Review of Related Studies

9 In 1984, Prof. Manuel Pickett directed the play at California State University at Sacramento. When Jorge Huerta asked him why he chose to produce this play, Prof. Pickett answered, I directed it because I saw it as a classic work and it was a challenge. The play explores political realities of the time that are examples of what Chicanos were doing in the 60s. Huerta: 1989: 142. Realities are the aspect that cannot be separated from the play. They are from political, economic, and social aspect. When directing this play, Prof. Pickett viewed The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa from political realities at that time. It was about the realities to what Mexican-American doing to become visible by the American society. One of Luis Valdez famous short plays, Los Vendidos, which dealt with stereotypes of Mexican immigrant in California and how they were treated by society, was inspired by the character of Mingo. Los Vendidos was a play written by Luis Valdez in 1967 after his first play, The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. The character of Mingo in The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa was the inspiration for Luis Valdez to write this play. In Los Vendidos , Mingo’s character was divided into two characters. First, the Sell-Out, he represented Mingo as a Mexican-American. Second, the Secretary, she represented Mingo’s Anglicized character. It was no coincidence that when El Teatro Campesino separated from the union, their first acto a short play, Los Vendidos, dealt with the identity of Chicano. Now that his theater was no longer intimately connected to the farm-worker struggle, Valdez could dedicated his efforts to exposing the problems beyond the fields. This issue has always interested Valdez, beginning with the character of DomingoMr. Sunday in The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa Milagro, 2009: 3. 10 Los Vendidos was El Teatro Campesino ’s first performance which dealt with the identity of Mexican immigrants in the United States. As a writer, Luis Valdez always found that the issue about struggle of Mexican immigrants in the United States was interesting. It was started when he created the characters in his play: The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. Then, the characters themselves were explored deeper later also in his well-known play Los Vendidos. Los Vendidos captures many issues about Mexican- American’s life such as prejudice, discrimination and struggle. However, beyond that, this literary work also grabs the whole life experiences of Mexican-American in America as the new community. Valdez reveals to the reader the record of Mexican- American’s experiences like life condition, struggle, adaption and effort in the new land of America. These are exactly what exist in the phenomena of cross-culture and race relation that is when two cultures that are Mexican and American, interact, there will be reaction toward each other. This is what Valdez pointed out in Los Vendidos through each model that is the record of life experience and history of Mexican- American community through the three life stages Christianto, 2011: 75. There were six characters in Los Vendidos. They were divided into the sell-out, the secretary, and the models. The models represented the stereotypes of each Mexican immigrant life-stages in the United States. They were the Farm- worker, the Pachuco, the Revolucionario, and the Mexican-American. The Sell- Out represented a cynical opportunist who would sell out his own culture and people to make a buck. The secretary herself represented an Anglicized Mexican- American , an individual who had completely sold out to the powers that she rejected and looked down upon her ethnic fellows Matus: 2015. Los Vend idos’ story plot follows the Secretary who was looking for a Mexican to raise voter for her boss, Governor Reagan. She went to a shop owned by the Sell-Out to buy the model. She was offered four types of Mexican by the 11 Sell-Out. However, there were no models that suit her request: debonair, hard- working, sophisticated, and American-made. She rejected Farm-worker because he cannot speak English, Pachuco because he used abusive language and was violent, and Revolucionario because he was Made in Mexico. The only Mexican who pleased the Secretary was the one who resembles her, the Anglicized Mexican-American. The secretary’s refusal to each of the models but the Mexican-American represented the society’s refusal to each of stereotypes. “ The surprise ending of the play emphasizes the resentment and hurt felt by the Chicanos and the superficiality of the civilized society ” Marshall: 2007. The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa and Los Vendidos have similarities. Both of them talks about social commentary and stereotypes of Mexican- American. However, The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa focuses on the dissent of a Chicano and a Mexican-American. While, Los Vendidos focuses on the stereotypes of Mexican-American and how they are treated by society. The researcher is interested with the Mexican-American character in The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. Thus, this research only focuses on Mingo and the American Dream seen in his characteristics. In short, this research develops other research which usually only sees the contrasting of the two characters, Mingo and Joaquin.

B. Review of Related Theories

These are some theories to help finding the answers of the problem formulations. 12

1. Character and Characterization

According to For sters, there are two types of characters; they are “round” and “flat”. Round characters are usually can be found in the main characters. They usually change into someone better, or worse. While, the flat character usually can be found in minor characte r, but not all of the minors are flat characters. “to the degree that round characters possess many individual and unpredictable human traits they may be considered as dynamic; that is, they demonstrate their capacity to change or grow.” 1927: 121. Reaske in How to Analyze Drama states that there are six devices of characterization. They are: a. The appearance of the character: In the prologue or in the stage directions the playwright often describes the character in the physical sense. b. Asides and soliloquies: all of the further characterization is of course established through dialogue. c. Dialogue between characters: Not only does the language of the character speaking to others also sheds a great deal of light on his personality. d. Hidden narration: While a character in a play is never directly described by the playwright himself, there are nevertheless descriptions of the character. e. Language: it cannot be emphasized too many times that the language of any given character is extremely central to his personality attributes. f. Character in action: As the characters become more involved in the action of the play we quite naturally learn more about them. Reaske, 1966: 46-48. From these two theories, the researcher concludes that a certain pattern can be seen since character and characterization cannot be separated from each other. As characterization is used by the author to create a character so that the character finds its specific personality, the researcher finds that Reaske’s theory becomes the beginning of the pattern and it determines the character’s characteristics. After 13 that, For sters’ theory becomes the next stage as it determines whether the character is round or flat to make it more specified.

2. The American Dream

One of America’s most celebrated values is “giving its people the opportunity to move up the economic ladder over the life times. Besides, it also carries the promise that economically disadvantages groups such as women, ethnic minorities, or immigrants can achieve economic success within their lifetime. This opportunity is called American Dream Kopczuk, 1997. As it is stated by Truslow James Adams in The Epic of America, Americans believed if they worked hard, they would become successful. They wanted a country in which the prizes and a good life would go to those who could win them and not just be given to those who happened to be born rich or titled or otherwise privileged. Th is is “the American Dream” 1931: 4 Later in that book, he also added “a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. ” Adams, 1931: 5 “American Dreams or what so called American ideology are individualism, equality of opportunity, the work ethic, and liberal capitalism” 1995: 357. Those are the definition of American dream by Hochschild. He says that American dream are individualism, equality, valuable of hard work, and freedom of making money.