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C. Mexican-American in the 1960s
The 1960s was a turbulent decade in American history, fraught with conflicts over issues from Civil Rights to the war in Vietnam. The Mexican
American Civil Rights Movement, one of the least studied social movements of the 1960s, encompassed a broad cross section of issues
—from restoration of land grants, to farm workers rights, to enhanced education, to voting and political
rights Mendoza, 1996. The 1960s was also the most important decade for the Mexican-American.
Their population increased consistently specifically for the undocumented ones. The number of commuters, those who cross the border on a daily, weekly, or
other regular basis to work in the United States, also rose sharply Meier, 1972: 185.
As a result, a lot of communities were formed to protect themselves. For example LULAC League of United Latin American Citizen, CSO Community
Service Organization, ANMA Asociación Nacional México-Americana, MAPA Mexican American Political Association, etc. They had their specific goals of
their own problems. However, their goals had similarities, which were equality for Mexican American in economic, political, and social aspect Meier, 1972: 198.
Following these movements, the communities got well spread and they slowly reached their goals. As they began to settle, the Americans saw them as an
internal threat. They were blamed for everything from the high cost of welfare to the fiscal crisis of the social service system. The net effect of this was to bar
noncitizen immigrants legal as well as undocumented from receiving means-
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tested federal and state benefits and to raise the income threshold required for immigrants to sponsor the entry of relatives Durand, 2015.
Other than that, the image of Mexican-American people at 1960s was closely related to crime. They were stereotyped as violent person. And as late
1960s, a California judge ruling in an incest case reiterated similar racist beliefs. He stated in court: “Mexican people…think it is perfectly all right to act like an
animal. We ought to send you out of this c ountry… you are lower than animals…
maybe Hitler was right. The animals in our society probably ought to be destroyed” Feagin, 2011: 266.
In order to cope with their second-class status, Mexican-Americans created a variety organization, many of which promoted ethnic solidarity. During
this decade, many of them argued that assimilating into American society entailed the loss of distinctive identities, cultures, and languages, which later this type of
people calls themselves as Chicano. Assimilation was defines as a virtual assault on the way of life of American ethnic minority groups. As a result, a concerted
effort is under way to understand, albeit only within certain segment of American society Englekirk, 2015.
Later this group of people made national activism under MEChA Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán.
This Chicano Movement focused considerable attention on educational issues, especially access to higher
education. MEChA soon became the primary vehicle for student activism on campuses throughout the United States
Costañeda, 2006.
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However, not all Mexican-Americans welcomed this youthful militancy. It was because they thought that it was unnecessary to do some kind of movement.
The Mexican-American political leaders stated that this student movement was not productive and only caused troubles. They were afraid that some kind of
movement would hold up what they had been fighting for. Many older Mexican-American saw the Chicano movement as a brash,
upsetting, and polarizing offensive that ultimately might undermine their precarious accommodation to American society. Some conservatives were
quick to denounce it as too aggressive, too strident, and ultimately as divisive. Mexican-American political leaders labeled various Chicano
activist groups as reverse-racist and un-American. Others saw the student movement as unsophisticated, naïve, unprofessional, and ultimately
counterproductive. Still others were unwilling to endorse the Chicano movement without qualification but recognized the pressing to publicize
Mexican-American grievance. Meier 1972: 222
D. Theoretical Framework
The purpose of this undergraduate thesis is to answer the two questions that are previously formulated in the chapter one. Thus, the theories above, the
character and the characterization and the American Dream are needed to help solving the formulated problems. The researcher also needs the historical
background of Mexican-American written above to do the analysis. The theory of character and characterization is needed to reveal how
Mingo is characterized by Luis Valdez. The sequences of Mingo characterization in the play are significant to the writer, Luis Valdez, because the characterization
is revealed gradually by the author. To understand Mingo’s characteristics, the
researcher uses Reaske’s characterization. However, since there are no asides and
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