Alway Running: Gang Days In L. A: A Summary

In Luis J. Rodriguez’s Alway Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A., he depicts his struggles growing up and facing: discrimination, violence, stereotypes, sexism, gangs and ignorance. At a young age, Rodriguez was exposed to such items influenced him to be segregated from his classmates. His classmates would beat him up; he had to digest his situation. Not until he grew a bit older, he started to present repercussions. Later in his early adolescent years, Luis express that repercussion with violence. He acts violently to cope and escape the fact that he is powerless. As he matures to a young as an adult, he slowly educates himself and starts to turn his life around. Rather than escaping he starts to healthy deals with his past by writing and reading books. Escapism can really represent Luis’ growth because he goes from trying to escape by killing himself to using a typewriter to express himself. …show more content…
In chapter four Luis writes, “ The night before I was in combat with myself, against a dark side, poised for destruction, with death about to tap my shoulder. I tried to commit suicide” (81). He illustrates in a few lines the effect of his childhood: abuse, mistreatment, and choices. Since he was a young adolescent, it was easier to get sucked into the negativity around him and choose suicide. He didn't know a lot of a positive escapism to actually help him. He explains that he always wants to escape from his horrible reality. It is an easy route but not many people actually follow through. Later