In Aria, the first section of the autobiography, Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, by Richard Rodriguez, there are many core issues and ideas that run throughout each section. Each recurring issue or idea is represented by different terms or concepts he uses.
             One of the concepts that is frequently brought up is Richard's struggle between his public and private lives/languages. I think one of the best examples of his two different lives in his writing is his use of his name in English and Spanish. The two names, Richard (Rich-heard) and Ricardo, signify two totally different worlds for him. On page eleven, he details the first moments he experienced at his English speaking, Catholic school. The sound of the nun's odd, foreign voice sounding out his name for the first time ever in English was a shock to him. The unfamiliar sounds and surroundings on his first day of school paint a picture of helplessness and alienation. However, when he uses examples of his Spanish name, Ricardo, a whole different atmosphere and sentiment is aroused. For example, on page sixteen Rodriguez uses his name Ricardo after he describes what the sounds of the Spanish words used by his parents really meant to him as a child. He says this to mean that that is who he felt like when his parents spoke to him in Spanish. Ricardo was a loving little boy who felt comfortable in his family life and with his parents. Richard, on the other hand, was a scared little boy who had to figure out for himself how to survive in the gringo world.
             However, these two identities didn't carry the same roles throughout his life. Once Richard began to find his footing among the public world he gained confidence in his English and eventually could no longer pronounce or speak in Spanish comfortably. Consequently, Ricardo began to fade and his secure and warm household life began to weaken with his Spanish language skills. His two lives rever...