Private vs. Public Identity in Rodriguez and Hurston

Introduction: The Question of Identity

Is a private identity a curse or a blessing? Is it necessary or valid to hide who you really are? According to Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood by Richard Rodriguez and How It Feels to Be Colored Me by Zora Neale Hurston, creating a private identity and leaving your public identity behind may be necessary — especially when living, growing, or entering an environment that is not accepting of cultural differences. There is perhaps no group during this era more able to relate to that experience than exchange students from the Islamic culture of Azerbaijan.

"You need to study abroad — in the United States!" These are two sentences many high school seniors outside the United States hear from parents and counselors. There is a growing obsession with getting children educated in the United States. The Azerbaijan State has gone as far as to allocate $55 million for youth education abroad, sending students — mostly to the United States — in pursuit of a better education (Ismayilov). When students study abroad, they often seek familiarity, congregating with other students from home. In these social circles, they can speak their native language, tell jokes others won't understand, and play music others may not enjoy. Importantly, within this small replica of home, there is no need to hide one's private life.

Many Islamic students from Azerbaijan studying abroad, however, are not fortunate enough to find that sense of familiarity because of their religion. Because Muslims are sometimes perceived as threats, they may struggle to fit in with new communities and therefore choose to present themselves as something they are not. They may abandon their past cultures and societies and embrace the one they currently inhabit — which, in terms of identity, means leaving their cultures, ancestors, societies, and private identities behind, and allowing the creation of a new, public identity approved by the society they now live in.

Considering all of this, is it really beneficial to leave your private identity behind? Or is it more beneficial to protect your private identity in a foreign country — particularly for members of the Islamic culture living in a country with a high tolerance for racism? This essay focuses on how private identity was a blessing for Zora Neale Hurston and a curse for Richard Rodriguez.

What Are Public and Private Identity?

What is the difference between a public identity and a private identity? The public identity functions as a cover — some would go so far as to call it a false identity, because fitting in requires losing who you are in order to become who you are not. The private identity is who a person really is, particularly when it comes to race and culture. In this context, Muslim exchange students feel compelled to hide their private identity because of the racism, bigotry, and hate crimes directed at their culture.

In many social contexts, having a private identity — being different from everyone else — is advantageous, especially in societies that encourage embracing diversity. The official "policy" in such places is that everyone is encouraged to celebrate their heritage and to respect and value the heritages of others. In that respect, a private identity is a positive thing that allows people to maintain a connection to their ancestors and heritage. However, a private identity can also be a curse in other circumstances — for example, when one is not fortunate enough to live in a society where cultural, ethnic, racial, and national heritages are equally valued and equally deserving of respect, dignity, and equal treatment. A private identity is not something we choose; it is something we are born into. When a private identity denies members of a minority group the same rights, privileges, and benefits enjoyed by the majority, it becomes more of a curse than a blessing.

Rodriguez's World: Blessing or Curse?

It appears that Rodriguez did not embrace his private identity warmly; in his eyes, it was more of a jinx than a gift. In his essay Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood, Rodriguez offers a firsthand account of another painful aspect of private identity in the lives of minority members of American society. His private identity stems from his ethnicity, whereas Hurston's private identity came from her race. While Hurston describes the racism and limitations she encountered and explains how she overcame them without losing her private identity, Rodriguez recounts an entirely different type of experience — one in which he explains that even though allowing the formation of a public identity is difficult, it is something necessary for future success.

Specifically, Rodriguez describes the two very different worlds he inhabited as a child: the outside world, where he spoke English, and the private, interior world of his family home, where he and his family spoke Spanish. Much like Hurston, Rodriguez never actually chose his private identity; rather, he was born into it. He came from a Mexican family with limited command of the English language, and that was the totality of his inherited world.

Rodriguez does not choose to embrace his private identity and, as a result, is "assimilated into public society" (508). In his case, it is not simply a matter of willingness — he is effectively forced to give up his private identity in pursuit of a more valuable public one. He writes that his family was also forced to learn English and, in doing so, began to lose their individuality. He states that his "family gathered together to practice English" (505). The practice of English meant the slow demise of their private identities, which had until then linked them firmly to their Mexican roots. His family was terrified — uncomfortable, even — when confronted with the English language and the loud "gringos" who spoke it with ease.

They effectively disassociated themselves from the culture that circumstance had thrust upon them. Rodriguez had plenty of incentive to lose faith in his private identity — but so did Hurston. As she puts it, "Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of a slave" (160). Unlike Rodriguez, Hurston did not yield to the pressure to embrace a public identity; instead, she stood by her African-American roots. Hurston's experience, so contrary to Rodriguez's, raises the possibility that the choice between a public and a private identity is driven not merely by external pressure, but by something else entirely.

Conclusion

In their lives, both Hurston and Rodriguez chose between their private identities and their public identities. Even though they both became effective people, one chose to embrace her natural-born identity and the other fought against his. These choices led both of them to success: Rodriguez as an author and Hurston as an artist. Even though Rodriguez found it painful, he eventually integrated into public society. In doing so, he also felt that he lost who he was as a private individual — an identity recognized only within his family — because American culture does not readily permit separate spheres of life to remain untouched by one another.

It may therefore be difficult to determine which path is more beneficial. But the reason for their success is not necessarily the path they chose; rather, it is the experiences they had and the ways those experiences shaped their determination to succeed. The experiences that Rodriguez and Hurston each endured led them to learn things others did not, and gave their work a distinctiveness that set it apart. It is entirely possible that we might have known nothing about Richard Rodriguez had he embraced his private identity — and we might have known nothing about Zora Neale Hurston had she embraced her public identity.

Works Cited

Cohen, A. "A Dual Identity: Fully Canadian, and an Immigrant." The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.

Esman, A. R. "Dutch Shame: The Netherlands Debates the Deportation of a Child." Forbes, 27 Oct. 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

Hurston, Zora Neale. "How It Feels to Be Colored Me." Occasions for Writing: Evidence, Idea, Essay. Eds. Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II. Thomson Heinle, 2007. pp. 159–161.

Ismayilov, E. "Azerbaijani State Oil Fund Allocates $55mn for Youth Education Abroad." McClatchy – Tribune Business News, 27 Nov. 2012. ProQuest. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.

Rodriguez, Richard. "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood." Occasions for Writing: Evidence, Idea, Essay. Eds. Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II. Thomson Heinle, 2007. pp. 501–508.