Compare Contrast between James Baldwin/Richard Rodriguez
...o learns to appreciate his father for his brief signs of affection during his lifetime. Baldwin ends on a note of regret, even sadness at the loss of his father as he says, “I wished that he had been beside me” (68). This connection between him and his father is not forced but achieved through his connection with his black roots, his battle against racism, and his quest to overcome his internal bitterness. In “The Achievement of Desire,” Richard Rodriguez says, “Without extraordinary determination and the great assistance of others—at home and at school—there is little chance for success” (655). He is simply saying that he would not have been the man he is today if it weren’t for his parents and teachers. Yet, he also establishes a disconnection between him and his family with the earliest memories of being called “four eyes” by his brother. He reads non-stop and considers himself somewhat of an oddball and an outcast from his own siblings. There is a feeling of alienation between Rodriguez and his family that he creates. This feeling of distance is so great that he even finds himself dissected from his own cultural roots—an extreme departure that he makes into the world of education. He also doesn’t seem to give his parents the appreciation that they deserve by putting him through school. Instead, he says, “I was not proud of my mother and father. I was embarrassed by their lack of education. It was not that I ever thought they were stupid, though stupidly I took for granted their enormous native intelligence. Simply, what mattered to me was that they were not like my teachers” (658). Rodriguez is only concerned with education. That is all. He could not appreciate his parents because they were uneducated. It seems as though at the end of his education, he turns back in obligation to thank them and force some kind of connection between him, his family, and his culture. He says that he has his mother’s gestures and laugh and his father’s watchful eyes (669). These are the only connections that he can find. But these are only physical traits—perhaps the shallowest connections a person can make between him and his parents. Unlike Baldwin who finds a connection between him and his father through racist experiences, self-questioning, and a climatic realization of his father’s good side, Rodriguez seems to force this connection with his parents through mere physical traits. It is a pathetic and obligatory connection that he draws. Baldwin’s father was arrogant and bitter, and yet, Baldwin was able to discover through his experience with race and roots that he could appreciate the kindness his father had barely shown in life. Whereas, Rodriguez’ father, although he was not an admirer of education, he supported his son in earning a life apart from mere labor through education. Yet Rodriguez’ appreciation and connection to his father is weak and does not compare to that instant connection that Baldwin makes with his father after the funeral. Baldwin’s quest in finding a connection with his father and his roots was a more difficult task than that of Rodriguez. He did not have such a supportive family and his father did not provide him with all the love, care, and attention that Rodriguez’ father had provided for his sons. Baldwin grew up struggling with confusion in a family neglected by the father figure. Yet Baldwin was able to hold onto his black roots, overcome his bitterness, and at the same time, appreciate his father for the little things he had done in his lifetime. Rodriguez, unlike Baldwin, is responsible for detaching himself from his family. He is the cause of his own neglect. His level of appreciation for his culture and his parents is shallow because he is unable to establish a concrete and personal link between him, his roots, and his family (especially his father). Although Baldwin’s father had been arrogant and neglectful to his children, Baldwin was able to break beneath his bitterness to extr...