Richard Rodriguez attempts to write about learning to write in no uncertain terms in his autobiography Hunger of Memory. Rodriguez constantly oscillates between two extremes: fear and loathing of writing due to its incredibly personal nature and the belief that writing is the most public form of expression. As he seeks to confront his enormous uncertainty about his private and public ideals, he attempts to do so through the lens of a writer. Rodriguez discusses the influence of his intimate, Spanish-speaking family life on his literary development through the process of his education. A constant juxtaposition of literature, family life, and his identity as a writer serve as pieces of a puzzle that Rodriguez desperately attempts to piece together. Although Rodriguez is desperate to discuss his personal and public life through the lens of his education, his fundamental ambiguity regarding his most fundamental identity as a writer prevents a clear and successful depiction of either elements of his life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Rodriguez constantly emphasizes that writing is the most isolated career path because he must eloquently disclose what is most personal to him. Rodrigues claims to write “from a single life”, his own (6). He views writing not only as a deeply private ritual of examining the colorful pieces of one's life's puzzle and choosing which pieces to write about, but also as a deeply individual experience. His recurring use of meta-writing deepens the personal aspect of writing as he constantly discovers new layers of himself and his language. Throughout his education, Rodriguez remembers the tendency of “written words” to make him feel “all alone,” as if the work of putting a set of words together was an inescapable task (64). Continuing this symbiotic trend of writing and solitude, Rodriguez begins to find solace in the “exclusive society, separated from others” of his fellow writers (75). His identity as a writer offers a part of his life that is very different from the rest and which creates a more interesting and unique picture than any other part of his life. He even considers the literal act of writing a “solitary journey” (189). The puzzle of his identity must be completed without the help of others as he pieces together the fragments of his identity alone. Rodriguez repeatedly emphasizes that writing is a very personal act, while constantly discussing the inherently public nature of writing. As often as he discusses his reclusive habit of writing, he simultaneously fears the inherently public nature of his work while confronting great ambiguity regarding his own work. A young child who struggles to connect his personal and public lives, writing “[determines] [his] public identity” (6). Writing only gives Rodriguez an extreme sense of isolation, but it literally defines him in public. His own autobiography, which should be the most deeply personal work of his life, and yet it feels to him like "the most public thing he has ever done" (191). As he writes his story, he discusses the physical and emotional process of writing, continuing his use of meta-writing and sometimes metabasing. Ironically, he was the one who cared the least about himself. He believes he is writing for the “public reader” (191). His discussion of the audience seems to use meta-writing to both isolate and »..