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Act 1, Scene 8: El Día de la Raza
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
In court, the judge’s bench is constructed of large newspaper piles. The public prosecutor is portrayed by a member of the press, who is about to begin his opening argument when George interrupts, bringing up the fact that the clothes he sent to Henry and his friends were wrongfully withheld. Normally, he says, the jail gives inmates new clothes and haircuts before their court dates, but the members of the 38th Street Gang have been deprived of both. Immediately, the prosecutor tells the judge that “there is testimony [he] expect[s] to develop” that Henry and his friends are most easily identifiable by their outward appearances—namely, their hairstyles and clothing. Jumping in, George says that the prosecutor is attempting to cast these young men as “disreputable” by taking advantage of the fact that they look “foreign in appearance.”
The fact that the public prosecutor is portrayed by a member of the press is worth acknowledging, since it hints at the fact that he is quite biased against the Chicano community. After all, Valdez has presented the news media as unjustly against Henry and his friends from the very beginning of the play. In keeping with this, the prosecutor knows that the jury will be more likely to find the members of the 38th Street Gang guilty if they look like pachuco stereotypes—stereotypes that the press itself has worked hard to associate with criminality and violence.
Themes
Despite George’s objections, the judge rules that the defendants will be forced to keep their current appearances to help witnesses and jury members identify them. Claiming to be concerned that the jury will be unable to tell Henry and his friends apart from one another, the judge also declares that each defendant must stand every time his name is mentioned. Again, George objects, this time saying that this might force the young men to incriminate themselves, since they’ll have to stand even when the prosecutor makes accusations against them. The judge, however, pays this no thought. When George pushes back and says he ought to be allowed to sit next to his clients, the judge refuses once more. In response, George says that the judge is depriving the defendants of their constitutional rights, but the judge dismissively says that this is just George’s opinion.
Even at this early stage in the trial, it’s overwhelmingly clear that the judge is just as prejudiced against Henry and his friends as the public prosecutor is. In fact, he seemingly goes out of his way to make it easy for the prosecutor to sway the jury, not caring that he’s letting his racial biases influence his decisions. In turn, the audience sees just how hard it will be for the members of the 38th Street Gang to get the justice they deserve as American citizens.
Themes
As the trial commences, El Pachuco snaps his fingers and decides to speed things up, skipping ahead to Della’s testimony. While Della takes the stand, El Pachuco points out to Henry that the members of the 38th Street Gang are slumping in their seats and making a generally bad impression on the jury, so Henry whispers at them, urging them to sit up and look engaged. Della then begins her testimony, in which she explains that she and Henry went to the Sleepy Lagoon after the Saturday night dance.
Again, El Pachuco is attuned to the ways in which his fellow Chicanos present themselves. This time, he recognizes that it’s especially important for the members of the 38th Street Gang to seem engaged and considerate, since the judge and prosecutor are doing everything they can to cast them as disreputable.
Themes
