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Act 1, Scene 3: Pachuco Yo
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Zoot Suit, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism, Nationalism, and Scapegoating
Self-Presentation and Cultural Identity
Public Perception and the Press
Advocates vs. Saviors
Summary
Analysis
A member of the press enters with Lieutenant Edwards and Sergeant Smith, reading aloud a headline, which clarifies that the police arrested 22 members of the 38th Street Gang. Addressing Henry, Edwards says that he had hoped not see him back in jail for a long time. He then asks how long he’s known Henry, and Henry reminds him that he arrested him in 1939 for stealing a car. This, Edwards admits, was a mistake, but he insists that he didn’t know the car Henry was driving was his father’s. Edwards also claims that he tried to make up for this by helping Henry start a “youth club,” though Smith chimes in to say that Henry and his friends turned this club into a gang.
Again, it’s undeniably clear that Henry has been the victim of racial profiling in the past. After all, if he was arrested and put in jail simply for driving his father’s car, then it’s obvious that the police are quick to think the worst of him simply because of assumptions they’ve already formed about people from his community. When the member of the press reads yet another headline aloud, Valdez reminds viewers of the large role that the news media plays in Zoot Suit, implying that this kind of coverage is perhaps part of what skews the way people like Edwards and Smith view the city’s Chicano population.
Themes
Moving on, Edwards reminds Henry that the country is at war in Europe. This, he claims, is why he and his colleagues have been ordered to heavily police pachucos. Edwards also says he heard Henry was admitted to the Navy, adding that he could still report for duty the following day if only he tells them what happened the night of the Sleepy Lagoon murder. Hearing this, El Pachuco urges Henry not to tell them anything—a statement that only Henry (and the audience) can hear. Henry refuses to tell Edwards and Smith anything about what happened that night, simply insisting that he’s innocent, though Smith claims they have enough dirt on Henry to indict him for murder whenever they want.
Edwards’s assertion that he and the other police officers have been told to crack down on pachucos is important to note, since he effectively admits that the government is using World War II as an excuse to implement racist domestic policies. In other words, they villainize the Chicano population under the false pretense that young men like Henry are disrupting the war effort on the home front—an illogical conclusion, considering that Henry has committed himself to joining the Navy and fighting on behalf of the country.
Themes
As Lieutenant Edwards tries to reason with Henry, Smith tells Edwards to stop, saying that it’s futile to be reasonable with “animals” like Henry. Trying one last time to get Henry to talk, Edwards says that Henry’s father would surely be proud to see him in the Navy. When this attempt fails, though, Edwards exits with the member of the press who came in with him. As he does so, El Pachuco says that, although Henry doesn’t deserve mistreatment, it’s clear he’ll be forced to endure it. As if to illustrate this point, Sergeant Smith turns to Henry and starts to beat him, demanding that he tell him what happened that night at the Sleepy Lagoon.
The choices that are available to Henry are quite unappealing. By this point, it’s clear that he didn’t commit the Sleepy Lagoon murder, since he has already talked to El Pachuco in private about how he’s innocent—something he wouldn’t need to do if he’d actually committed the crime. However, Edwards and Smith are hell-bent on pinning this murder on Henry and his friends, and they won’t be satisfied until Henry says something to confirm this. This is why El Pachuco points out that, though Henry doesn’t disserve this misfortune, there’s seemingly nothing he can do to avoid it.
Themes
As Henry faints from Sergeant Smith’s blows, he sees a vision of his mother. In fact, an entire scene from his memory emerges as the stage lights shift to depict a domestic scene. In this scene, Henry’s mother, Dolores, hangs laundry (though instead of clothes, she drapes newspapers over a clothesline). As she calls her son’s name, El Pachuco narrates, clarifying that this scene takes place in the past, before the Sleepy Lagoon murder. Rising from the ground, Henry tells Dolores that he and his new girlfriend, Della, are about to go to a dance. When she asks why he has to go, he says it’s his last chance to wear his zoot suit before entering the Navy. Upset, she reminds him that his father doesn’t like the idea of him wearing a zoot suit, but he ignores her.
Jumping back in time, Valdez gives audience members a glimpse of Henry’s home life. In doing so, he further distances Henry from the standard image of a murderer, demonstrating that he doesn’t necessarily lead the life of a hardened killer. Like many people, he has arguments with his parents about his clothes, and Dolores hints that Henry’s father doesn’t like the zoot suit—perhaps because it attracts negative attention from racist police officers like Edwards and Smith.
Themes
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Dolores points out to Henry that, though he and his friends like zoot suits, the police target them because of what they wear. Again, Henry ignores her, assuring her that he’ll soon be wearing a Naval uniform. As he says this, Lupe (Henry’s younger sister) and Della enter. They too are dressed to go to the dance, but Dolores takes issue with Lupe’s outfit, saying that her skirt is too short. When Henry’s father, Enrique, enters, he agrees with Dolores’s assessment, incensed that Lupe would even try to wear such an outfit. Lupe tries to defend herself, but Enrique doesn’t let up, so she rolls down her skirt. Just then, Rudy emerges wearing one of Enrique’s old suits, which he has doctored to look like a zoot suit. Enrique complains, but Henry defends his little brother, promising to give him his zoot suit when he joins the Navy.
Again, Valdez calls viewers’ attention to the ways in which the characters onstage present themselves. In this moment, the members of the Reyna family debate the messages that their outfits convey to others, suggesting that clothing plays an integral role in how people identify themselves. In keeping with this, Henry promises to give Rudy his zoot suit when he joins the Navy, ultimately planning to hand it down to his brother so that Rudy can participate more thoroughly in pachuco culture.
Themes
As Henry, Della, Lupe, and Rudy leave, Enrique tells Henry not to let his brother drink beer, but Rudy insists that he can look after himself. At the dance, Henry meets up with his friends Joey Castro, Smiley Torres, and Tommy Roberts, all of whom are in the 38th Street Gang. As they dance, El Pachuco sings in Spanish about getting together with friends each Saturday night, getting drunk, and dancing.
There is a certain celebratory spirit to this evening, as Henry dances while El Pachuco appreciatively sings about having fun on Saturday nights with friends. It’s worth remembering Henry’s previous assertion that this party is the last real chance for him to wear his zoot suit before joining the Navy, thereby intimating that he will be giving up part of himself in order to conform to the military. In this way, Henry plans to develop a new aspect to his identity, though this isn’t necessarily to say that he’s planning on letting go of his connection to his cultural heritage.
Themes
