Character Analysis: Zoot Suit

He, obviously, is the narrator, and the person whom we see the story through. He gives us his opinions on the matters at hand, and we see the book through his viewpoint. The traits described above allow him to be such a great narrator, for he can get people to confide in him, and relay this information to the reader.

In Luis Valdez’s “Zoot Suits”, the character El Pachuco symbolizes a rebellious culture that defies society. El Pachuco stands as Henry Reyna’s alter ego. When Henry Reyna is in a dispute with his moral decisions, he either listens to El Pachuco’s strong character or goes with his moral instincts. Like Henry Reyna the Pachuco lifestyle was the way of living for many teens in the 40s. The Pachuco life was cool and hip, teenagers talked with a slang that to society was deemed wrong. Their zoot suit was their individual symbol, a Pachuco would be recognized instantly just by their high waist baggy pants that were tighten in the bottom as well as for their long jackets.

              The Chicano way was the way it was during the 1940s in the city of Los Angeles. The title of my book is “Zoot Suit and Other Plays” written by Luis Valdez. This story takes place on the year 1942 in the city of Los Angeles, California. The way the story is that the main character of the story by the name of Henry Reyna, the ringleader of the 38th street gang, is unjustly charged for the Sleepy Lagoon murder of a man  and is sentenced to life in prison. He wasn’t the only one charged a few of his gang members were charged as well. Their lawyer George Shearer and a news reporter Alice Bloomfield worked for several months to get them out and after many protests and petitions the 38th street gang was released for lack of evidence to hold then guilty. The main character Henry Reyna is very prideful, brings a big influence to his people, and very optimistic. .

The reason behind that is maybe that he did not grow in a family like the others. Based on that he becomes a shepherd to live because his parents were not beside him. There was something missing in his childhood that impact his personality, something like feeling and emotions. During the period in Spain, the people were suffering from poorness and the hard life it was just the beginning of the Spanish occupation of the New World. The only way to get the wealth and power was to be conquistador, to be more specific an evil conquistador because that will be more benefit and from here the story begin. According to these facts and his childhood Francisco Pizarro become who he was and the early life he lived affected his achievements later. (The Most Evil Men In History - Francisco

In the film Regarding Henry, Henry Turner depicts a more complex Id and Superego, that is capable of having positive and negative qualities on each side. Through complex character development throughout the film, Turner creates a two sided Id and Superego. After seemingly changing personality traits, due to a freak accident, Turner’s views on life are changed after a complete memory loss.

One example is during the dance, when Henry and Rafas, a member of the Downey Gang, get into a fight, Henry eventually gains the upper hand and Rafas is at his mercy, however, instead of harming him, Henry just tells him to leave. Then, Bertha, Henry’s old girlfriend says “The old Hank would have slit Rafas’ belly like a fat pig.” (Valdez 47). This shows that Henry used to be much more ruthless than he was in the play. This is because he realizes that any violence that he does, no matter how small, will come up again, and could stop him from joining the military or from getting a decent job after the war. Because he realized this, he began to think about what effect his actions may have on his future. Another example is when Henry decided to back out of the appeal (Valdez 70). Instead of fighting the racist and corrupt justice system that put him in jail, Henry thought that, by accepting the punishment, he would be viewed as more American, and perhaps he would get out of jail early for good behavior. When Henry decided that he was going to join the navy he was thinking about his future as well. In the play Henry says, “I was all set to come back a hero, see? Me la rayo. For the first time in my life I really thought Hank Reyna was going someplace.” (Valdez 30). Henry knew that the only way he could gain respect from the police and the white Americans was by

In Ken Kesey’s novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, the nurse Miss Ratched is a fine example of a realistic fictional villain. Possession of three key components is essential in identifying what makes Miss Ratched a villian. Motive is what drives the villain to commit the very acts that allow them to be considered evil in the first place, and often drive their entire being as a character. While they must possess motive, they must also have a sense of morals that coincides with their motives (typically evil, or distorted) and follow their moral compass in a way that often causes trouble for those around them. Additionally, a villain is frequently associated with their opposite; the hero who combats them. Kesey’s character perfectly aligns with these three categories of what makes a villain, and it is unquestionable that she is the villain of the novel.

