Luis J. Rodriguez Essay
“‘Race’ Politics” by Luis J. Rodriguez is about the author and his brother going into a neighborhood called Southgate. In this story there are two communities Watts and Southgate. Watts is a diverse community whereas Southgate is an all Caucasian community. Luis and his brother get treated poorly in Southgate because they were Hispanic and from Watts. Luis J. Rodriguez effectively used connotation, syntax and imagery to make the reader emotionally aware and understanding about social injustices.
The author uses syntax to inform the reader about the social injustices and the effect it had on the people involved. For example, “We dared each other. Laughed a little. Thought about it. Said, What’s the big deal. Thought about that. Decided we were men, not boys” (Rodriguez 6-12). …show more content…
Rodriguez uses connotation to further educate the reader on social injustices. For example, “a line of power/powerlessness,” (Rodriguez 31). Another line where he uses imagery, “-all white. All American.” In these lines Rodriguez states that both communities, Southgate and Watts, were not equal. Southgate had more power than Watts and is considered to be superior than Watts because they were a caucasian community. Rodriguez hints that the people in Southgate considered themselves more american than the people in the Watts because they were white. “Plenty of reason,” (Rodriguez 35) is an example of connotation that is repeated often during the poem. It is found on lines 41,43,45,49 and 54. After “Plenty of reason” the author starts listing the negative things that the teenagers from Southgate have done to him and his brother. Rodriguez uses “Plenty of reason” as a sarcastic remark which soon turns emotional and angry. He uses this as sarcasm to show that the Caucasian teenagers didn’t really have a valid reason to physically hurt his brother.Rodriguez uses Connotation to tell the reader about social injustices by talking about the way communities are
“‘Race’ Politics” by Luis J. Rodriguez is about the author and his brother going into a neighborhood called Southgate. In this story there are two communities Watts and Southgate. Watts is a diverse community whereas Southgate is an all Caucasian community. Luis and his brother get treated poorly in Southgate because they were Hispanic and from Watts. Luis J. Rodriguez effectively used connotation, syntax and imagery to make the reader emotionally aware and understanding about social injustices.
The author uses syntax to inform the reader about the social injustices and the effect it had on the people involved. For example, “We dared each other. Laughed a little. Thought about it. Said, What’s the big deal. Thought about that. Decided we were men, not boys” (Rodriguez 6-12). …show more content…
Rodriguez uses connotation to further educate the reader on social injustices. For example, “a line of power/powerlessness,” (Rodriguez 31). Another line where he uses imagery, “-all white. All American.” In these lines Rodriguez states that both communities, Southgate and Watts, were not equal. Southgate had more power than Watts and is considered to be superior than Watts because they were a caucasian community. Rodriguez hints that the people in Southgate considered themselves more american than the people in the Watts because they were white. “Plenty of reason,” (Rodriguez 35) is an example of connotation that is repeated often during the poem. It is found on lines 41,43,45,49 and 54. After “Plenty of reason” the author starts listing the negative things that the teenagers from Southgate have done to him and his brother. Rodriguez uses “Plenty of reason” as a sarcastic remark which soon turns emotional and angry. He uses this as sarcasm to show that the Caucasian teenagers didn’t really have a valid reason to physically hurt his brother.Rodriguez uses Connotation to tell the reader about social injustices by talking about the way communities are