Saechao1

Jimmy Saechao

Professor Lisa Orta

English 205B

21st May 2019

The Hustler

The Madonnas of Echo Park is a novel written by Brando Skyhorse that introduces

different characters and their story in each chapter. “This series of artfully interwoven tales

chronicles a community of Mexican Immigrants in Los Angeles who work as cleaners,

gardeners, and day laborers as they chase the American dream” (11 Artfully Interwoven Episodic

Tales). In chapter six “The Hustler”, we’re introduced to Freddy Blas who was born in Mexico

and raised in L.A. Freddy is forty-two years old and has spent nineteen of those years

incarcerated. He dropped out of high school when he was younger because he wasn’t interested

in a “straight life”, he wanted to do something different. The school of literary criticism that is

applied to this novel is Archetypal, “Although there are many different archetypes, Jung defined

twelve primary times that symbolize human motivations. Each type has its own set of values,

meanings and personality traits” (Golden). The theme of this story is that no matter how many

mistakes we make in life, it’s never too late to turn things around and this applies to Freddy

because it wasn’t possible for him unless he moved on from the place where he has always been,

which is Echo Park. Freddy began doing bad things like stealing cars, TV’s, and deceiving

people with gambling, he illustrates The Rebel archetype as a static character because of this

behavior.

There are many elements of fiction that is used by Skyhorse in this story.

Characterization is probably the most important one that was used because it allows us to
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understand where Freddy grew up and how that affects his behavior. Freddy is more of a static

character and everyone he’s involved with in this story are more so dynamic characters. “A

character is said to be “Static” if they do not undergo any substantial internal changes as a result

of the story’s major plot developments” (Hogue). Throughout this story, Freddy faced the

consequences for his actions, but always reverted back to his bad behavior.

Freddy illustrates The Rebel archetype at his first job as a cook at a taco stand, there were

some black people stealing food which other customers ordered. When his boss, Jimmy found

out, he got mad at Freddy and since then, Freddy always made sure he paid attention to the

counter. One day, a drunk customer left some bills on the counter and Freddy just couldn’t help

himself, the opportunity was there for him and he felt like it was an easy come up. When he

didn’t get caught, he started stealing money and wallets from other drunk customers. “Wasn’t

long before Jimmy wanted a cut. Lend me your van, I said, so I can get rid of the wallets. He

gave me the keys, and I never drove back. No point in negotiating with a thief” (108). This was a

good example of the motto, “Rules are made to be broken”, Freddy took advantage of his

situation even though it meant breaking the rules. It’s quite ironic that he mentions not

negotiating with a thief after he just stole his bosses van. Freddy’s personality correlates with

The Rebel archetype as a static character through his actions at his first job because he’s trying to

overturn what isn’t working by getting a job, but his behavior prevented him from making

progress.

Another example of The Rebel archetype being illustrated by Freddy happens during the

plot, when he gets a job as a valet at a club in West Hollywood. While working there, he sees an

open wallet with several one-hundred-dollar bills sticking out. Freddy can’t control his habit of

stealing and tries to take one, while doing so he misses, and the customer catches him in the act.
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In a panic, Freddy punches the accelerator and runs over his coworker with the Mercedes and

crashes the car at a center divider. This ordeal put Freddy in jail for 12 years, his actions reflect

the strategy of the rebel archetype because he was willing to disrupt and destroy in order to get

away with stealing. Again, we can see that Freddy illustrates The Rebel archetype as a static

character because he wants to turn his life around by getting another job as a valet. But money

has always been the main contributor of Freddy’s bad behavior, causing him to revert back to his

old ways of hustling others.

The Rebel archetype wants to overturn what isn’t working, and there are instances

throughout the chapter that indicate Freddy’s efforts in trying to change. Getting out of jail was

motivation, “For me this time out is different. I’ve changed. This sunrise here, the pale gray

promise of one I can see hovering behind that line of palm trees on a faraway hill, is different”

(105). His state of mind was different but being back in Echo Park brought back many memories,

mainly of his days from hustling. Cristina, his wife was the last person who could really help him

turn his life around because she was the only one who could influence him in a positive way.

Once he found out that she died, there was nothing keeping him from stealing or hustling.

My personal connection to the literature is the setting because Echo park reminds me of

where I come from. A city that isn’t perfect, “Working-class burg full of diversity and a wee bit

of gang violence” (Hillel). I grew up in Richmond, California my whole life and the diversity

and troubles that loom in that city reminds me of Echo Park. Reading this novel gave me a better

understanding of how connected people are in these types of neighborhoods. I think being from a

neighborhood similar to Freddy’s allowed me to sympathize with his character more because I

see his struggles and why he always reverts back to his old ways. “Crime is simply a means to an

end. It’s a way to obtain what is needed without legitimate means to do so because it seems like
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there isn’t a legitimate opportunity to avoid crime” (Ayres). These neighborhoods can be hard to

make it out of, and the odds are usually stacked against the people that live in them. I didn’t

come from a wealthy family and I know what it feels like to struggle with money, I think that’s

what resonates with me when we think about Freddy’s character. Everything Freddy did that we

consider bad behavior was simply him trying to make ends meet. It’s hard for him to get a stable

job that pays enough for him to survive when he doesn’t have much of an education. It’s also

hard when you already have a history of crime on your record. I feel like change can really occur

once we put ourselves in a new environment, analyzing Freddy’s character allowed me to realize

this and it’ll be motivation for me going forward.

Freddy illustrated The Rebel archetype as a static character throughout chapter six, “The

Hustler” in The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse. Freddy spent nineteen years of his

life incarcerated and was also a high school drop-out, so when we look at it from that

perspective, we can see how the odds were stacked against him. Freddy wanted to turn his life

around and we were able to see his efforts in getting jobs at the taco stand and as a valet in West

Hollywood. At the age of forty, Freddy wasn’t going to survive on these types of jobs that most

likely paid minimum wage. He finally understood that he had to get out of Echo Park in order to

be a better person. It’s never too late to make changes to better our lives, no matter what we’ve

been through, adversity always makes us better.

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Works Cited

“11 Artfully Interwoven Episodic Tales.” Off the Shelf, 20 June 2016,
offtheshelf.com/2015/11/11-artfully-interwoven-episodic-tales/.

Ayres, Crystal. “How Poverty Influences Crime Rates.” Vittana.org, vittana.org/how-poverty-

influences-crime-rates.

Golden, Carl. The 12 Common Archetypes,

www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html.

Hillel, Aron. “Echo Park: Greatest Neighborhood in Los Angeles, Which Has 87 of Them.” L.A.
Weekly, 4, 24 May 2016, www.laweekly.com/news/echo-park-greatest-neighborhood-in-
los-angeles-which-has-87-of-them-4174744.

Hogue, Chelsea. "Static Character." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 5 May 2017. Web. 18 May 2019.

Skyhorse, Brando. The Madonnas of Echo Park: a Novel. Free Press, 2011.

The Elements of Fiction, cstl-cla.semo.edu/hhecht/the elements of fiction.htm.