My Mother's Unbalanced Relationships With His Father' By Richard Rodriguez

In the passage by Richard Rodriguez, he describes family Christmases past and present and the difference between the two. But even though it isn’t the main focus of the piece, a personal detail shines through; Rodriguez’s unbalanced relationships with his parents. After reading the passage it is evident that his mother is far more important to him and has had a much larger impact on his life than his father. The heart of the passage is made clear by the very first sentence. Rodriguez begins, “My mother is not surprised that her children are well-off” (line 1). The subject of the first sentence can be very telling as to the subject of the entire piece, and that is the case here. In fact, the entire first paragraph is totally centered on his mother -- her children, her predictions, how she thinks she’ll look when she’s old. All of that with absolutely no mention of his father. For most couples topics like pride on children’s accomplishments and plans for the future are something they share -- in an optimal situation both parents are proud of their children and their future plans include each other. However, Rodriguez only mentions his mother -- blatantly excluding his father
He writes, “ ‘Don’t come out, it’s too cold,’ somebody shouts at her or my father, who steps out onto the porch” (line 27-28). This is the first time he brings up his father, yet it has a very casual tone; the point of the sentence is not to introduce his father. It’s odd because this piece is so concentrated on family -- Rodriguez starts by singing his sisters praise describing their careers, he then talks about his mother for the next two paragraphs, even mentioning his nieces or nephews before bringing up his father. So why ignore one family member while alluding to the others so often? Such a level of neglect is definitely