Lester Rodriguez Analysis

“This turned my life upside down.” Lester Rodriguez lived a life where what could go wrong did. As a young boy Rodriguez did not know the circumstances he was going to be in. He just followed directions without question. This all changed during the summer of his seventh grade year.

He grew up with his mother and two younger sisters. His mother raised him to be polite and to have respect and value others, but that was not all she taught Rodriguez. She taught him to be greedy, vain and to resort to violence if it could help him get his way. His mother raised him how her parents raised her. “They are a highly dysfunctional and abusive family.” Growing up he had a rough relationship with his mother. They lived in poverty, food and money was scarce. Not only was his family struggling financially but also emotionally. His mom divorced his dad to go live with a man she had been

He started to wonder if the beliefs they imposed were right. Fighting, yelling, and violence was now a routine in a home that was once filled with god and loved. To cope with the struggles in his life, Rodriguez read books.

He read books such as Immanuel Kant Critique of Pure Reason, and Marx’s Manifesto, which taught him to view this life in a different way. Rodriguez said he learned a lot from these books such as historical materialism, dielectrics transcendentalism, and metaphysics. “These books influenced me the most by teaching me to question everything and to look at everything analytically.”

For a year and two months Rodriguez dealt with his broken family. Freshman year was when Rodriguez came to his breaking point, he had attempted suicide many times. “I used to wear my tuxedo that I wanted to be buried in at night because if felt ready to die.” Lost and confused Rodriguez looked for a way to escape. To him, running away was the only option