always running
Always Running For my book analysis I had read “Always Running “ (La Vida Loca: Gang days in L.A.), by Luis J. Rodriguez. The book was published by the Curbstone Press in Connecticut in 1993. The main charter in the book is the author himself, Luis J. Rodriguez. The story is based on his biography that took place in Watts and East Los Angeles in the 1950’s to the 1990’s. Watts was an old community, populated with black and Mexican people. It was a ghetto where country and city mixed together. East Los Angeles was a run down community with a high rate of crime. Ramiro, Luis’ first child has run off again. While looking at his Childs footsteps it reminds him of the same steps he took when he was younger. His son reminds him of his gang member days. The author fears Ramiro will cause harm to himself if nothing is done. In the preface the author talks about his family and about his life as an early journalist. By writing this book, Luis hopes Ramiro will change. In this book Luis Rodriguez starts off by talking about how his family moved from Mexico To Los Angeles. His family was poor and hoped to succeed one day, just like many others. He did poorly in school because he and his family did not speak English. As the author grew up he experienced prejudice because he was Mexican. At the age of ten he and his friends created “clicas” (gangs) for protection which they called Tee Impersonations. Luis Rodriguez was a young East L.A. gangster that had witnessed countless shootings, beating, arrests, murders, suicides, and senseless acts of street crime by the age of twelve. Facing many though times in life, Luis turned to violence and gangs to get away from his problem. He felt closer to his fellow gang members than his own mother, father, sister, and brother. At thirteen the author was already into drugs and gang violence. Throughout the book Luis Rodriguez talks about friends, school, gang fights, problems at home and his love life. At fifteen he was arrested and made to work. Towards the end of the book the author meets Licha who inspired him to change. By the time he turned eighteen years old, he had seen twenty-five of his friends either killed by rival gangs, police, drugs, car accidents, or suicide. He decided to leave for San Pedro but ended up living in Chicago.