To be told one cannot do something because they are the wrong gender or race should not be an issue in today’s world. However, this rather unfortunate problem is very prevalent in modern society, so much in fact, that Disney created an animated film based on the subject. In their 2016 film, Zootopia, Disney addressed this issue in the form of an allegory of a rabbit pursuing her dream career: becoming a police officer. The issue with the main character, Judy Hopps’s, dream, is she not considered the right species to be a police officer. Sharing a world with other, way larger mammals, such as bears, wolves, elephants and buffalos, many people repeatedly tell Judy she is too small or cute to become an officer. The film also offers a second character, Nick Wilde, a fox, whose story shows the difficulty of growing up under negative labels based on his species, just as many people grow up under labels based on their race.

Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez explains the racially charged trial of Sleepy Lagoon in 1942 in which the court of California charges a group of Chicanos with the murder of another Mexican-American man. For Chicanos, 1940 was an era of discrimination so the trials were unfairly biased against them. To fight against this discrimination, many Chicanos wore an exaggerated suit, referred to as a zoot suit, that included a long, loose jacket with padded shoulders and high waisted trousers. This choice of wardrobe earned the Chicanos a name of “zoot suiters”. Ethnic identity is an important role in this play because the men on trial were accused of murder for their cultural background, choice of clothing and biased media influence rather than evidence.

In the beginning of the novel, Cole behaves cruelly when he becomes emotional. For example, Cole beats up Peter after Peter has told on Cole for breaking into a store. Another time, Cole hated the stare he was getting, he spit into the wind, were the wind would catch the saliva and carry it back to Edwin. The only reason to why Cole spit cause he hated the stare he was getting and he wanted the saliva to hit Edwin. Whenever, Cole was asked to eat the ingredient separately, he told Gravey it won’t taste good, but you mixed the food together it tastes good. Cole got really mad that he made the food going flying cause how he acted, once he is angry. Cole becomes very angry and he ends up acting very harsh.

He prepares his blades carefully and does his job with great precision. He is part of the revolutionary group in his town, He acts as an informant, and hence his identity as a rebel is a secret. He is a man of high morals, and values his humanity. Captain Torres was a leader in the rebel hunting group in town. He was a highly visible face in town, seen leading rebel hunts and public executions.

Older brothers are typically the ones who annoy and bully the younger siblings with love. They are the ones who the parents rely on to help around the house. Jem Finch is a little bit different than the typical older brother to a little girl, but then again his little sister isn’t that ordinary either. Jem Finch displays many character traits. In the first few chapters he displays a little kid who gets in trouble along side of his friends and younger sister, but further into the novel Jem demonstrates more responsible behaviors by accepting his wrongs and the consequences. He also shows how he will stand up for Scout and take care of her, even though he doesn’t like to be seen with her while they are at school, and he is hard on her when

In this novel about identity, we are reminded of how often we see ego, wishes, and desires. The specific mundane details of objects, such as the medicine cabinet, Franny’s purse, and other objects, bring out characterization of both Franny and Zooey. The objects can signify how disorderly and imperfect they both are, but are known to be these “perfect” people because they’re really good at what they do. Also, for how famous they are in their acting careers. Salinger uses objects as a metaphor for an empty devoted life, dedicated to a spiritual meaning.

     In conclusion, the hero figure of the novel is indeed the old man, Santiago. He is true, honorable and hard working. He takes nothing for granted and he takes a

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs and “The Third Wish” by Joan Aiken are similar stories because of their characters, and contrasting stories because of the wishes. The characters both receive wishes in a similar way, but the main characters use their wishes in different ways.