1.) "So they do not realize that while one suffers a diminished sense of private individuality by becoming assimilated into public society, such assimilation makes possible the achievement of public individuality."
- This is Rodriguez summing up his main point of the article and is a rebuttal to bilingual educators. He says that even though it may make people lose some uniqueness, assimilation is essential to becoming successfully part of the public society.
2.) "I would have been happier about my public success had I not sometimes recalled what it had been like earlier, when my family had conveyed its intimacy through a set of conveniently private sounds."
- This is Rodriguez looking at his private individuality. He misses the uniqueness and individuality his family had when they spoke only their native language at home. His public individuality comes at the expense of his private individuality.
3.) "Of course my parents complied. What would they not do for their children's well being?"
- This is a response to the nuns coming to ask the parents of Richard to have more English spoken around the house. Rodriguez states that obviously the parents would agree to do this, because this was in the best interest of their children; in the best interest for them to achieve a "public individuality".
I thought that Aria by Richard Rodriguez was a relatively easy read. I thought it wasn't a very powerful piece however, especially a week after reading Amazing Grace by Kozol. I also wasn't quite aware of his main thesis of the article while I was going through it. However, once I got to the end my confusions were cleared up and I realized his main point. Rodriguez realizes how important assimilation and learning English is in becoming part of society. Even though he misses his families uniqueness and Spanish culture at home, he knows losing some of that is essential in forming his public identity. All in all, this narrative was an easy read and was very logical.
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