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Racial Identity In 'Always Running'

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Always running has a heap of different themes. But the theme that is the most seen in the story is racial identity. Racial identity affects Luis the main character because he is an immigrant from Mexico that jumped the border to try and get away from the mexican rule and unsafety. When he comes to the new town in Las Angeles, he is the new kid on the block so he gets treated badly because of his background. When he arrives into the new area he and his family does not do very well when they first get there because people think that they are incapable of doing any of the things in america. People of this culture are divided into places where there are other people of their kind. Schools in the area have rules for these people, “don't speak spanish, …show more content…

Neighborhoods of races were clearly defined because of the wealth and differences between them. Luis though that the whites did not want the in the area because they think that they are much higher in social standards than them. The whites had very nice cars and things inside their homes. Luis and his family were not very welcomed to the area and the people in the area do not want them there so, “Neighborhood kids often chased Rano from play and jumped him. Many times he came home mangled his face swollen. Once someone threw a rock at him which cut a gash across his forehead, leaving a scar Rano has to this day”(21). The kids did not like them in their neighborhood because how they looked and acted. But not everyone wanted them to leave some people were accepting. “We invited Canica and La Smiley. And they brought Elaine Palacios and Corina Fuentes. We gathered at Garvey park, two car loads of us. We scored on cases of beer and some grifa”(63). They found some friends that would hang out with them and have a good time but even those friends did …show more content…

racial identity affects a lot of people because of the way that we look at others and their skin color. skin color people think sometimes represents what kind of background you come from or the people you hang around. police badge and sometimes be a symbol of racial identity because there are many African American people being killed by police officers and the other way around too. there have been big riots about how black men have been killed by white police officers because people think the officer didn't because they he was black. A bald eagle represents freedom and I remember learning about African Americans being slaves just because of their racial identity. Their color put them into that situation, working in fields and having to listen to their masters. There has been a lot of thought that people are still racist and look down on African Americans. Another example is gangs, Games for field of people that have lost most of their things and are giving up on life and they're trying to look up to people if they think will help them but most of the time these people will treat them poorly and make them do things that they never wanted to do. People in games are on the edge of suicide. You can be there a race or their background could be shady. That's why people don't hire them and want them working with them because they think that because of their race they are worse or lower than them in social class even though you gave them a

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He describes his neighborhood without use of any adjectives that express emotion about how he feels about the place. The lack of emotion suggests that they have done this walk before and they have grown indifferent to their surroundings. Another example is at the high point of the story when he and his brother are getting beat up, “I watched the others take turns on my brother, this terror of a brother, and he doubled over, had blood and spew on his shirt, and tears down his face. I wanted to do something, but they held me and I just looked on.” Terror of a brother implies that Rano is a bully himself.

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This quote explains that the author feels out of place. When Barrientos came to the United States she stopped speaking spanish, partly because her parents wanted her to speak english. One reason she did not want to be classified as Mexican American was that society has negative connotations outsiders. Learning spanish

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At times it may seem in order for them to accept you, you have to tell them your ethnicity just for them to feel safe or comfortable working alongside you. However, you can be discriminated by your own race also. In addition, when

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