Reading the memoir Always Running was a very touching experience. Throughout the novel Rodriguez touched upon racial discrimination, riots, and just other fights that neither side won. He showed a lot of courage in this book. One specific moment when there was a huge riot and Rodriguez showed a lot of courage was on page 98. “Go ahead puto, I said. But make sure you kill me, or ill come after you.” This was right after a riot when Rodriguez and other Mexicans had this white guy cornered and Rodriguez told him to leave to protect him, but the other guy stubbornly cursed him and punched him. The Mexicans ended up on top of him, but Rodriguez told them to get off and he hit him himself. The guy escaped then came back later with a gun.
The novel also introduced shocking hate crimes, sometimes done by the police. A little bit before this confrontation, the real riot broke out. “Two more cops arrived. One put a choke hold on Carlitos as the other struck his legs.”(96) The police are the bad guys in this book. They are attacking an innocent man just for the fact that he was a Mexican. This causes problems with the people around and bottles start getting thrown and the whole riot breaks out which lasts the whole day.
This was a very emotional novel and it is amazing how Rodriguez was able to come from this neighborhood to becoming an astounding Chicano poet. It met all of my expectations and more. I think that he had an unfair life and he deserves to be where he is now. He has worked hard to defend his Mexican pride and to just stay out of trouble with others. He was also very kind hearted to those who didn’t deserve to be treated nicely. I really enjoyed reading this novel and the experience will have a lasting impact on me.
To those of you that happen to come across my blog and happen to read it I do recommend this memoir to you.
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