A good Christmas in many people’s eyes is the maximization of gifts and materialistic items gained. It makes sense: in the eyes of human’s, materialistic items are the tangible parts of life that can physically last a large amount of time. In Richard Rodriguez’s chapter “The Secrets” from his essay collection Hunger of Memory, he narrates an account of Christmas and the superficial feeling that resulted from one specific celebration of the holiday. His work showcases a message of the overarching problem within society in which materialistic success is such a large part of life that core values of humanity are often lost. Through Rodriguez’s materialistic imagery, straightforward diction, and the superficial setting which he describes, Rodriguez successfully emphasizes the aforementioned message.
Materialism is a large feature of this work, as although no one is specifically named or described as being materialistic, the consumerist aspects of the story are striking. When he details watching his younger sister “in a shiny mink jacket” without any description of the girl herself, Rodriguez effectively displays this notion of materialism to the reader. Additionally, right at the beginning of the piece, the mother’s description of her envisioned future for her children proceeds through a materialistic route, detailing her need for “soft food”, “a blue wig”, and a “big fur coat,” revealing the money driven dreams that have been embedded within both her and her children’s mind. (1-10) The reason why Rodriguez’s use of these images works so well to convey his message specifically, is that it subtly hints, not only at the mother’s own mindset, but also at the materialistic attitude of society as well. Specifically, while in modern life, our persistent focus on purely material concerns is often barely noticed, small hints can reveal the foundational materialism present, and they indeed do in this passage during a Christmas time celebration. The already capitalistic nature of the holiday is accentuated by modern media’s relentless focus on the materialistic aspects of Christmas, from car brands attaching large amounts of advertisement to their newest models in the holiday season to malls promoting festive sales. The continual degradation of Christmas into a holiday focused around money is something that Rodriguez details when he notes at one point that “the talk grows listless and the room becomes uncomfortably warm,” essentially conveying the crux of the work: Christmas’s materialistic aspects deny those who celebrate it from reaping the real joy of the holiday. The growing awkward environment of the room after the initial gift-driven excitement of the holiday has vanished showcases how Christmas has fundamentally lost its original purpose. Considering the fundamental loss in nature of Christmas’s connection to the message, it is understood that materialism has begun to supersede humanity’s core values: once much of the materialism is lost or expended, the lost values of love, community, and charity reveal themselves as missing in the situation.
Furthermore, Rodriguez also establishes his message by creating a scarily superficial setting in the work, constructing a scene in which Christmas, an often happy and familial holiday, is made to be rather lifeless. As Rodriguez details the fact that “the floor is carpeted with red and green wrapping paper,” foregoing any mention of the warm atmosphere that Christmas brings about in favor of a superficial, ultra-realistic tone for the Christmas setting. The reason this background works so fluidly with the work is that for society, and specifically American culture, the superficial setting of Christmas which Rodriguez’s recounts is not all too unrealistic. The setting of the work invokes a strong connection to the underlying reasoning of this piece, as it details the unfortunately materialistic tone that has taken over his Christmas, and the fact that the current and future Christmases “can never be, the Christmas one remembers having had once.” While Christmas is used here as a tipping point, it is clear that through Rodrgiuez’s use of flashbacks to his mothers values of materialism in the past, this superficial setting permeated throughout all parts and times of his life.
Additionally, Rodriguez’s straightforward tone aids in building the superficial setting aforementioned, while also speaking to the message of this work in a symbolic fashion. Specifically, the tone and syntax he uses, as seen by his frank descriptions of “expensive foreign cars idle sharply,” speaks to the straightforwardness that Christmas has specifically taken form for him, specifically in that it is not hidden that Christmas has become more about the materialistic aspect than the values it was built on. Christmas has now become a materialistic event for him and his family, and the straightforwardness in this description showcases how his family must already realize their materialistic desires as they are in a hurry after their materialistic desires are quenched: “Someone gets up to leave, prompting others to leave.” The fact that Rodrgriuez deliberately states that family members are ready to leave right once the materialistic aspect of their holiday is gone connects to the message that Christmas has become overly materialistic, along with society as a whole. The use of Christmas as an event to describe the overall materialistic attitude of society works extremely well, as the common notion of Christmas is thrown out and replaced with a striking reality. Rodrgiuez ‘use of straightforward language to describe the end of this holiday gives it a rather fast nature as well, showcasing that once the materialism has vanished, the family is quick to leave the premises.
Rodriguez’s utilization of materialism, straightforward diction, and superficial setting in his work combine together to create a deeper message in that society has lost its core human values to materialistic desires. Without Rodrguez’s use of materialism, a protruding theme in the work, he would not have been able to detail the underlying tone within the work, which also happens to work well with the underlying materialistic desires of society as a whole. A common example of these materialistic desires in society is Christmas itself, which is often greatly emphasized with its materialism through gifts and deals. Along with this, without Rodriguez using his straightforward diction, the piece would not have the cut throat and harsh reality that is setting place upon the story, as the detailing of people attributed to their clothes and other materialistic items rather than their names or personalities speaks to the message of how society has lost its core human values to materialistic desires. Undoubtedly, without the superficial setting in the entire work, the message connected to the underlying reasoning behind the piece with Christmas would not have been communicated effectively. The method in which Rodriguez is able to construct such an uncomfortable and superficial setting aids in his overall connection to not only Christmas as a holiday, but society as a whole. Overall, Rodrgiuez’s use of effective rhetorical devices allow him to create such a strong message behind his piece.
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