The Argument in "Aria"

ARGUMENT: In the article “Aria” Richard Rodriquez makes a complex argument. On the one hand he expresses sadness about the slow death of his “private language” (Spanish), and the changes it brought to his family.  On the other hand, Rodriquez explains that even though this is a sad situation, it was necessary in order for him “to believe what had been technically true since my birth: I was an American citizen.”  Rodriquez expresses sorrow about the necessity of giving up much of what made his private language so wonderful, but he believes it was a good thing that his teachers forced him into speaking English.  Otherwise, he argues, he would not have been a confident part of the society in which he lived.  Rodriquez is critical of school programs that do not force children to assimilate, saying “bilingualists simplistically scorn the value and necessity of assimilation” (38).  Rodriquez argues that while children do give up something in order to master the dominant language, doing so gives them ownership of the dominant culture.