Bajracharya 1

Shristi Bajracharya
Professor Malvin
English 114B
15 May, 2016
Behind the walls of Paradise
Surrounded by the majestic hills and filled with the most diverse population, Los Angeles
stands there in all its glory. It might not be located at such an esteemed location, but theoretically,
it still possesses a high value in peoples opinions. For the people of L.A., this is nothing but
their home, but for the people who have migrated into this city and are looking to move here, this
city is their key to success and gateway to their dreams. Although the warm sunlight that shines
over the city of L.A. makes it a gorgeous attraction, it behaves as a siren, attracting people with
all kinds of hopes and dreams. Little do they know the heavy prices that they have to pay for
their desires. Although there are many living the golden lifestyle in Los Angeles, Dennis Romero
argues that the majority of Los Angeles population are paying the heavy price of living in this so
called Golden Land, whose lifestyles are the real examples of life in L.A. These are the real
stories hidden behind the walls of paradise.
As seen in the essay, the Golden land is projected as one filled with amazing
opportunities. The bright sunny days and the busy noisy nights of L.A. play the parts of a devil
who disguises himself with the warmth of the sun and exposes his real self at night. Many come
to L.A. seeking the answers to their dreadful lives, hoping the city will answer their questions
with success and eternal bliss. They sacrifice everything in order to achieve their hopes and
dreams. Unfortunately, only a few of the dreamers that come to this city make it to their desired
destination and places and positions in their career. It does not make any difference to the city if

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the dreamers fail or succeed. The city lives on no matter what goes on in the lives of the people
who fall in love with everything in and around Los Angeles No one in this world and especially
L.A. can have all good things at once. In Faulkners Golden Land, Ira Ewing has the money,
the popularity and the career that people dream of, but he has broken relationships with his wife,
son and mother while his daughter, who dreamt of a career in Hollywood, suffers from the
infamy that the media has caused her. The few good lives that are advertised in the billboards and
posters attract all kinds of desires and wishes among the masses. However, these billboards and
commercials fail to state or post the difficulties ones is forced to face while embarking on their
journey to face, nor do they state the outcome of failure.
The movie industry that dominates the city might be a reason for most people to migrate
to L.A., the majority of the citys population have no connection to the industry at all. One cant
help but think of the movie business while thinking of L.A. It creates some kind of force that
brings forth the dreamers and the thinkers of tomorrow. While all of them battle with different
forces to become successful, the city has its own plans to create unusual results for their hard
work and dedication. Hope turns into despair and dreams are replaced with the bitter truth of
reality. The sun may still shine in the lives of some dreamers but for some it might just be
permanently shadowed by the darkness of night.
Speaking of the movie industry, people assume that it is the main source for Los Angeles
economy. However, the Angelinos know the truth behind this, the beauty and value of playing
host to such a powerful industry has its price. The ones who pay the price, the ones who hold the
backbone of Hollywood are the lower and middle class society, paying high taxes that eventually
go to the funds of the movie industry. Dennis Romero stated that the people of California
have pledged $1.6 billion in tax cuts to some of the biggest media corporations on the planet in

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exchange for keeping production at home (Romero). The media fails to display the negative
side of Hollywood that causes lives to suffer in many ways. People are forced to pay
unnecessarily high rents and under circumstances where they are unable to pay their dues, they
end up living in rough conditions.
Many immigrants from all over the world come to this country to start new lives here.
California is a state where minority groups make up the majority, as Romero states, Nearly
three-fourths of us belong to at least one minority group (Romero). Most of the immigrants are
from countries like Mexico, El Salvador and several other countries. While they might have
dreamt of working hard and making a good amount of money, the city of Los Angeles doesnt
pay them with the good life that they wish for and instead, they are forced to live in unsafe
neighborhoods and tough conditions. Several parts of L.A. such as South Central are filled with
Latinos and Latinas who are working very hard to pay their bills in order to survive in expensive
city and economy. Children who live in these neighborhoods dream of growing up and leaving
these places in order to live safer lives. While some use that as an incentive to stay focused and
work hard in school, some tend to fall in to the wrong hands and get involved in gangs.
The city of angles not only consists of beautiful and elite groups of people; it is also
home to the some of the biggest criminal organizations in the country. Distressed by the horrors
of living in a troublesome neighborhood with no or little source of proper guidance, the troubled
youths join gangs in order to seek companionship and friendship. They grow up around such
influences and fall victim to these traps. An article in LA Times explains the tragic story of a
young high school student wo was involved in a gang and lost his life to a member of a rival
gang (Leonard). Therein lies the horrors of crimes such as robbery, murder, narcotics and
possibly worse things. This is a complete nightmare for the first generation immigrants who put

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in all they had to enter this country and give their children the lives they could never dream of.
Their expectations are hit with a painful blow by this city. This is the ugly truth of the lives lived
by a large part of Los Angeles population.
Perhaps the city itself has a soul of its own, playing the part of Lady Justice and
maintaining a balance in the lives of the people. Perhaps it is the punishment people receive for
all the sins the city has been plagued with. In his article Homage to La, City of Broken
Dreams, Boris Glikman states, The city takes delight in finding new ways to kill dreams, in
finding new dreams to put to death (Glikman). For the ones who make it to the top, they might
seem to have it all. By all we mean materialistic objects of course. High in the hills of Los
Angeles and other expensive areas they reside. Surely they live the lives that millions would
envy, but what lies behind those walls in the hills might be sadly disturbing. In the process of
gaining what brings one pleasure, one might just forget whats actually important. This is
possibly the price we pay the life we desire. Once again proving how the city plays the role of
maintaining the balance in peoples lives.

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Works Cited
Romero, Dennis. "Why Los Angeles Hates Hollywood." www.laweekly.com. N.p., 28 Jan. 26.
Web.
Faulkner, William. "Golden Land." 2002. Ed. David L. Ulin. Writing Los Angeles. N.p.: Library
of America, 2002. 131-51. Print.
Leonard, Jack. "Lawyer Tries to Link Slain Youth to Gang." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles
Times, 20 June 2008. Web. 15 May 2016.
Glikman, Boris. "Homage to LA, City of Broken Dreams." Thought Catalog. The Thought &
Expression Company, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 May 2016.