Impact of the Family Surrounding Young Men, Dalton Conley & Richard Rodriguez - Research Paper Example

Dalton Conley & Richard Rodriguez This research paper explores how the family surrounding young men, Dalton Conley &Richard Rodriguez has had an impact on their lives. This is the story of a white boy called Dalton Conley, living with the Black American and Latino housing projects in the New York City, where he was brought up from his childhood. The story is so intensely personal with engaging memoir vividly, analyzing the details of city life from a child’s perspective; the streets, buses, and playgrounds. Rodriguez also experiences influence of the family, but now in adulthood after completing his studies at the Doctorate level. Conley enlightens on the vulnerable nature of children and how it is shaped by the ordinary and extraordinary circumstances. Conley narrates this memorable story that really shaped his life. He was the only white in the black Americans. This varied race and the class attracted a lot of concern and attention of his neighbors and schoolmates. He came from a rich background because his parents are rich. This is seen where he keeps changing schools haphazardly without caring bout the expenses. He had a critical understanding of the power of being white, race, and power of education and challenges of staying in the city. Rodriguez complains that as he furthered his studies, eventually acquiring a Doctor of Philosophy degree in English Literature, he became increasingly alienated from his family. As his interests grew, he started conflicting with his family, resulting in a diverse gap in due to their different interests. Having become fluent in the language of the intellectual community, he differed in cultural values with his family what he once had in common with his family. He turned down a nice job after discovering that it had been offered to him because of racial difference. He wished that had an offer considered his competence he could accept. Spanish Rodríguez found it challenging to communicate in the public language since he only knew Spanish. He remembers the simple life he had as a young child in America, life that changed when he grew up and became well educated. Becoming fluent in foreign language made his life unsecure. He resigned when he realized that the job offer he had the basis of racial bias. He also regretted serving in the capacity. Rodríguez says he made efforts to know the public language, English, which was strange to him. His family had taught him Spanish. According to the American system of education, bilingual student had to be educated in bilingual education. But for him it was the contrary, where he was never to be the same. He made his own efforts to learn English, a public language. According to him, the bilingual system was a stamping block to the acquisition of English knowledge by bilingual students. The Americans were not happy with his move of being a hard working student who, after a short time he understood English and even went ahead to say a short speech including his name. Conley is a unique child in the setup where he is brought up. He was born and lived in a different place while his parents were away from his current residence where he was brought up with a different culture from the parents. Changing the schools from one to another enabled him to learn new adventures. For example, he initially thought that the color difference is due to sun rays. He eventually knew that the difference is not due to sun burns. Being the only white among the black Americans enabled him to become very observant in order to know the environment. This was also contributed by the very many good schools he was taken to by his parents. This developed his thinking. This means that the surrounding and particularly the families he stayed with really impacted on his behavior. His experiences with different from the race certainly made him grow up like any differently from typical children in the neighborhood. He was always aware of the happenings around him. He shows awareness well beyond that of his peers, and as a result, he is forced to face a struggle most white never face, perhaps compounded by the fact that they lived in the same projects. Being the only white child living among black American children is due to his parents’ economic abilities, subjecting him to a condition he was not aware of. An example is when he struggles to understand why he is the only one who never faces corporal punishment and choose the class of life he wants. He is discriminated by the rest for being white, and as a result, does not grow up like a native child. He realized that unlike other families, his family has advantages and can access more than the rest. He chooses royal schools without considering affordability of the schools, and his rich and intellectual parents can have a nice. Furthermore, when he got an opportunity to learn in Greenwich Village, it was only because his family has friends living in a nice place organized for them, everything showed how different he is from the native white children in the school. The environment he stays in still isolates him from the rest due to the color of the skin. The basis of all this is the family’s unique financial status, which renders him odd from the rest. In the new school the native students are worried about money and their future survival, but he is worried about his security and life, simply because money is not an issue to him. One time, Conley got a new experience in the new school which completely transformed. The new school which he went was a more royal school with students from royal families than his family. He noticed how rich students receive treatment that is different from the one he ever received. He discovers that he is among the poor students who ride in a school bus while the rest ride home safely in luxurious private cars. At this point Conley learnt the real meaning of lower class family. His mind and thinking changed and he started regretting the mistakes he did in the past. He became a thief of other students’ money and also did manual work for them to survive in school because it is too expensive for the parents to afford. This time he was discriminated, not because of racial and ethnic difference but economic class. Conley’s life and experiences was totally influenced by his family’s social capital. Social capital Conley`s parent’s class affected his life positively to some level. He explains how his parents provided what he wanted “knew the magic words and when to say them” (Conley 53). The class of his parents gave them a chance to get international connections, which helped Conley access educational opportunities abroad. He says “crowded classroom with paint peeling from the walls and plaster falling from the ceiling” (Conley 44), meaning he was in a new school but was not keen on education but his life and comfort. It is due to this that the parents transfer him to another school of the rich, where he gets real life lessons. The new schools he went to gave him new adventures since everyone had different character according to how they communicate and how they conducted themselves. It is also worth appreciating by Conley since he acquired new knowledge. Conley was not worried when he realized that the parents cannot afford other places. He said in the book he has to live in the inner city project housing because his family has no money. (Conley 9). His parents chose to become artists, a job which could not sustain them and this led to their low social class. It is his parents` choice of the low paying job and the change in the lifestyle that forced Dalton Conley to live in a poor and unsafe environment. In summary, Dalton Conley and Richard Rodriguez are people who have learned from experience and it can be concluded that experience is the best teacher. It is necessary to note that families have a great influence to children. The parents should be keen when bringing up their children to ensure that they are not ruined by their customs and way of life. It is also advisable to expose children to different environments because it enables them to acquire new adventures and knowledge. Works cited Mantsios, Gregory. "Class in America–2006." Race, Class, and Gender `in the United ` States. Ed. Paula S. Rothenberg. 7th ed. New York: Worth (2007): 182-197. Osajima, Keith. "Asian Americans As the Model Minority: An Analysis ` of the Popular Press ` Image in the 1960s and 1980s." A companion to Asian American studies (2005): 215-25. Perna, Laura Walter, and Marvin A. Titus. "The Relationship between ` Parental Involvement ` as Social Capital and College Enrollment: An Examination of Racial/Ethnic Group ` ` Differences." Journal of Higher Education, (2005): 485-518. Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory the education of Richard ` Rodriguez: An ` Autobiography. New York: Bantam Books, 2004.Print. Conley, Dalton, The Pecking Order: A Bold New Look at How Family and Society Determine ` Who We Become. USA: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2009 Conley, Dalton. You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist ` NewYork: W. W. Norton, 2013. print Conley, Dalton Elsewhere, U.S.A: Vintage Series USA: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, `` 2010 print Katherine,S. Newman, Rourke OBrien.Taxing the Poor: Doing Damage to the Truly ` Disadvantaged New York:University of California Press, 2011 Read More