“It never stopped, this running. We were constant prey, and the hunters soon became big blurs: the police, the gangs, the junkies, the dudes on Garvey Boulevard who took our money, all smudged into one. Sometimes they were teachers who jumped on us Mexicans as if we were born with a hideous stain. We were always afraid. Always running.” (36)
Works Cited
Rodriguez, Luis J.. "Chapter 2." Always running: la vida loca, gang days in L.A.. Willimantic, CT: Curbstone Press ;, 1993. 36. Print.
Luis was always on the run whether it is from the police, gangs, or just people who are after them. Luis had to do a lot of running in his life and was never able to stay in the same place for very long. He and his friend Tino were trespassing on school grounds to play basketball on the court. There was a sign that told them there was no trespassing allowed but they went anyway, and when the police showed up they left the ball and ran away. This shows that Luis never had the opportunity to play freely; he would have to trespass in order to just play basketball. He has a very difficult life and having fun is not a very big part of it.
In this memoir Luis Rodriguez is deprived of a lot of freedom that he deserves. Nobody should have to always be afraid of their surroundings and have to worry about danger when just leaving home for a simple errand. This passage is a metaphor, because they aren’t literally “Always Running” and they aren’t “Prey”, but they do have to be alert and move very often from place to place to avoid danger. This quote tells the reader about how Luis viewed his life as a kid. He was never comfortable with the community he was provided with and never had the satisfaction of feeling safe.
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