The influence of American dream towards mingo, the main character of Luis Valdez’s the Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa.

ABSTRACT

LENNY YULIASARI RAHARJO. The Influence of American Dream towards Mingo, the Main Character of Luis Valdez’s The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.

The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa is a play written by Luis Valdez. It tells a story of a Mexican-American family in the USA. The family contains of a father, a mother, a Mexican-American son, a Chicano son, only-a-head son, and a daughter. This play mainly discusses the conflicts between the Mexican-American and the Chicano son.

This undergraduate thesis follows the Mexican-American son, Mingo, in reaching his American Dream. Mingo’s parents are Mexican immigrants. They come to the USA to make their life better. However, they still live in dirty neighborhood. This situation makes Mingo want to help his family to live in better condition, middle class.

To ease, this thesis is divided into two main analyses. The first is the presentation of Mingo as a Mexican-American. The second is the influence of American Dream towards Mingo’s characteristics.

In making the analysis, the researcher uses the library research since the play takes place in the past. Library research means that the researcher uses only from written ones. It is either from book or internet sources. This thesis is using sociocultural-historical approach. It is used because the approach sees literature as the representative of an age and society.

Based on the analysis, the researcher finds out that Mingo has to let go of his root in exchange for his American Dream. His character is not fully clear revealed from the beginning of the play. However, it is revealed gradually until the end of the play. At the beginning, Mingo is described as typical Mexican-American person. Later in the end, it is revealed that he is changed into an Americanized person because of his own American Dream.

ABSTRAK

LENNY YULIASARI RAHARJO. The Influence of American Dream towards Mingo, the Main Character of Luis Valdez’s The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2015.

The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa adalah sebuah naskah drama yang ditulis oleh Luis Valdez. Naskah drama tersebut bercerita tentang keluarga Meksiko di Amerika. Keluarga itu terdiri dari ayah, ibu, anak Amerika, anak Chicano, anak yang hanya kepala, dan anak perempuan.

Skripsi ini membahas anak Amerika yang ingin menggapai mimpinya sebagai orang Amerika bernama Mingo. Orang tua Mingo adalah imigran dari Meksiko. Mereka datang ke Amerika Serikat untuk memperbaiki hidup mereka. Tetapi mereka masih hidup dalam lingkungan kumuh. Hal ini membuat Mingo ingin membantu keluarganya menjadi lebih baik yaitu kelas menengah.

Untuk menderhanakan, skripsi ini dibagi menjadi dua bagian utama. Pertama adalah penampilan Mingo sebagai orang Amerika keturunan Meksiko. Kedua adalah pengaruh mimpi menjadi orang Amerika terhadap karakternya.

Dalam membuat uraian, peneliti menggunakan metode studi pustaka karena latar belakang naskah drama tersebut di masa lalu. Metode studi pustaka adalah metode yang hanya menggunakan sumber tertulis, bisa dari buku ataupun internet. Skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan sosial-budaya dan sejarah karena pendekatan ini melihat sastra sebagai perwakilan dari sebuah era dan masyarakat

Dari analisa, peneliti menyimpulkan bahwa Mingo harus melepaskan jati dirinya sebagai ganti untuk mencapai mimpinya menjadi orang Amerika. Karakter Mingo tidak langsung terlihat jelas dari awal naskah. Tetapi karakternya terlihat berubah sedikit demi sedikit sampai di akhir naskah. Pada awalnya, