Rodriguez: Adaptation

In Richard Rodriguez's essay "Public and Private Language," he uses the words public and private to illustrate his experience with adaptation.  Rodriguez referred to the Spanish language spoken among his family as making him feel safe, comforting, and giving him as sense of belonging to, as a language just for them. Not like the  English language being spoke in the neighborhood. The public language that made him feel like an outsider. A formal type language that seem to make him less important.

 Private language or the way you interact in familiar environments is a more intimate way of showing or being able to express who you really are as an individual. The fear of embarrassment is not a factor. You feel safe and protected and assured you are wanted. In (para 15) Rodriguez talked about how hearing his parents struggle with speaking English and it made him nervous and his trust in their protection and power weakened. He was still very young. When he heard his parents speaking the other language it made him feel ashamed. Why should we change just to fit into the Public.

Public language a more formal way of interacting or speaking with people you do not know. Where  Rodriguez lived it was dominated by the English language. He found him self feeling alienated. In (para 30) when his family was visited by the nuns from school and asked if it would be possible for them to make the children practice their English at home, one of the nuns said that Richard was very timid and shy. Maybe referring to the fact that he had been very defiant when ask to speak in class. Rodriguez felt that this was not his language and he did not belong to that public so why should he learn to speak it.

In (para 40) Rodriguez states that "society equates separateness with individuality", but he argues that they are very different. Separateness is in fact knowing you are different  from everyone else and accepting who you are is and important factor to become a individual. Individuality is who you are as a person but able to adapt to your surroundings without changing who you are.Being able to adapt to the different cultures in our society today I feel is very important for your success. If you are able to keep an open mind, but also remember who you are and where you come from you could go on to impact the world around you or even be impacted by it.