Los Vendidos by Luis Valdez Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Los Vendidos by Luis Valdez - Research Paper ExampleThough the mood of the play is light hearted or comic, it discusses grave issues that crave heavy(p) social attention. The play brings to our notice the issues like social injustice, racism and the class segregation where the Americans always expected the Mexicans to rise up to their expectation. This attitude of the Americans is quite unvarnished in the words of the secretary in the play where she demands the kind of robot that walks and behaves in the American fashion. A critical estimate of the play makes one unify with the Canadian writer, Ryan McFadden when he rightly observed thus, Los Vendidos is a play centred on drawing great attention to the misconstrued stereotypes of Chicanos while covertly ridiculing Americans which in turn successfully brings about conversation and critical thinking of these stereotypes and inspires viewers the opportunity to change their preconceived notions of Chicanos (McFadden para.1). Therefore , the proposed critical study aims to establish aforesaid statement, that is, the play is a criticism, presented in a satirical way, against the existing social injustice touching the Mexican Americans from the Native Americans.The setting of this one-act play is located at Honest Sanchos Used Mexican Lot and Mexican Curio Shop, a shop located in California that sells various kinds of robots, stereotypes of Mexicans and Mexican Americans.... The very presentation of the salesman-cum owner, Honest Sancho and the customer, Miss Jimenez, who introduces herself as secretary for Governor Reagan, itself provides enough materials for the audience about the Mexican and Mexican American clash. Jimenezs reprimand to Sanchos mispronunciation of her name in bad position, when he actually used Spanish accent, provides ample evidence for this disagreement. The attitude of the Mexican American to the Mexican is crystal clear at her ignorance to the cultural stereotypes exhibited in that showroom, though belongs to the Chicana or the Mexican American and was actually looking for a Mexican type. The satirical note in the play is very notable that the dramatist does not spare even a single chance to criticise dominating mentality of the Americans. Elements of the comedy of manners in Los Vendidos can be specially identified when considering Valdezs satirizing of his Chicano stock characters (Stereotyped, flat characters or caricatures) that fail to conform the conventions of the U.S. society (Vogelmann p.7). The reluctance of the Mexican Americans to mingle with the Mexicans has been shaded in the words of the Secretary when she disagrees with the search buying the first two robots. She rejects the first robot which is in the form of the farm worker, just because of the reason that he does not know English, which has an elite component of American culture which the Mexicans lacked. In order to proposes these issues, the dramatist resorts to realistic comedy which really enh ances the quality of the presentation, especially the conversation between Sancho and the secretary. According to Vogelmann, The most eventful elements of realistic comedy in Luis Valdezs acto Los Vendidos are,