ng WWII. In great detail, she describes Himmler’s childhood, and the harshness of his father. As Griffin traces Himmler’s life, it is evident that there is always a marker, or base from his childhood and father, approaching the conclusion that a childhood can affect the decisions made later in life. At no time does she condone any of his actions; Griffin merely does this to help provide an understanding of how such behavior develops. The art of this technique being effective, however, is that Griffin interconnects all three stories so that the audience can grasp her concepts, and possibly incorporate those histories as well. In reading Susan Griffin, doors may be opened up to understand other authors and texts, with regard to it being a historical text. Richard Rodriguez is one author that already goes through history, but from an educational standpoint. He discusses his childhood, and how coming from a working-class family influenced his process of learning. In his essay, he examines quite a bit of his family history, and his personal history as well. In speaking of his family history, Rodriguez traces back to his parents in Mexico, and their move to America, and the struggle to keep their standards of living in America. He also explains what is was like growing p in a Mexican-American household. Incorporated with his family history, his personal history has a lot to do with his family as well. Rodriguez began to not like his background and roots at an early age. In many ways, he wanted to discard the Mexican persona and develop and keep an American one. Griffin talks about this subject in “Our Secret”. Griffin could be considering what could happen when Rodriguez tries to shed being Mexican, “ At a certain age we begin to define ourselves, to choose an image of who we are. I am this and not that, we say, attempting thus to erase whatever is within us that does not fit our idea of whowe shou...
