Richard Rodriguez attempts to write about learning to write in no small terms in his autobiography Hunger for Memory. Rodriguez constantly oscillates between two extremes: a fear and aversion to writing due to its incredibly personal nature and a belief that writing is the most public form of expression. As he tries to deal with his enormous uncertainty regarding his ideals of private and public, 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 between literature, home life, and his identity as a writer serve as pieces of a puzzle that Rodriguez desperately tries to put together. Although Rodriguez desperately tries to discuss his personal and public life through the lens of his upbringing, ultimately his underlying ambiguity regarding his most basic identity as a writer precludes a clear and effective description of any part of his life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Rodriguez persistently insists that writing is the most isolated career path, as he must eloquently divulge what is most personal to him. Rodrigues states that he writes "about only one life", his (6). For him, writing is not only a deeply private ritual of looking at the colorful pieces of the puzzle of his life and choosing which pieces to write, but also a deeply individual experience. His recurring use of metawriting delves into the personal aspect of writing as he constantly uncovers more layers of himself and his language. Throughout his education, Rodriguez recalls the tendency of “written words” to make him feel “all alone,” as if the work of stringing together a series of words was an unavoidably challenging task (64). Continuing this symbiotic trend between writing and solitude, Rodriguez begins to find comfort in the “exclusive, separate-from-others society” of his fellow writers (75). His identity as a writer provides a piece of his life that is very different from the rest and that creates a more interesting and unique picture than any other part of his life. Even the literal act of writing is considered 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 insists that writing is a very personal act, but consistently discusses the inherently public nature of writing. Just as often as he discusses his solitary habit of writing, he simultaneously fears the inherently public nature of his work while facing great ambiguity about his work. own work. A young child who struggles to connect his personal and public life, writing “[determines] [his] public identity” (6). The writing only provides Rodriguez with extreme feelings of isolation, but it literally defines him in public. His autobiography, what should be the most deeply personal work of his life, yet seems to him "the most public thing [he] has ever done" (191). As she writes her story, she discusses the physical and emotional process of writing, continuing to use metawriting and sometimes metabasis. Ironically, in fact, he was less worried about himself. He believes he is writing for the “public reader” (191). His discussion of the audience seems to use metawriting to both insulate himself and connect to the outside world of his readers. As he writes it is".