Always Running: Gang Days In L. A, By Luis Rodriguez

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

“It never stopped, this running. We were constant prey, and the hunters soon became big blurs: the police, the gangs, the junkies, the dudes on Garvey Boulevard who took our money, all smudged into one. Sometimes they were teachers who jumped on us Mexicans as if we were born with a hideous stain. we were always afraid. Always Running.”

Every week the viewer gets an episode of maybe two or three homicides when, in reality, the rate of crime has been dropping. This skews the viewer’s idea of real-life death, thinking it happens more often than it does. Furthermore, crimes are always solved at the end of the film or movie and in the majority of cases the bad guy is always brought to

In the movie "La misma luna," multiple themes are presented. The film revolves around a young boy, Carlitos, trying to travel from Mexico to Los Angeles to find his mother, Rosaria. Two of the main themes that are shown in the movie are courage and determination. Throughout the film, the theme of courage is displayed in multiple instances.

Through Antonio and Ultima, readers identify the creation of a culture that has been forge by war, discrimination, and common hardships. With Ultima being a powerful curandera, the story shows the importance of the female character within Mexican culture. Today, this is prevalent in many Mexican-American households, as the elderly women are held in the highest respect. Another aspect of Mexican-American Culture is masculinity, which is shown in Bless Me, Ultima when Antonio’s father says, “a man of the llano does not run from a fight” (Anaya, 1999, p.37). There are countless examples of Mexican-American masculinity in this novel, like when it mentions that Gabriel’s two eldest sons are fighting in WWII.

From our previous film showing, High Noon, we got a taste of how the Western genre portrayed Chicano/a characters. The late 1970’s saw a decline of the western, and “with the decline of the filmic western came the rise of the urban violence film” (Cortés 134). The 1980’s and 90’s saw film after film released portraying gang violence, and the Latino gang film was a “natural crossroads for sex, violence, and ethnicity” (Cortés 135). Some see these Latino gang members “as updated, modern variants of the Mexican bandit type” (Treviño). 1993 brought us the film Mi Vida Loca, which shows us the life of teenage Chicano/a gang members living in Echo Park, focused on the character known as Sad Girl.

According to the book Punished: Policing The Lives Of Black And Latino Boys by Victor Rios, he explores hyper criminalization of Latino and African American young men in Oakland. He was a former gang member and juvenile delinquent. He earned a degree in sociology. He explains and describes how the working class youth of color who lived in Oakland are harassed, disciplined, watched and profiled at a young age by the authorities even if they have not committed any crimes. Moreover, his research are based on forty Latino and African American young men in Oakland. He studied this issue for about three years. According to this book, it gives details about how the culture of punishment works and explores the harmful effects on the young men in the

As the story comes to a close i can see how this will continue to happen in future events. Enrique wants to believe that his family won’t be too hurt by his decision but he cycle of disappoint will most likely continue in my opinion. He tells mayor Carrasco that he does not think it is worth the time and money for doctors to save travelers like Enrique “This is what they get for doing this journey,” He says of migrants. Yor carrasco disagrees.

19 years ago today in a Hispanic house hold two parents three siblings and the world to conquer. Screaming, laughing, learning and growing molded this one young lady to overcome all statics .Factors such as birthplace, extracurricular activities and the simple thing she couldn’t control, her origin were deciding factors for where she is present day. New York, the city that never sleeps, a city diverse in all aspects of life, the city where it all started. 18 years growing up in Harlem wasn’t all it was cracked up to be especially for a young Hispanic female. Being surrounded with drugs, violence and public disobedience were some of the easiest of distractions that I encountered every day.

“The Gangs of New York Assignment” “The Gangs of New York” interpreted many aspects of the Gilded Age including politics, immigration, and racism. When the immigrants, which were mostly Irish, came to New York they were treated very poorly. When arriving to America the immigrants were shouted at to go back home and had items thrown at that them when departing the boats that they arrived on. When the Irish came to America a countless amount of them had an illness, this then led to New York being called a “City of fever.” If you had an illness as an immigrant you were put back onto a ship and you were sailed back to where you had came from.

Within each book, it questions the message of “culture and gender” (Louelí, “An Interpretive Assessment of Chicano Literature and Criticism”). Clearly, positive figures influenced how the Chicano community acted then and now. Rudolfo Anaya and other Chicano writers

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.

Sexuality in adolescence Sexuality is the most notorious and common sign of development in adolescence. “The House on Mango street”, by Sandra Cisneros is a coming of age novel, where Esperanza transitions from a girl into a young teen. In her journey, Esperanza comes across many challenges, she is forced to grow up by life’s adversities. In the short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, a mother advises her daughter and scolds her into becoming a decent woman. In her guidance, the mother is worried about her daughter’s sexual activity and warns her about the consequences of improper behavior.

From the start, it is clear that T.C. Boyle’s Tortilla Curtain aims to shed a light on the topic of Mexican immigrants in the United States. However, by having both a Mexican and an American woman share similar violent experiences with men, Boyle also places an emphasis on the less pronounced theme of sexual violence and discrimination against women, even in polar opposite realities. Early on, an invisible bond begins to form between the two main female characters, America, a recent Mexican immigrant and mother to be, and Kyra a successful white businessman. And while they never actually meet one another, as they endure and recover from their own personal problematic experiences with certain men, they are affected immensely by these events. America tries her best balance her new life of being an illegal, living in the ravine of Topanga Canyon with Candido, finding work and preparing for her baby to come.

An example of this is in The Tell-Tale Heart, when it is stated “I made up my mind to take the life of the old man…”. This passage reminds us that death is something like a drug to people. Also, some people attract death. Throughout Poe’s life, he could not get away from death. Another example is in Annabel Lee when it is stated “…killing my Annabel Lee.”