Hunger of Memory: Chapter 3

by Richard Rodriguez
In this memoir, Richard Rodriguez considers the ways in which his education isolated him from his family, background, and culture.

Here are links to our lists for the memoir: Prologue–Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. theology
    the rational and systematic study of religion
    I surmised the clearest notion of Protestant theology from discussions of the Reformation.
  2. deviance
    a state or condition markedly different from the norm
    At that, Protestantism emerged only as deviance from Catholic practice and thought.
  3. venial
    warranting only temporal punishment
    In the third grade I could distinguish between venial and mortal sin.
  4. omission
    leaving out or passing over something
    I could distinguish sins of commission from sins of omission.
  5. purgatory
    a temporary state of the dead in Roman Catholic theology
    I knew why some souls went to Limbo after the death of the body, and others went for a time to Purgatory, and why others went to heaven or hell—‘forever and ever.’
  6. relegate
    assign to a lower position
    In the gringo church Mary’s statue was relegated to a side altar, imaged there as a serene white lady who matter-of-factly squashed the Genesis serpent with her bare feet.
  7. dogma
    a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
    Students are taught—what I never had to be taught—that religion is not simply a matter of dogmas or theological truths; that religion involves a person’s whole way of life.
  8. bias
    a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue
    Stressing memorization, the nuns assumed an important Catholic bias.
  9. dismayed
    struck with fear, dread, or consternation
    And even though I was urged to read all that I could, several teachers were dismayed to learn that I had read the novels of Victor Hugo and Flaubert.
  10. condescension
    showing arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior
    Other institutions—the nation’s political parties, the industries of mass entertainment and communications, the companies that employed them—have all treated my parents with condescension.
  11. conscience
    motivation deriving from ethical or moral principles
    With all my classmates, I went to the unlit church where the nun led us through the forms of an ‘examination of conscience.’
  12. commemorate
    call to remembrance
    On Holy Thursday to commemorate the Last Supper of Christ there was a ‘white’ mass at sunset (when stained-glass windows burned briefly before the light failed).
  13. aspiration
    a cherished desire
    Latin’s great theatrical charm, its sacred power, was that it could translate human aspiration to a holy tongue.
  14. euphemism
    an inoffensive expression substituted for an offensive one
    I know people who speak of death with timorous euphemisms of ‘passing away.’
  15. tamper
    play around with, alter, or falsify, usually dishonestly
    The mass is less ornamental; it has been ‘modernized,’ tampered with, demythologized, deflated.
  16. reciprocal
    concerning each of two or more persons or things
    A reciprocal relationship between people and clergy is dramatized as the congregation takes an active role in the recitation of the mass.
  17. contemplation
    a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
    No longer is the congregation moved to a contemplation of the timeless.
  18. pessimism
    a general disposition to expect the worst in all things
    (My historical pessimism was determined by grammar school lessons about sin, especially Original Sin.)
  19. tenet
    a basic principle or belief that is accepted as true
    More important than any of this, I continue to believe the central tenets of the Church.
  20. agnostic
    a person who claims the existence of God is unknowable
    Most of my friends had been raised as Protestants or Jews; many referred to themselves as agnostics.
  21. orthodox
    adhering to what is commonly accepted
    Throughout college and graduate school, I thought of myself as an orthodox Catholic.
  22. pluralism
    a social organization in which diversity is tolerated
    My education may have made it inevitable that I would become a citizen of the secular city, but I have come to embrace the city’s values: social mobility; pluralism; egalitarianism; self-reliance.
  23. egalitarianism
    the doctrine of the equality of mankind
    My education may have made it inevitable that I would become a citizen of the secular city, but I have come to embrace the city’s values: social mobility; pluralism; egalitarianism; self-reliance.
  24. secular
    not concerned with or devoted to religion
    In this modern post-religious age, secular institutions flounder to imitate the gift that is uniquely found in the temple and mosque and church.
  25. conviction
    an unshakable belief in something without need for proof
    The resolution of my spiritual dilemma, if there is to be one before death, will have to take place where it began, among persons who do not share my religious convictions.
Created on Mon Jun 09 20:37:48 EDT 2014 (updated Thu Aug 30 10:18:40 EDT 2018)

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