In Rodriguezs essay, The Achievement of Desire, Rodriguez illustrates the characteristics of an automaton, thus confirming Freires views regarding the banking concept. Despite his classification as a "scholarship boy", Rodriguez lacked his own point of view and confidence, which led him to be dominated by his teachers and his books. In the eyes of Paulo Frerie, Rodriguez would be considered a receptacle. He was filled not only with his teachers information, but also with knowledge obtained from his reading of "important" books. Rodriguez is a classic student of the banking system.Early in his essay, Rodriguez shows signs of yielding to the ways of the banking concept. "I became the prized student," Rodriguez admits, "anxious and eager to learn. Too eager, too anxious - an imitative and unoriginal pupil" (Rodriguez 622). Rodriguez was simply absorbing narrated information from his teachers and books. He did not actually understand the knowledge he absorbed. Freire would claim that the "words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated, and alienating verbosity" (Freire 348). Instead of understanding the information Rodriguez retained, he depended on his books and teachers to fill him with their own ideas and beliefs. These deposits of information caused Rodriguez to become unimaginative, and essentially apathetic.After submitting to his teachers and to his books, Rodriguez slowly turned into what Freire would call an "automaton." He detached himself from his parents and siblings and turned to books for comfort. He submerged himself in reading and studying, and distanced himself from social interaction. Rodriguez became not only removed from his parents; he actually became ashamed and embarrassed of them. Rodriguez only seemed to relate to his teachers. "I came to idolize my grammar school teachers. I began by imitating their accents, using their diction, trusting their every direction. The very fi...
