Always Running Book Analysis

In the world we live in today, people who have been sucked into the world of gangs and violence have become pariahs in society. The moving biography of Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart, captures the extent of gang violence though memoirs of numerous ex-gang and gang members. Boyle’s mission is to help these people with his endless compassion, fostering a sense of kinship, and helping them find self-love, ultimately forming a community unlike any other. The entire book revolves around compassion. When asked what compassion is, one of Father Greg’s students replied, “Compassion ...IS...

The book Always Running by Luis Rodriguez is an autobiography. Luis has been involved with gangs since he was eleven years old. He was attracted to the power he saw when he witnessed a gang burst into his elementary school chasing a guy and noticed everyone ran and hide. His gang involvement was with the Las Lomas barrio during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He grew up in the Hills

Always Running: La Vida Loca Gangs Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez. As a teenager , he was active in the Lomas gang, one of the largest Latino gang in Los Angeles. As a teenager, he witnessed different type of changes in his life and knew only a life of violence. Luis J.Rodriguez title his novel Always Running because Grillo the main character run away from drugs,violence and gang.

When involved in a gang you feel there is no way out, nobody understands your struggle and your chances of dying is 60% more than the average person. It is important to reach out to the youth and Art Rodriguez has done a great job contributing to that cause. The gang life I can relate too. In my experience and in the music that the older homies use to influence their young recruits always explain the struggle that once you are in there is no way out.

How well Wes Moore describes the culture of the streets, and particularly disenfranchised adolescents that resort to violence, is extraordinary considering the unbiased perspective Moore gives. Amid Moore’s book one primary theme is street culture. Particularly Moore describes the street culture in two cities, which are Baltimore and the Bronx. In Baltimore city the climate and atmosphere, of high dropout rates, high unemployment and poor public infrastructure creates a perfect trifecta for gang violence to occur. Due to what was stated above, lower income adolescent residents in Baltimore are forced to resort to crime and drugs as a scapegoat of their missed opportunities.

Elijah Anderson, a Yale professor, developed the concept or theory entitled the “code of the street” which explains the reasoning for high rates of street violence among African-American juveniles in a Philadelphia community. The “code of the street” is the way of life for many living in poverty-stricken communities which attempt to regulate behaviors. Anderson observed that juveniles in inner-city neighborhoods who are exposed to racial discrimination, economic disadvantages and alienation from mainstream society may lead violent behavior. The strain, social learning, and labeling theories are all directly related to Anderson’s work.

Scott Monks introduces the reader to his book about boys and gangs, growing up in an area where it is a norm to be in a gang and leadership in a gang. Introducton: The story of the book, Boyz “r “us deals with Mitchel, (Mitch) and gangs in the 1990’s in Marrickville, an inner suburb of Sydney. The toughness of boys growing up in extreme circumstances, poverty, one parent families, dysfunctional families. Juvenile delinquencies of boys and siblings, assaults and wilful damage.

Also, from my observation of the author’s interaction with the gang members, he acted in a way, that was out of respect, and in no way condemning of the gang members or their culture. He befriended them and truly showed great interest in their personal lives. He also knew that he couldn’t’ approach these gang members in a hostile manner, as he learned this from a gang member, who stated that “You can’t just walk into the neighborhood and act like a tough guy, you get beat up.” Moreover, I also observed that the author seemed mild mannered, and certainly did not come across as this know it all, arrogant researcher. I can only imagine how scary this entire experience may have been for him, but nonetheless, he allowed himself to “hang around” the gang members as they drove him around their dangerous neighborhood.

The book Always Running, is written by Luis T. Rodriguez. This book is about a certain time of the author’s life story. Luis teenage years were the most difficult because he was involved with gangs and surrounded by negativity, he was constantly running away from the police. Luis Rodriguez’s childhood was filled with humiliation, he was always tortured and beaten by his older brother named Rano. For example, Rano would tie a rope around Luis’s head and play cowboy treating him like a horse, he would also push him off from the roof of the house.

In 1998, McClintock High School in Tempe, Arizona assigned students to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The book has long been regarded as a controversial novel, and each generation that comes upon it has found something that rubs against the current societal norms. The mother of a student at McClintock took serious offense to the use of the word, “nigger” throughout the book and protested that it be banned due to the racial discrimination (Source I). Huck Finn is just one of the many pieces of literature that have been labelled “challenging,” and many feel that they do not deserve a place in schools’ curriculum. However, the study of challenging literature introduces students to new ideas and lessons that they can apply

The United States of America is renowned for the endless freedoms the country offers, yet high schools are being deprived of the opportunity to include important pieces of literature in curriculum because of the controversial subjects highlighted within the books. One piece of literature that falls in this category is Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 which has been challenged prominently because of violence. Although the novel contains sophisticated themes and violent behavior, Fahrenheit 451 should be authorized for academic use in high school curricula because it promotes awareness and classroom discussion on the prevalence of violence in society. The majority of concerned citizens believe that banning books protects the youth, however, these

“The state of kids publishing is such that it’s perfectly reasonable to be concerned about what agenda-driven and/or prurient content they’re peddling.” (Hemingway) This means it is very reasonable for everyone to be concerned about what the kids and young adults are reading. If parents are not concerned about what their child is reading, their child will follow many bad influences from books they have read. There are many influential books such as The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton that should be banned.

In the United States, every year there are around 2,000 gang-related homicides and in the realistic fiction novel, The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton, it explores the issues of gang violence, and teenagers in gangs. Around 40% of all members in gangs are teenagers, who are getting involved in some dangerous things very early in life. In the novel The Outsiders, the “Greasers” which is a gang of all teenagers, fight other gangs and commit serious crimes such as murder. We as a society need to pinpoint why teenagers join gangs and stop them beforehand. We also need to help people get out of gangs if they are already in one.

In Cold Blood: Educational or Inappropriate? When brainstorming inappropriate subjects to discuss with children at school, topics such as murder, violence, inappropriate language, or affairs may come to mind. The question is raised that if it benefits the child to converse about these matters, should books about adult themes, like murder be allowed in schools? Many novels, including In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, arguably should be banned, because it contains gruesome details about real life murders.

To accomplish this, the men are forced to participate and train others in “The Art of Running.” In this chapter, Goffman depicts the constant cat and mouse game of running for freedom as a community interaction. A successful run is the accomplishment of many, not just the wanted man. From the neighbor who notifies him, to the church friend that hides him in her closet three blocks away, the community does what it can to protect their young men. Not all men are successful, some are caught and for most, running is only one form of