Nonconformity In Richard Rodriguez's Hunger Of Memory

Richard Rodriguez lived a life that went against the norms of society. He rejected the same policies and practices that opened many doors and helped him to become a very well know writer. Richard Rodriguez was born in San Francisco on July 31, 1944 to Mexican immigrant parents. From a very young age Richard realized that in order to make it in America he had to conform to American society. He would continue on this path of conformity until he reached the breaking point in his life. Richard Rodriguez typifies nonconformity through his educational choices and his literature. His views on society would have a lasting impact on the social structure of America.
Nonconformity according to Oxford Dictionaries means “Failure or refusal to conform to

In Hunger of Memory he basically said that in order to become successful in the U.S. you have to Americanize yourself and forget about the culture that made you who you are. He pointed out that policies like Affirmative Action may give an unfair advantage to non-English speaking citizens, and how society forces American values on immigrants. Richards also brought up the question of what price to pay for success and if it is worth it at the end. In his second work Days of Obligation he talks about how he tried to get in touch with his Mexican culture once again. This piece shows how hard the road back to being reconnected with your roots is and why you should weigh your options of how far you are willing to go in order to achieve success. Both pieces show the hardship a person goes through in order to make it in America and have that American

He is important to society because he brought attention to the flaws that many of us ignore, he makes us think about the choices we make and the things we follow. Richard has taught me that if you believe that some societal values are wrong, don’t be afraid to go against them, be afraid of what will happen if you do follow them. If there is a moment where I don’t agree with something whether it is in my educational career or at my job I should step up for the changes I want to see. If there is no one who goes against the norms and no one to create new ways of thinking then we wouldn’t have some of the great innovations that we have