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Ernest Perez

Mr. Rivas

American Literature

9/18/18

Perspectives Of Los Angeles

In this essay I’m going to discourse the different perspectives of Los Angeles. On how

people look at Los Angeles differently. In some cases people think that Los Angeles is the city

full of successful/famous people but in reality it's actually just like other cities. I'm not gonna lie,

Los Angeles is a beautiful city, but there are also a down side of Los Angeles. There is more to

Los Angeles than just hollywood, beverly hills, beaches, and etc. Los Angeles is a particularly

compelling city as is exhibited through

In the articles that I read, “Finding yourself in Los Angeles” by Reif Larsen and “In my

Los Angeles, Hollywood was a thousand Miles Away” by Walter Thompson Hernandez. The

authors wrote about Los Angeles, but they both have different perspectives of the city. In the

article “Finding Yourself in Los Angeles” the author, Larsen brings us through his journey in LA.

In the beginning of the article Larsen states that he is not from Los Angeles “It was 3:30 p.m. I

was already running half an hour late this was because I am not from Los Angeles”. The article

discussed about tourist spots and historical places in Los Angeles like the Union Station and

Self Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine Temple. Larsen also compared Los Angeles to New

York, “In New York City, where space is at a premium, there are strict unspoken codes of

privacy and proximity” “In Los Angeles there is more room to spread out”. In Hernandez’s article

he clarify about the stereotypes on Los Angeles from the people that’s not from LA. Hernández

claims that “The Los Angeles that travelers visit is not the one that I know, and many people
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who know the city feel the same way”. In my opinion as person who grew up in LA I agree with

the author.

In the poem, “Love Poem to Los Angeles” by Luis J. Rodriguez, Rodriguez wrote about

the love he has for the City of Angels. The author discoursed a lot of detail about Los Angeles

and its landscape. The poem also discusses about how Los Angeles is now. Rodriguez also

speaks about some down side of Los Angeles, “El Lay is known for the most violent street gang,

the largest Skid Row, greatest numbers of poor”. Rodriguez didn’t just write about what Los

Angeles is known for, he discussed about the real LA that it really is. Also, Rodriguez goes in

deep with in the history of Los Angeles. ​From japanese concentration camps, blacks forced

from farm lands in the south, then being segregated, diminished.

The researcher found out that people have different perspectives of Los Angeles.

In the interview with Larry, (pseudonym) the person that's born in Los Angeles, Larry

speaks about what people should expect about Los Angeles. Larry also explains why

people that are not from Los Angeles misunderstood the city. During the research, Larry

claims that LA has a great history and LA’s biggest accomplish is Hollywood and The

Walk of Fame. This is the reason why Los Angeles is known for the best city to be

successful or to succeed. In the research Larry also explains the good and bad side of

Los Angeles that a lot of people from different places don’t know about. Larry states

that “We spend more money on prison than on school”.

The second interview is on the person that's not born in Los Angeles. The

researcher found out about the expectations of Los Angeles before Chuck

(pseudonym) got here, “I thought LA would be a lot more cleaner and I thought LA

would be full of rich people”. The researcher also ask Chuck about the difference
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between Los Angeles and the place he came from. Chuck response with ​ ​“In the country

I’m from it’s like you could get away with a lot of things, but here it’s more controlled

better and calm”. The researcher also determined that Chuck had to make changes in

Los Angeles with the weather and the environment “In the Philippines it’s always hot but

here it get pretty cold, and the environment in here is way different than the Philippines”.

In conclusion this essay is about how people that’s not from Los Angeles think of

the city in a different way than the people that is actually from here. Los Angeles is one

of the most misunderstood city, because people thats not from here thinks the city is like

what they see on TV and the stereotypes of the city. There are some down side of Los

Angeles that visitors or new comers don’t know about. Los Angeles isn't just about

hollywood, beverly hills, beaches, and etc. There is more to Los Angeles than just the

stereotypes of the city. Not everything is looked at when it come to The City of Angel.
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Born in Los Angeles

1. Is Los Angeles the city that everyone think it is? “No, Los Angeles is not what everyone

thinks it is. I believe it’s not what everyone thinks because they only look at the good

parts of L.A. People don’t look at the poor side of L.A. But only the rich side.”

2. What should people that’s not from Los Angeles expect? “People that are not from here

should expect many good and bad things. The good thing that they should expect is the

food, beaches, museum, and the Mountain Views. The bad things they should know

about LA is that there’s a lot of traffic, homeless and that the weather changes a lot.”

3. Why do you think people that’s not from here think Los Angeles is one of the best city to

succeed? “They believe that because LA has a great history. Everyone thinks that

because it is known as where fans is people come. LA’s biggest accomplish is

Hollywood. Another reason is the Walk of Fame.”

4. Is there a good and bad side of Los Angeles? Explain why it’s good/bad. “There is a

good and bad side to LA. The good side of LA is that we get a lot of opportunities here.

We get free education, scholarships and many more things. The bad side the bad side of

LA is that we spend more money on prisons than on schools. Another thing is that not

everything gets treated the same.”

Not born in Los Angeles

1) What are your expectations of Los Angeles before you came here? “I thought LA would

be a lot more cleaner and I thought LA would be full of rich people”

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2) Is everything you expected about Los Angeles true? “No like I said in the last question, I

expected LA to be more cleaner and full of rich people”.

3) What is different between the place you came from and Los Angeles? “In the country I’m

from it’s like you could get away with a lot of things, but here it’s more controlled better

and calm”.

4) Did you have any adjustments when your in Los Angeles? “In the Philippines it’s always

hot but here it get pretty cold, and the environment in here is way different than the

Philippines”.
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Works Cited

Larsen, Reif, “Finding Yourself in Los Angeles “ New York Times, 23 July 2018,

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/trave/los-angeles-retreats-spiritual.html

10 September 2018

Rodriguez, Luis J. “love poem to Los Angeles.” Rattle,

https://www.rattle.com/love-poem-to-los-angeles-by-luis-j-rodriguez/.

Hernández, Walter, “In my Los Angeles, Hollywood is Thousand Miles Away” 25 July 2018,

https;//www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/travel/los-angeles-travel-local.html