Eddie

Eddie is the protagonist of the novel. He is 19 years old and has lived his entire life in the barrio of Fresno. He is a person of good morals, claiming that he does not even curse because he believes it is wrong. There was a time in his life when he was younger when he "huffed," or sniffed things like glue and paint fumes to get high. He is not that kind of person anymore, though, and desires to rise above the slums he inherited.

Eddie lives in an apartment where his only roommates are cockroaches, and from time to time his mother or aunt visit him. He does not have a real job and he dropped out of City College where he had been attending classes to learn about air conditioning repair. In order to earn money, Eddie performs odd jobs on the wealthy north end of...