CH.10 Running Always.

The end of always running really disappoints me because everything goes to the ground. He loses his book contract and he also loses his college and everything he was working for. The hood starts the war once again and his friends begin to drop off. He tries to save people by going to talk to them and ends up having his own homeboys trying  to kill him. He runs away from the hood and life seems good until one of his old rivals goes to him for revenge but instead finds peace. Always running is the perfect example for what can happen for those who want change and strive to be better. It is also a great example of what can happen if you don't capitalize when you finally start to do better. I am kinda disappointed with Luis for messing up once he was shooting up to the top, but i'm glad to see he was able to jump back on the saddle and being able to create this masterpiece. All in all i found myself learning more about my people and the dark ways i was lucky not to ever have to encounter. i may have never been invited to be in a gang, but i know what drugs can do to a family and Luis only cements that .

CH.9 Always Running

Chapter 9 truly shows Luis Rodriguez as the leader he was born to be. The program he has started in school is still going hard but things never quiet go anyone's way. In the beginning of the chapter Luis gets hit in a fight at school and is hurt. I can relate to Luis in that there are times in my life where i fight for the better for everyone and yet everyone else rather do what they want and not whats needed. Its like choosing to be a leader and not a sheep on a cold winter night, the leader stand outside in the cold while the sheep stay in the group all warm and cozy. Also it starts to get going really well for Mr.Rodriguez but life hit him like a train. He went to jail for trying to defend a girl being harassed. I feel like life can be very unfair only if you act without thinking of the consequences.

Always running #8

Pg 124 "Wilo was 15 years old.Payasa didn't cry."
The numbness and the way these kids are jaded to death is horrible.This game of territory has the cost of death .Luis Rodriguez does a great job of showing the life style that people from the barrio live. Children turn nearly soldiers around the age of 13 and some of them never even hit the age of 18 and yet they're drug addicts, murderers,rapists, etc. Its a sad truth that the system chooses to not fix because it believes that these people do nothing but bad.

Always running #7

pg.108 "The Animal tribe practically died with the death of one of its last presidents:John Fabela."

The one thing that dawned on me particularly was the fact that even when a lot of these soldiers or warriors were so loyal to their gangs how quickly they let them die. I half expected the gang to be revived by Luis himself. Whats the point in fighting and nearly dying for a cause if everyone just walks away as soon some of the higher leaders die , especially when he was only 17, the cat could've easily have been replaced by a "veterano". This disappointed me.

Always running #6

Pg. 103 "While on spray i yelled. i laughed. i clawed at the evening sky. i felt like a cracked egg. But i wouldn't stop."
Luis shows the darker side of the barrio very well but he also shows the attractive part of the barrios. Not that the drugs and the constant "thrilling" crimes is what is attractive but the fact that they love the barrio because they find the support that these kids didn't find at school and at home .The attractiveness is the freedom and the adventure. The constant movement of adrenaline through out the bodies of the chicanos almost seems like its what calls them. They fight for territory that wasn't for them to choose but they fight for it blindly without fear of their death. They do drugs to distract themselves from the truth, this game of territory has very real consequences of death.

Always running blog #5

Pg 79 "A bullet ripped through the air i had been occupying just seconds earlier,I encountered the ground, then took off like a desert rabbit, De volada"
At this point in the book is clear that Luis has completely fallen into this life. The author uses cross coding a lot to change from language to  language to give it a type of colloquialism and how the the hood or the "barrio" people spoke and did things. Since i am Mexican myself a lot of their slang is pretty recognizable and if not i figure it out pretty quickly. The slang they use is very simple and the words that are used are just to shorten up certain language phrases , for example instead of saying "Nicknames" they'll say "plaquas." The use of these names and phrases built a whole new culture and language around these people, the barrio people. Luis Rodriguez does a great way of properly portraying the chicano way of life, everyone has each others back , because normally those who don't will not take a second to even think about not hurting you.

Always running #4

Pg #49 "Soon he stopped being Rano or even Jose. One day he became Joe." 

The differences between Luis and his brother Jose are now more apparent then ever. Jose was the trouble making kid that would get into fights and that would get beat up by the older kids. Now he is the success story and it seems in a way Luis has been left out. Now his brother is no longer even "Jose" his name is now "Joe".He became white washed but isn't that the plan all along? They came to the United States searching for the American dream, they have to realize that eventually the process would be having to adapt to the new cultures and customs. Nothing comes easy in this world and a lot of times to gain something you have to be willing to lose something that's important to you, in this case Rano not only gave away his roots but he gave away his name. Now it may seem bad or selfish but what other choice did he have? Keep his Mexican culture and stay in the barrio ? Become a gang member ? At this point being white washed and forgetting your roots is better than having your roots and being 6 feet under.

#3 always running

PG #42 "We didn't call ourselves gangs.We called ourselves clubs or clicas."
 The diction that was used back when Luis was a kid is so innocent yet not at all. These "clicas" were created out of the want of power and fear of those with power. Luis explains that these groups were made for the protection of anyone in these groups. In essence it kept you from getting your ass handed to you by everyone else and let you kick someones ass anytime you felt like had to and had people watching your back. These gangs were made out of the fear and anger of young kids who grew up being neglected by the system. These gangs are made just so that they can finally be comfortable and not have someone to tell them ,"No."

Always Running #2

Pg:#34 Quote:"Mama turns to us and announces we are not leaving .I'm just a ball. Bouncing outside.Bouncing inside.Whatever"
This is probably some of my favorite personification and symbolism that Luis J. Rodriguez has used throughout his book thus far. So far Luis explains what it's like to be a poor Mexican boy in the Watts with a tough older brother and parents who are no more knowledgeable then the kids they have. The title "Always running", lines up perfectly with his comparison to the bouncing ball, his family is never quiet in a safe secure place emotionally nor physically.  There has only been one time in my life where i felt like i bounced around a lot and that was when i was around 9 when i had moved back to California back from Texas and we had to stay with an aunt of mine for a while. we moved 3 more times in a period of time less than a year and a half. I always felt secure though, i never felt like i was losing out on something. It seems like Luis is missing out in a fair and stable life style, how can anyone thrive in these conditions?

Always Running #1

Pg. # 23 "These were the familiar aromas: the funky earth, animal and mechanical smells which were absent from the homes my mother cleaned."

The reoccurring cliche story of the tough Mexican-American story shows its face again. I like the story , its very real. I just do not like how its so cliche, no matter what his family does it gets worse and worse. A lot of their mistakes its because of their ignorance, and its not their fault but its the truth. It's not just their ignorance either its the white people in this book who believe that , Mexicans are lesser people. It upsets me , because i believe i am just as capable as any person I've met in my life, how can they just take of this and not fight back? I don't think i can relate to this story very well because i consider myself an American of Mexican descent.   I am American, i was born in America, on American soil, my blood may be Mexican, but my soul is American.