I was reading through the other posts and I think I left certain things unsaid. In terms of William, I feel like he was nice when he was accused of doing something bad. So he would try to make up for his wrong by trying to do something good. And I think that's the role of an abuser. Trying to bribe in some sense the victim in order to make himself feel less guilty about the crime. I think the heads he created were a portrayal of his control. These were people he could control, and he could create and destroy them. And I think in the end when Joey destroyed them, I think it was a way in order to destroy him. I felt like Rachel was somewhat of a lost human in the beginning, and somewhat nearing the end as well. She didn't really know what she wanted. I think she fell prey to his schemes. When he got a raise, she loved him more. When he was an abuser, she hated him. If anything it was a love/hate relationship. It was extremely turbulent because it seemed like their relationship was more out of necessity than out of love. And in the end we come to realize that Rachel only stayed with him for the money, because she didn't want to be poor, and left when she knew she could make it on her own. I think she was a good and bad mother. I think she tried to show affection but didn't know how, and I think she was a bad mother because she accepted the fact that her husband was an abuser, and continued to allow her children to live with him. Abuse isn't necessarily physical, and I think in most of the dialogue it's quite evident to see the abuse of William over his children. Billy I think was the least important character due to the fact that he never really had a personality. He was just a shadow of sorts and I think he was quite mellow and a follower. I think he realized that his brother was considered more of a favorite to his mother and he just let it be. I think he went with the flow of things and enjoyed an "white american" lifestyle compared to his own. I think Joey is the most contradictory character because nothing fit. I think he knew he had something, but he didn't know how to use it and I think because of his enviroment everything kept holding him back. In some sense he was still six year old Joey, rather than sixteen. He just couldn't overcome his fear of his father until the very end, and even then he was trying to please someone other than himself. He wanted to tell his mother and veronica that he did it. I felt like he was cutting himself short of his full potential.

Another aspect of the book that I found extremely compelling was that of streotypes. I felt like the author wanted people to know how devastating streotypes can be and what they can do to a person. In this particular case, I felt like it was the sole cause of the formation of their gang. Each member of the gang was a minority and I think that they felt like if as a minority they can unite then they can outbeat the majority. I think people are truly frightened by what they don't understand and I think history repeats itself, and in this case, they needed something to protect themselves from being individually harassed and the gang was their only option. I think also gangs also form families and I felt like in this case, there wasn't that close of a bond in terms of families, but each member had a person to fall back on.

William was raised to a higher position in the workforce, but nonetheless he was still considered a minority. And I think Daniel Chacon was implying that no matter how high up a minority climbs that financial ladder, they are still considered a minority. And I think that was evident in the story when Rachel points out that at the party, he was considered to be a "macho mexican" and she was his prize. Money doesn't change the color of a person or their origin and I think that's what the author was trying to portray.