ALWAYS RUNNING

BY LUIS J. RODRIGUEZ

Presentation by

Joshua
Martinez

SETTING

The story mainly takes part

in Los Angeles, within the
low income neighborhood
of Watts. The setting is
also expanded to areas
throughout L.A. such as a
beach, a school, a county
jail. Smaller portions of the
book take place in
Berkeley, California and a
small village in Mexico.

CHARACTERS
Luis Rodriguez Also known as Chin, Rodriguez is the main
character of the story and it is told from his point of view. He
is an immigrant from Mexico who came with his family.
Throughout the book, he is mainly affiliated with Las Lomas
gang and lives in his mothers garage. He is skinny and is
covered with tattoos. He enjoys doing drugs, writing,
painting, and girls. Later in life, he begins to take an active
role in racial equality in his school and in his community.
Chente Rodriguezs mentor in life, he is a volunteer in the
Bienvenidos Community Center. He tries to steer the local
gang members towards a positive and less destructive life.
Chicharron He is one of Rodriguezs best friends and one of
them that survive throughout the book. He is also a Lomas
affiliate and tends to partake in gang activities similar to

SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS

The story of Always Running deals covers the childhood and early
adult life of Luis Rodriguez. It begins with his family coming to America
and moving to Los Angeles due to Rodriguezs father losing his job in
Mexico. Rodriguezs early life is filled with him and his brother, Rano,
living daily life where Rano sadistically tortures him. One day, they
roamed into Caucasian neighborhood to go to a grocery store. They
experienced their first taste of racism when a group of Caucasian boys on
bicycles attacked them, shouted racial slurs, and then left. Rano would
later become a more academically driven student who uses his American
name Joe.
The Majority of Rodriguezs teen life would later become flooded with
gang life and activity. He was inspired to join a gang when he saw a
group of boys from a local gang drive through his schools gate and
terrorize the young middle school children. He marveled at the power
that they seemed to have and strived towards it, eventually joining Las
Lomas. His life progressively spirals down from that point, getting into

SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS (CONTINUED)

Later in the book, Rodriguez begins to take notice of the inequalities in the school system,
such as the discrimination towards Hispanic students. He takes initiatives, such as becoming
the school mascot and taking part in clubs aimed towards bettering the Hispanic community.
Tensions rise when a teacher calls a student a racial slur and Rodriguez organizes a sit out.
The sit out forced the principal to make negotiations with the students such as establishing a
class based on Hispanic culture. Although he didnt walk during his graduation, Rodriguez
would later receive his diploma form the principal continually battled with throughout his
years at high school and then continued to go college Berkeley on a scholarship.
The book draws to a close when the Rodriguez attempts to go against his own gang. As
the gangs in the neighborhood began to have peace talks, the police attempted to provoke
them in order to prevent a single gang from forming that they wouldnt be able to handle.
After receiving a beating and leaving a Lomas meeting, Rodriguezs friends drive up to him
while he is standing on his front lawn and shoot a single bullet at him. Although terrified, he
realizes that it was a warning shot and then continues to distance himself from the gang life.
The story closes of a story where an old gang member finds Rodriguez outside a social event,
ragged and beaten, blaming him for everything that had happened to him. Rodriguez
embraces him, telling him that he needs to let it all go and then man leaves, crying about how
he had wasted his life.

STUDENT RECOMMENDATION
I recommend this book to anyone
who is an immigrant or have
immigrant parents. It discusses topics
such as language barrier, culture
differences, and sacrifice that many
people undergo for a better future for
their children in America. The first
person style that the book is written in
provides a more personal experience
and allows the reader to feel the
hardships that Rodriguez endures in
the story. It opens up a world that
many children born in America dont
understand and broadens their

AUTHOR
INFORMATION
Luis J. Rodriguez is a Mexican
immigrant that came to America as
a young child. Although his early
life was riddled with drugs and
violence, he has become a writer
and a monumental role model in
the within his community. He runs
a community center and attempts
to keep children like he was off the
streets and in safe environments
with recreational programs.

QUES
TIONS

What was another name Rodriguez was known by?

Chin
What was Rodriguezs brothers name?
Rano / Joe
What gang was Rodriguez affiliated with?
Las Lomas
Would you ever join a gang? Why or why not?
(Open Ended)
Is discrimination towards specific ethnicities still common
within American schools?

(Open Ended)

CONCL
USION
From this book, I have learned to appreciate the
environment I was raised in. Although my parents
were immigrants, they were still very able in regards
to speaking English. They were also able to provide
for me and able to pay for afterschool programs such
as theater, art, and sports that Rodriguezs parents
couldnt afford to invest money in. I was also able to
learn the mentality of a person who joins a gang,
which is not innately to be destructive, but to be part
of a family, or something that is missing within their
own household.

RUBRIC
Title 10
Setting 10
Characters 10
Summary and Analysis 10
Student Recommends 10
Author Infor 10
Questions 10
Conclude 10