The achievement of desire
“Without extraordinary determination and the great assistance of others–at home and at school–there is little chance for success.”
-Richard Rodriguez
I feel this quote best describes the need for others. Without friends, family and teachers, their is little chance for success. Our relationships help determine who we are. They shape and mold us into the people we become. In “The Achievement of Desire,” the point Richard seemed to make is that you need human relationships in your life. As much as you try to push away your parents, without them you probably wouldn’t be where you are today. He explains to us how much he his parents cared about their children. They sacrificed to give their kids what they never had. Richard tells us of his obsession to become educated. Even if it meant he didn’t really care about what he was learning. He didn’t seem to appreciate his family until he got older.
I had a hard time understanding Richard, since I abhor reading anything I’m not extremely interested in. I remember in second grade, I had to see the school psychiatrist because my teacher thought I had a learning problem. I got the card and ink blot tests. I passed them and confused the hell out of the teacher and psychiatrist. They couldn’t understand why a child would refuse to read. It amazed my parents that I would fail a spelling test on purpose during third grade then next week, get a ten out of ten. I would do this to play with teachers minds. I loved to make them think I studied and improved myself. The difference between me and Ricard is that I spent my time playing with my friends. I built strong relationships, but they always seemed to be broken by my own lack of determination to keep them together. I let my friends move away and I never called them like they asked me. So, I would say the quote is true in the sense you need both strong relationships and determination to be a success.
kirsten03226 said,
October 26, 2006 at 12:39 pm
I enjoyed reading about your interpretation and views on this excerpt. I don’t know of too many young children who truly enjoyed reading and school more than playing. I admire Richard’s drive and motivation to earn his education but, I wish that at least one of his mentors or teachers would have told him to think for himself and not try to be someone else. Although throughout the parts of his life we go to learn about, we saw his struggle to maintain both his school and home life, I am glad he finally realized to accept who he is, appreciate what he has, and learn from that. Overall, I enjoyed the excerpt. Have a good one!