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Kazakova
Anastasiya Kazakova

Professor Smyrl

ESL 117A.2550

11/30/2023

That's an interesting observation about how different paths people take in pursuit of

happiness, home, and meaning in life. Some follow standard routes, embracing education and

work, while others succumb to temptations that lead to a darker side, involving themselves in

criminal activities. The influence of our environment can sometimes steer us towards this

way, but at times, it's our personal choices that lead us astray — motivated by the attraction

of quick wealth or seeking respect from other individuals involved in criminal activities. The

Rebel is one of the literary archetypes highlighted by Carl Jung, this type very much

resonates with the character Freddy from "Madonna's of Echo Park" by Brando Skyhorse.

Freddy represents the essence of this archetype, straying from societal norms and creating his

own course, challenging norms and rules in pursuit of his own truth and identity.

The archetype of the Rebel includes a set of characteristic traits and behaviors that are

highly relatable to Freddy Blas. Rebels tend to challenge norms and question the rules or

system. Talking about Freddy half of his life he spent in jail "I spent nineteen of those forty-

two years locked up—juvie, youth camps, youth authority, Solano, Tracy, Soledad,

Tehachapi, Chino"(105). He was constantly breaking the law and it shows that he belongs to

the rebel archetype, for people like him rules are made to be broken. However, he wasn't a

bad guy from his childhood, he was smart but bored at school, he had regular parents "My

mom didn’t beat me; my dad didn’t try to suck my dick"(108). But a weakness for the rebel

type of people is that they can cross over to the dark side like crime. That was exactly what

happened to him. One night when he worked at the taco stand, he for the first time tried to

steal money from his customers. Stealing and conning and it's like a drug once you try the
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"easy money" and it will be very difficult to stop, you will think that you will always remain

unpunished. After this moment he started practicing his skills "I tried it again and again that

night, improving my technique. More like inventing my technique" (108). Nevertheless,

nothing goes unnoticed: when the owner of this stand finds out what Freddy is doing, he

demands his share. But people like Freddy are not used to subjection and restrictions. Rebels

tend to challenge the rules, so Freddy decides to leave "He gave me the keys, and I never

drove back. No point in negotiating with a thief" (108). That was an important moment for

him, he didn't think about the future, and he left his job, school, and home. He decided to start

his new life.

It is possible to find a new job, moreover, he learned how to earn "easy money", and

find a place where you can improve yourself or receive some kind of education even if it is

"street" education when you learn how to survive, but what about to find a new "home". That

is interesting that we all can understand this or feel "home" differently, but we all need it.

Even people like Freddy, loners who don't need anyone, sometimes think about having a

family "Sometimes when living the life threatened to get too dark, I’d get this overwhelming

desire to change, to do… right. Get a wife, a couple of kids calling me Dad, and for fuck’s

sake, a minivan...Good is too much work" (109). However, Freddy is too selfish to seek out a

family; he isn’t ready to care about or share anything with anyone. But he finds his kind of

home in Echo Park “I’ve got contacts from here to Laredo, Texas, have my pick of any town

to set up shop, but I chose Echo Park because mi barrio never sold me out, even when half

the LAPD was looking for me” (109). For some years he became a very respectful thief in

Echo Park. Like a rebel type of person, Freddy values individuality and refuses to conform to

societal expectations and when the Mexican mafia wants to recruit him, he refuses (109).

Freddy personifies a character with a lack of empathy and shows a complete lack of

guilt as he remembers the night that led to the death of his colleague Javier. He worked as a
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valet boy in the West Hollywood club where he met his colleague, Javier. That night when

Freddy parked a car for a customer, Freddy mentioned that the customer forgot a wallet in the

car. Blinded, by monetary gain, he tried to steal a sum of a hundred dollars left in the car. But

got panicked and accidentally murdered Javier. He describes this situation as a parking

problem “I had some trouble parking a car and got sent away for almost twelve years; can

you believe that shit?” (105), he doesn’t regret this and doesn’t even have remorse, it looks

like he blames this situation for being in prison. This moment clearly illustrates Freddy's deep

deficit in empathy and his refusal to acknowledge or accept responsibility for the

consequences of his actions.

The way Skyhorse represents Freddy is fascinating, he represents him as a selfish,

empathyless but at the same time optimistic person. When he returned from prison, he had no

doubt that his girlfriend Christina, with whom they had not communicated for a couple of

years, was still waiting for him and would always choose only him. We can see it in the

moment when he back to her house after twelve years in prison and sees a different surname

in her mailbox “I assume is her new husband, a man I’ve never met and almost feel sorry for.

Whoever he is, he’ll never be in my league. He’ll have to accept his demotion; I was here

first” (114). The first thing a person wants to do after years in prison is to go home to a place

where he is welcome. However, Freddy doesn't consider Christina his home or family, which

is shown by his reaction to the fact that Christina died a few years ago. Of course, he was

upset about this news, but his reaction is not the reaction of a person who feels empathy or

can love “I never knew how it felt to lose a woman, forever, until today... Dead women were

grandmothers in their seventies and eighties, not women I’d made love to, held close, slept

beside” (117). Returning from prison he didn't think that so many things had changed the

people he knew were gone the neighborhood was completely different. Even though he

realized that many years had passed he didn't realize that things could change so much.