Analysis of The Book "Always Running Back" by Luis Rodriguez

Introduction

The book Always running back by Luis Rodriguez talks about the hardships that the author himself had to endure while growing up as an immigrant. The author who is also the main character in the book goes further to describe elaborately how he was forced to join gangs while growing up due to the hardships that he was facing being an immigrant. This lifestyle ended up making him vulnerable to gangs because he was desperate. According to him these gangs were the only source of security and belonging thus he had no option joining them. Later on in the book, Luis realized the gang life did not offer him anything good other than a path to his death or jail. This lead to him trying to be free from that kind of life and the society because that life was attached to it and lead a better path. The impacts that these gangs have are so broad to an extent to which his son is also sucked to the gangster life by joining the crime life of Chicago. Additionally, the book has a number of intercultural communication concepts that are outstanding and they include racism and micro cultures. These concepts have had their impacts on society throughout time and the only home for things getting better lies on equal treatment for all.

Concept of racism

Racism can be defined as a situation whereby one racial group is dominant over another. In this kind of society, the race that is favored is able to access better facilities and Rodriguez provided a number of examples where this concept could be witnessed. For example, while he was in school, the other children could bully him due to the fact that he was Mexican. What makes it worse is that Luis grew up and had children but things are still the same for his son because he is still being bullied. As it can be seen in the novel and also real life, racism has always led to the coming up of neighborhoods that are characterized by poverty and crime. For example, the author and his family lived in these kinds of neighborhoods. Such areas are the sources of crimes in cities thus leading to resentment of the inferior race by the superior one because the discriminated individuals always engage in crimes and they are the ones who are the targets. If only the society was accommodating enough to everyone, then the society would be way better because there would be jobs that are well paying hence reducing crimes.

The concept of micro-cultures

The micro-cultures arise due to the resentment that exist between the superior cultures and the inferior ones leading to the discriminated ones forming micro-cultures which are mostly criminal gangs like Chicago gangs. These gangs have proved to be a menace when it comes to security in these areas. From the given description, it can be noted that micro-cultures refer to groups that can identify themselves among a larger superior race and like in the book, “Always Running” these groups often cropped up as gangs. Taking the example of Chicago, the gangs in this area existed since 1930’s and the activities, mostly crimes, by these gangs are mentioned throughout the book. The author himself was not left out, he joined the gang Las Lamos which was very notorious in escalating violence in the area. To the immigrants, in this case the Mexicans, the gangs were a good thing because they provided identity and help for coping with life in a country which racism was rampant. However, despite the idea of providing identity, these gangs engage in criminal activities and the author, Luis, found himself in jail because of these activities.

Conclusion

The book Always running by Rodriguez provides a clear picture on the kind of life that immigrants of the Mexican origin go through and what they do for survival. Their struggles to survive is what leads to these immigrants joining gangs that have proved to be a manace. However, these gangs crop up due to the existence of intercultural concepts like racism and micro-cultures whereby the author and other members of his community face throughout their lives. One lesson that can be learned from this book is that, at times, how we treat people will always influence what they become. We cannot condemn the immigrants while at the same time we are the ones mistreating them and because of this, they try to find ways to survive and fit in just like the rest. These concepts have had their impacts on society throughout time and the only home for things getting better lies on equal treatment for all.