s very meaningful to him. He is tired of being alone. Rodriguez also acquires some negative characteristics from his learning. He is “an imitative and unoriginal pupil,” (44). As a result he lacks self-confidence. None of his thoughts are his; he simply regurgitates the ideas of others. He believes himself to be “a great mimic, a collector of thoughts, not at thinker,” (67). Rodriguez was so determined to absorb huge amounts of information that he never takes the time to reflect on what he was leaning. He never spends the time to develop his own ideas.Rodriguez believes that the primary reason for his success is that “[he couldn’t forget that schooling was changing [him] and separating [him] from the life [he] enjoyed before becoming a student,” (45). He fully embraces the realization that he is changing. He believes that this experience only happens to a select few. What he fails to realize is that most students do go through his experiences also. Most students go through the process of education and develop into changed individuals. The difference is that only a select few will go through the unnatural process of education for the sake of learning itself (48). He “wanted to be like his teachers, to possess their knowledge, to assume their authority, their confidence, even to assume a teacher’s persona,” (55). Rodriguez wants to be an educated man. He really doesn’t care where he ends up, as long as he possesses knowledge. A preponderance of students, on the other hand, will choose to become a student for the sake of job placement. The majority knows that with a good education, they can do anything, (55). They realize that an “education can enable a person to escape from a life of mere labor.” Most students realize that they are changing and distancing themselves from their heritage and family. They know that education is a long, unpre...
