What comparison can be made between two characters in the novel Buried Onions by Gary Soto?

Buried Onions is Gary Soto's novel about life in the Mexican-American barrio of Fresno, which is the setting of much of Soto's fiction. The novel is told in a first person narrative by Eddie, a young man trying to make his way in a world which, in many ways, seems to be very much against him. Eddie grew up in the barrio but now, as he emerges into adulthood, would like to escape the crime, poverty and violence which pervades the neighborhood. That Eddie wants something better in his life makes it easy to compare him to his antagonist in the novel, the ironically named Angel, who is a gangbanger and a thief who seems quite comfortable perpetuating the life which Eddie believes is a dead end and wishes to get away from.

Eddie and Angel grew up together. As youngsters, they did many of the same things, like petty theft, sniffing glue and attempting to act tough. They hung out at the same playground and have friends and relatives in common. In fact, Eddie's cousin Jesús, who was killed in a nightclub, was Angel's best friend. But, while Angel sustains the life of robbery and drugs, Eddie wants to stay out of trouble and make a decent living. Unfortunately for Eddie, he always seems to be brought back to the life of the barrio.

Throughout the novel, Angel is Eddie's nemesis until, in the story's climax, they fight. Eddie believes that Angel is out to get him because he won't help Angel kill the guy who murdered Jesús. Whether or not Angel was actually stalking Eddie is never revealed, and Soto suggests that it could have just been "chime" (gossip). Nevertheless, after their fight, Eddie knows that he must leave Fresno. He knows that Angel will never stop until one of them is dead. Eddie represents hope in the face of overwhelming odds. He knows there must be something better in life. Angel, on the other hand, knows nothing more than his low-life existence which he seems to enjoy. Unlike Eddie, he is unwilling to change and seek something different. Like many of the other young men in the book such as Junior, Juan and Jesús, Angel will most certainly wind up in prison or dead before his time. As Eddie heads off to the Navy in the book's final pages, Soto suggests that maybe Eddie will really escape the barrio and find a new, more prosperous life.