Engel and Rodriguez, Essay Example

Rodriguez’s situation pertains to one of achieving desires or goals, but endures certain struggles in route to this attainment as occurs in many goal achievement models. Engels’ theory examines creating a self from the past reflecting on then and now. The self as personal historian is the theory highlighted in depicting this aspect of Rodriquez’s life. Essentially, the distinct difficulty Rodriquez faces was growing up between two cultures, one which did not accept him as a person and another, in which he feels uncomfortable in the current environment. Emerging from a Mexican/ America heritage he rose above discriminatory conditions within the American society. He was blessed to have attended Stanford University. Even though Rodriguez   began school without any fluency in English language he excelled in his English Literature career becoming associate editor with the Pacific News Service in San Francisco (Colombo, Cullen & Leslie, 203).

Engel’s creating the self from past reflecting on the now and then is quite applicable to Rodriguez experiences growing up in the America culture. She uses the mind philosophy in her designing the self. From my contemplation Rodriquez’s emergence to prominence in the American society conquering the odds was based on the memory theory espoused by Engel. How could he have mastered English without being fluent in the language upon entering school?Engel explained that ideas and memories are the most intimate part of a human entity. Social psychologistsrefer to it as the subconscious mind where memories from several life times dwell and are expressed when most needed. This theoretical assumption could be responsible for Rodriguez’s excellent academic performance and language proficiency in English (Engel, 182).

Further theories pertain to linking memories and ideas concepts to the personal historianperspective. The argument relates to people being their own historians due to memories and ideas stored in the mind where no one can enter, but the self.Engel citing other psychologies advanced that psychology is a garden while literature is a wilderness. Psychology then has to make sense of the wilderness of everyone’s life as Rodriguez. In my interpretation of the theoretical propositions being advanced by Engel and counterparts, Rodriguez’s wilderness was the struggles he endured growing up, between two cultures. Thus, psychology pertains to the evolutionary process whereby he surmounted obstacles rising to the social status he enjoys currently (Engel,195).

Psychology is a study of the mind and how it expresses ideas. Engel confirmed that the only feature that links anyone to past experiences is the mind from, which memory emerges. One feature that was not clarified is what initiates the memory towards creating self that maybe linked to the past.Could it be said that Rodriguez’s self was buried in the past? Maybe not. If this were so he could have never been so articulate in a language he initially never spoken. Was he removed from his past? Maybe not, too. From the story Rodriguez  mind influenced his achievements and removed past experiences when they seemed to have undermined his progress.

In concluding did links to the past create the self Rodriguez ultimately designed as an associate editor of the Pacific News Service? The authors of Rodriguez’s story captioned it as hunger for memory. Even though Rodriquez seemed to have mastered  himself relinquishing past childhood bitterness clinging to the success of a new American culture,it was uncomfortable at first.

Works cited

Colombo Gary, Cullen Robert& Leslie, Bonnie. Rereading America: Cultural Context for Critical thinking and Writing. Bedford/Martin

Engel Susan. Then and Now: Creating a self through the past. Accessed on October 5^th,2015 from http://core1010dinalamey.weebly.com/then-and-now-creating-a-self-through-the-past-by-susan-engel.html web.