Always Running Summary

As a child, he is burdened with worry for his mother because she is not near him for many formidable years of his life. He is troubled by a perceived lack of love from his father, grandmother, and many members of his family still residing in Honduras. Enrique experiences the pressures of living within a low economic status when Lourdes is unable to send a sufficient amount of money for his livelihood. In later years, Enrique uses drug use as a coping mechanism and cannot release the stronghold that drugs have in his life so much so that he still uses drugs today. Enrique is also plagued with the increasing violence in his area. He describes how he is afraid if his drug dealer because he is known to have .57 magnum (Nazario, 2007, 2014). Because of the absence of Lourdes, Enrique has bouts where he is angry at Lourdes and treats her in an aggressive manner “Lourdes Pineda at Eckerd College” (Nazario, 2016).

In the 1960s, the Chicano movement started to gain momentum. Chicanos began banding together to protect others while discovering their own self-identity. One source says that, a newfound gratitude for Chicano culture was detected. It goes on to state that, a “cultural rebirth was proclaimed” which had been provoked by “rediscovery” and an acknowledgement of their collective indigenous roots. The author adds that, it was a chance to uncover “a positive self-definition” (Rodriguez, "Building Aztlan: Chicano Movement Springs Back to Life"). Furthermore, in the 1960s, nothing could slow down the Chicano movement once it had sparked. So much so, that Rodriguez claims that it “led to colleges and universities becoming targets of protest” and the

People read books to escape or to get away. People also read books to learn. In the story East Side Dreams written by Art Rodriguez tells a story about when Art was young growing up in the East Side of San Jose. He was living life fast in the streets and was getting into trouble at a young age. East Side Dreams reaches out to the youth and shows kids involved in gangs that there is a way out. 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.

Though many who have read Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan believe that Esperanza and her mother should have stayed in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on the contrary, I believe that they were right to leave for California. If they stayed, they would have had to face several consequences, one being having to live with Esperanza’s uncle, despicable Tio Luis. At the same time, when they went to California, they did not have to leave everything behind, it was a choice they made. After all, as Esperanza herself said in the book, “Do not ever be afraid to start over.” (p. 253)

The stories of Junot Diaz feature various elements of social and personal issues that are highly prevalent in young Latinx men, primarily the compulsion and adverse effect of machismo, the poignancy of being an outcast in one’s community, and the lack of a father figure in a boy’s life.

In the book, Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days In L.A, written by Luis J. Rodriguez, the main character Luis Rodriguez, experiences a crazy early teen life of being a gang member in East Los Angeles. Luis Rodriguez describes La Vida Loca, which means “the crazy life”, through the gang culture, the endless shootings he witnessed, beatings, arrests, and also through murder, drugs, and suicide. Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days In L.A has very sensitive, explosive details about the acts of crime in the streets, drugs, murder, and sex, which resulted in this book being challenged. Luis Rodriguezs’ details are extraordinary, haunting, and yet very unique. Always Running:

Mona Ruiz was raised in the middle class neighborhoods of central Santa Ana in a household of two parents, and seven siblings. Although Ruiz had family members affiliated with gangs, her father despised gang members. Both of them would have talks about how proud he’d be if she furthered her education and became a police officer. He had said to her and her sisters, “gangs promise only shame and danger for a young girl.” (Ruiz 27). Ruiz’s father’s hopes were lost when high school came around for her. She became a high school dropout once she associated herself with the F-Troop gang. She was then disowned by her father, which only worsened her decision-making at the time. The less time she spent with her family the more time she spent out with

Always Running is a memoir written by Luis Rodriguez about caution gang life in East Los Angeles.Fiction needs (or needs not to be) included in the curriculum because it has important information on how it could change someone life in a gang trying to change it all around.The message of the book is that gang and violence lead us to nowhere.Gang’s are all over the world with people mostly dying because of gangs and drugs handed out and arrested for being in a gang to many people aren’t doing the time but they can do the crime.Many people have life issue dealing with gang’s around their neighborhood hearing gunshot everyday but no one saying anything. Exploring a life with violence and murder instead of being a regular person to be healthy.

This is an analysis of Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member. This story was written by notorious Crip gang member Sanyika Shakur aka “Monster Kody” Scott. He tells the story of his initiation into the gang and all of the activity that follows. He spent many years in and out of jail and prison for the various crimes he committed and always maintained his association with the gang.

Diaz didn’t understand why his mother would take away from them to give to their family in Santo Domingo, “She chipped dollars off the cash Papi gave her for our daily expenses, forced our already broke family to live even broker.”(114). Junot Diaz continues his memoir by expressing his life as a young Dominican boy living in a low class neighborhood. He struggles to enjoy life as a child because his mother is more focused on providing to their family in Santo Domingo. After a life long memory of his home being robbed Diaz writes in great detail to express exactly what he was feeling as a young Hispanic boy lives through a though moment in his

Though Nuestra Familia originated in Northern California in the 1960s, the family has been steadfast in expanding, covering more ground and developing across the country. One area in which La Nuestra Familia is found to be very active is the Colorado prison system. Regarding this, Robert Koehler writes following the incarceration and release of a few members of La Nuestra Familia in California, they migrated to Colorado where they were later incarcerated again, as many convicts are (Koehler 168). As a result, “as the Colorado Chicano prison population grew into a larger percentage of the overall Colorado state prison population, La Nuestra Familia emerged. The precepts of La Nuestra Familia had been kept alive by a few old cons who assisted in shaping the reemerged La Nuestra Familia of the Colorado prison system” (Koehler

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 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 assault. With help, society need to pinpoint why teenagers join gangs and stop them beforehand. In addition, people also need to help others get out of gangs if they are already in one. There is a number of reasons that range from simple to complex on why teenagers join gangs, and one solution is finding an answer to their specific problem before the

The woman’s face was bloody; she cried for help, and at that time, all I could do was yell for my mother from the comfort of my home. This was a scene I never that I’d have to witness in front of my house. Her body crumpled to the ground, I remember before this, she had staggered by my house as me and my sister were playing and asked to use our house phone. Of course, at that time, my sisters and I hysterically asked our mother phone if she could use the phone, she said yes. The woman looked like she was in rush as she punched in the numbers, but I don’t remember if there was ever a response. I remember before she left, she tearfully said her thanks before she was found by the other women. After that incident, I remember that a small part of

The film “El Rey”, directed by Antonio Dorado, illustrates the beginning of narco-trafficking in the eyes of Colombia. The story follows a man named Pedro Rey, a bar owner, in Colombia during the 1960’s where he meets Harry, an American who works for the Peace Corps, who introduces him to the illicit business of drugs. Together they create a lucrative network where they begin the market of drugs in the United States. Despite the fortune and ascent on his social status as being a drug lord, Rey still desires more power. He reaches the point where he demonstrates double standards such as killing his partner, putting his life on the line and damaging his relationship with wife, Blanca Rey. The message the story talks about the heavy role the United States plays in the origin of the mafia of drugs and how the initial utopias for Colombia were lost due to the growing corruption of narco-trafficking.

Gang membership and gang involvement have been a growing concern in the world today. Many places such like Canada and the United States have reported higher amounts of gang involvement in the last five years, reporting numbers of around 900 gang in the United States alone as of 2010( Totten and Totten 2012). However researcher often the question why is that the case? Thought out this paper will address what gangs members and memberships itself offers teenage boys, in lower-income families? Forcing on protection, relationships with friends and family, money, gender, and finally the means of entering and exiting the gang. It goes with saying did the boys chose the gang life or did the gang life chose them.