Who Is Manny's Defeat?

Situated predominantly in urban areas, gangs are becoming a major problem in today's society. The youth and adults are turning into gang members often times to leave behind the current situation they are living now. Many people who aren't familiar or affiliated with gang members are known to be curious as to why it is that the youth and adults join a gang. Some answers might be the current situation, obtaining social status, sense of protection, amongst other personal reasons. Everyone who joins a gang has different situations about why they decide to associate with gang members. In the novel, G-Dog and the Homeboys by Celeste Fremon, focuses on the gang members about East Los Angeles. This book draws the attention on the youth residing within the East Los Angeles territory and a look at the East Los Angeles gang members and how they play a major role in the book as one of the Latino gangs in East Los Angeles.

Also to always take the opportunity to make your life happy. The reason why I say this is because the way that Luis never had motivation in himself to go back to school because he had a feeling that he was going to get into fights. For example Luis says, “Nobody supported me; my family thought I had gone crazy. They thought, you crazy gangster, you crazy drug addict, now you want to be a writer? That's it! They totally gave up on me after that”(Rodriguez). This quote shows how Luis wasn’t able to get the support from his parents. When he was in high school he was afraid of failing by himself, but in reality he was able to become as an activist and motivational person that made him change his life by becoming as a better person. Also by making a good decision by leaving his gang and by choosing the right path by going to

Hernandez does what she can to keep her own head above water by getting a job at a local McDonalds and keeping her grades up in school. Though guilty of her own successes Hernandez did what she had to do, to survive and create her own future.

Determined to help his audience - people who stereotype against and do not understand gang life - find commonalities with gang members, Fr. Boyle shares his experiences with gangs in Los Angeles. At the beginning of the novel, Fr. Boyle articulates his thesis and expresses his purpose for sharing his experiences when he states, “Though this book does not concern itself with solving the gang problem, it does aspire to broaden the parameters of our kinship. It hopes not only to put a human face on the gang member, but to recognize our own wounds in the broken

The theme of death and violence is another important segment in indicating the evils of war. Each individual is engaged in killing their enemies and struggling for their own lives. As seen through the view of the sniper, the people¡¦s lives are centred around killing and death. Lifestyle, even to the extent of lighting a cigarette becomes risky and could lead to death. Citizens are forced to be locked in their homes for fear of being shot. The incident, where an old woman is hot by the sniper, who is then injured by his enemy is an example of war¡¦s destructive nature. The loss of innocent

The title of this book is called “Parrot in the Oven” and is an extended metaphor that means there is a parrot who is complaining about being “too hot” in the shade when he is actually in the oven. Meaning, Manny used to be ignorant, but he no longer is because of the events he went through. Victor Martinez, the author of “Parrot in the Oven” is a Bildungsroman because the character Manny grows up throughout the story by learning through racism, social hierarchy, seeing gang activity, and watching Eddie go down the wrong path. Manny will begin to realize that he wants to change his life around.

The purpose of fist stick knife gun was to expose the sociological impact on violence in the urban culture, to the readers. He also tries to express the life of violence that young adults must deal with as if it’s a common part of life. Canada throughout the book uses his own experiences through life to detail the frequency of violence in lower class neighborhoods. Though he took the readers through the darkness of it all he manages to shine a light of hope on the situation by saying that someday this cycle of violence in the streets will be broken.

In Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, Louie Zamperini experienced many situations that were both lucky and unlucky. These events helped shape him into who he is and prove that sometimes luck prevails. The Green Hornet crash, the rescue from the sea, and the aftermath of the war are all examples of lucky and unlucky instances that Louie Zamperini faced that left him “unbroken”.

This story revolves around an undocumented family with the hopes that they will be able to live the "American Dream." The second oldest child, Francisco, otherwise known as Panchito who is also our narrator, is the main character of the novel. Panchito exposes a flurry of emotions with his roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, expectations and disappointments. He and his family expressed hope from the start of the story, dreaming of how life would be considerably better once they reached California, somewhere they thought to be a place where they could escape impoverishment. Panchito is shown as a very hopeful character; in fact, there are many times where he hopes for something to the point where he convinces himself it will happen, resulting in the numerous occasions of disappointment and discouragement. Yet, even with the frequent occurrence of disheartenment, Francisco pulls himself back up and perseveres. The author depicts Panchito as a determined character who always manages to push through rough times despite the circumstances around him telling him that he can't.

This story keeps the reader in suspense as they don’t know when the gun will go off. They should also feel horrified at how the gangs in America used to settle arguments and that the boys kept adding bullets into the gun, putting their life at risk just so that they wouldn’t let the other gang members down.

Discrimination has created racial disparities and segregation; as a result, many neighborhoods that have been labeled as the “hood” have primarily black residents. Unfortunately, children born into these neighborhoods suffer a predisposition to violence, drugs, and gang affiliation due to patterns of violence and the lack of adequate resources. The movie Boyz in the Hood portrays the struggles experienced by young black men as they grow up in the ghetto of Los Angeles. This movie accurately depicts the patterns of violence and crime, lack of adequate resources, and government corruption found within many poor, segregated neighborhoods.

A prime example of this is seen directly after Rodriguez completes his initiation into the Lomas Loco gang. “I looked back at everyone standing around the driveway. My right eye was almost closed. My lip felt like it stuck out a mile. My sides ached. But I had done well” (Rodriguez 2). In this moment, Rodriguez describes what he felt after fulfilling his initiation requirement. These descriptions of the pain he felt throughout his body is not only an example of the horrible actions committed by Mexican-American gang members but it also shows the pressure individuals face choosing to join a gang. Towards the end of the excerpt, Rodriguez describes his direct experiences with him and the Lomas Loco gang attacking the four individuals, who were sitting in the 1952 DeSoto. His vivid descriptions establish an emotional connection. This then establishes an understanding of the pressure Rodriguez faced in this moment to follow through with the horrific orders he has been given. “The dude looked at me through glazed eyes, horrified at my presence, at what I held in my hand, at this twisted, swollen face that came at him through the dark” (Rodriguez 3 – 4). In this moment, Rodriguez was given a rusty, screwdriver by a fellow gang

Manuel yearns for the limelight, but will he let the nervousness inside him and the constant mistakes keep him from trying something new to achieve a limelight? In “La Bamba” by Gary Soto Manuel is a young boy that found this need for attention inside of him that made himself volunteer for the talent show. What Manuel doesn’t figure out until the end is that mistakes are a part of trying something new like performing “La Bamba” at the talent show. The theme of not letting the mistakes of trying something new get in your way of achieving a new goal is supported by the conflict, symbolism and characterization.

The character of Demetrio Macias proves to be quite ironic. One facet of his character reveals his determination to find Pancho Villa’s army,

A social event, according to dictionary.reference.com, is “an event characteristic of persons forming groups.” Social groups are definitely formed and reaffirmed in the passage. In this particular battle, many involved would argue that there is no social aspect, but racial and familial tensions prove the opposite. These social aspects are made more interesting as we look deeper into the individual characters and components of the fight. How does Pedro’s repetition and description affect our perception of him?