Summary Of Richard Rodriquez's Essay 'Achievement Of Desire'

Mini Essay Draft In the essay, “The Achievement of Desire”, Richard Rodriquez’s argument that transitions are a lonely and required experience is one I can relate to but disagree with. Richard, the son of Mexican immigrants, distances himself from his family and culture in the pursuit of success. Very similarly to Richard, students and young adults choose to forge their own path and find who they are alone. Ironically, getting to the stage of independence requires help. Yes, individually we have to make our own decisions and deal with the consequences, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that we should do it alone to reach our goals. Even as a young boy, Richard demonstrates that he is independent from his family. Therefore, Richard believes

To justify his actions Richard claims that in order to change, “ He cannot afford to admire his parents[.]How could he and still pursue a contrary life?”(341). This painful determination makes Richards relationship with his parents cold and superficial. Hence, Richard cannot even share a simple conversation with his parents for the sake of his success. Moreover, Richard is embarrassed by his parent’s humble background. Ironically, Richard agrees, that everything he has accumulated is because of his parents sacrifices. Even with age and maturity, Richard fails to respect the magnitude of his parents contribution towards his education. This contribution consist of sending Richard to a private school where he got the opportunity to be influenced by education. Richards parents may have lacked schooling, but they ensured that Richard received a quality education. Although some may argue that in one instance Richards mom opposes this argument when she questions the price of Richards dream college. Richards Mom may not have been reproaching the price but the fact that Richard is leaving. To support this claim Richard himself states, “They made my success possible. [my parents] paid a tuition they couldn’t afford”(344). To put it succinctly, Richards extreme alienation was not necessary because education was promoted in his home. As a first generation college student, I have taken