To Do What Needs To Be Done

Instead of one specific scene, the section of the book in which Rodriguez recalls how the gang violence turns from simple fights into murder is the most memorable in my opinion. This is mostly because of the transitions the author elaborates on to get there. He began innocent, like everyone equally does, however his poor living situation and criminal lifestyle turn him into something harder. The section where he talks about the deaths of those he knew and sometimes didn’t know is made all the more important because of where he stood on the matters. He did what he thought needed to be done at the time. That was how he lived his life. Those deaths were awful and he knew it.

Reading about how he managed to assimilate into whatever life was thrown at him was what made the book so easy to relate to, but also how he had the courage to realize when he needed to make a change, and to actually make it, is what truly made it memorable. I, personally, gained a new respect those who are thrown into the life full of killing and fighting. The statistics that get thrown around with gang wars on the news aren’t just numbers; they are lives of boys who were only doing what they thought needed to be done.