Overview of Daniel Alarcons Flood - 1112 Words

The short story â€Å"Flood† by Daniel Alarcon, focuses on a town that is â€Å"flooded† with gang conflicts and the gangs are the ones who run the townspeople fate, despite what they do to escape the conflicts. In the short story a child is the narrator and although, children are portrayed as innocent; throughout â€Å"Flood† the children represent the contrary of that idea and the reader is able to recognize the â€Å"young gangster† in them. The setting of the story is significant because it is how the characters identify themselves and who they are as individuals. Whether the characters recognize themselves as gang members or innocent civilians, part of their everyday lives if overruled by the gangs, due to their ongoing conflict and disagreements over†¦show more content†¦In the story Pastors ideas are reflected when the two gangs start a fight during the flood and almost the whole town is involved: â€Å"We spilled onto the avenue and fough t like men, side by side with our fathers and our brothers against their fathers and their brothers† (Alarcon 93). The narrator does not think twice before joining the street fight, nor does he show signs of fright. Moreover, the statement made by Pastor â€Å"disrespect results in death† is regarded when the boys are wronged and taken to jail, for a false accusation the other gang side made against them. Even though the children do not end up dead, they are harshly treated for killing one of the dogs that belonged to the Siglo XX side of town. Additionally, throughout the short story â€Å"Flood† the meaning of family and loyalty is emphasize, in particularly when it is spoken of gangs, which it also contemplated as family in most cases. The setting of the story influences how the characters feel towards their families and their loyalty to the gangs. That is to say, Peru is part of South America therefore Peruvians are Latinos/Latinas. Many psychologists believe that Latinos tend to have large families because not only do they include blood relatives in