations on his two languages: Spanish, his mother tongue, and English, the language of his education. Rodriguez suggests that only English has allowed him to construe a public identity. This linguistic choice, argues Rodriguez, affects other aspects like his religiosity or social class, as well. Three aspects are analyzed in this article: the traits of autobiography as a literary genre, the idea of identity as opposed to ethnicity, in Rodriguez’ view; and the role of language(s).
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