Summary Of There Running, La Vida Loca By Luis J....

Humans, in their nature, seek connection to others. It is a desire so deeply entrenched in all human beings: no one wants to be lonely. Often in society, we are broken up into groups, those who have it all, and those who have nothing and those in the middle. In Always Running, La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. by Luis J. Rodriguez, we hear from an outcast of society, a young man so far removed from the opportunity this country promises. Rodriguez spent his formative years living a life of crime, drugs, and sex, completely on the margins of society, not out of choice but out of necessity to survive, being left with limited options. Rodriguez is the tale of many other young Mexican American boys in the U.S.A. Torn between two cultures, feeling a part of neither country and only having connections to those that proved loyalty. As Rodriguez recounts, the first struggle for Chicanx youth was the school system. The children were not allowed to speak Spanish, to show any indication that they and their families were from anywhere but the U.S.A. This sentiment turned into the youth being told this is not your country, â€Å"a refrain†¦that echoed a lifetime† (Rodriguez 20.) For many young people, this can be a source of shame and put-downs from a young age. This was the case for Rodriguez, as he struggled with his identity as a child of the border. Rodriguez also recounts of how segregated his school experience was, and how everything was divided along racial and ethnic lines. Every