orm and made choices which brought criticism from members of their ethnic groups, but their choices ultimately led to the strengthening of their groups culture in society. First we will look at what may have influenced the character's choices, followed by the designation of being labeled a scholarship boy may have played in their decisions. Finally we will look at what exactly they did for their ethnic group and some of the differences that exist between the two characters.

Now Rodriguez was fully aware that he was letting go some of his roots in his culture, striving to assimilate into American culture instead of being seen as different. He tried to get this point across to his Hispanic students when he decided against teaching an "ethnic" literature course at a community center located in a predominately Spanish area. His answer surprised his students, as well as himself, and he responded by saying "I didn't think that there was such a thing as minority literature" (Rodriguez 161). He refers to Roots saying, "That book tells us more about his difference from illiterate, tribal ancestors than it does about his link to them" (Rodriguez 161). Instead of concentrating on the differences of ethnic literature, Rodriguez again makes a statement by saying that no such thing really exists. He shifts the focus from being different to concentrating on fitting in. Minorities should not want to stand out and be different, and should instead focus their attention on trying to fit in. In his own words, Rodriguez was becoming a coconut, someone who is brown on the outside and white on the inside. To his peers, they were aware of this well before him.

Upon his arrival in Harlem, Protag was able to witness the day to day hardships that black people faced as they struggled to survive. More specifically, he was exposed to Lucius Brockway while working at the Liberty Paint factory. While working in the far reaches of the factory basement, Brockway and Protag were enemies at once. Brockway feared Protag was going to overhaul him and make him become part of a union. Brockway becomes even more defensive when he finds out Protag walked in on a union meeting on the way to get his lunch. "I knowed you belonged to that bunch of troublemaking foreigners! I knowed it! Git out of my basement," screamed Brockway (Ellison 224). Once again Brockway was seen by Protag as another black man who failed to cooperate with the white men he worked with. He feared them and his worries were for the most part unfounded. He failed to listen to the union and their only concern was looking out for workers and making conditions safe. Instead Brockway choose to hide out in his basement and not come in contact with anyone who wanted to help him. Now Protag began to see the big picture. Bledsoe was the one successful black man he knew and he kept up a good relationship with his wh

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hispanic California, Ralph Ellison, Hispanics Rodriguez, Golden Day, City Brotherhood, Dr Bledsoe, Obviously Rodriguez, Jim Trueblood, University California, Brockway Protag, bilingual education, affirmative action, dr bledsoe, relationship white, golden day, york city, hispanic students, ethnic literature, protag black, freelance writer,
Approximate Word count = 1944
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)