Secretary comments, “You still do not understand what is required. We indeed need Mexican models, such as these, but it is more crucial that he be American.” However, the secretary rejects all the models since they did not fit her needs. To solve the case of racism, while facing pressure from the Americans, Mexican-Americans should determine whether they are going to have Mexican American origins.
They talk both Spanish and English and this shows that they still have Chicano origin, but they do not have to disrespect their heritage or ignore their ethnicity. Americans require the Mexican-Americans to be well-educated, well-mannered, and very hard-working, (Huerta 274). Secondary Conflicts Sancho and Miss Jimenez are deviant figures that may be contemplated as role models for Chicanos in the eyes of the Anglo-American community. The conflict of social culture that is overcome by Mexicans who exist in the United States is keeping the loyalty toward their group the external impulsions to turn opposing their own.
Miss Jimenez is the one who cannot keep her discernment so she loses her ethical identity as Mexican since she contemplates being American. It is exhibited in the play that Miss Jimenez tries to create a new social origin as an American. Secretary, “No, thank you. The governor possesses a luncheon this afternoon, and we require a brown face in the throng. How do I drive him?” The main protagonist character Sancho is the main protagonist; in the play, he is portrayed as a cynical opportunist who will sell out his way of life and people to make a buck.
He combines the traits of a slave –trade, the crew boss and the so-called scabs, who betrayed the efforts of unionized farm workers. At the end of the play, Sancho himself is revealed as the true robot. Antagonist Farm-worker stands for the general laborer who looks for employment in American fields and factories and does all manners of labor-intensive activities. Sancho brags that the farm worker can subsist on little food, sleep out in the open and go back to Mexico after the harvesting season.
Pachuco is another antagonist who indulges in violence and drugs; he steals instead of performing and subsists on fast food. Sancho again points out that Pachuco makes an excellent scope goat for societal ills. The other characters, revolutionaries, and Mexican American plays based on the romanticized ideal of the Mexican revolutionary also make fun of the stereotype of the suave Latin lover. Mexican-American says, “Miss Jimenez, I am delighted to make your acquaintance. (Mexican-American kisses Ms.
Jimenez’s hand).” This means that the sub-characters also aid develop the main character. The main theme that can be analyzed in the play is racism. The comedy is a mixture of tragedy and comedy. Its significance is that it is not a shoulder to sob on for the victims of stereotyping; rather, it is a way of ending prejudice in itself. The theme is used to explain the misconceptions that Americans have about the Mexican people. The play elaborates on how Mexicans are taken by society via the secretary’s rejection of each model.
The play’s writer lightens the heavy and sensitive theme such as that of racism by application of humor. The dissimilar images of races are crucial because they lead to a misunderstanding of people that can be dangerous in their relationships with each other. Thus, the drama is used in order not to offend the races whereby it is shown by distinguishing the Mexican and American stereotypes.
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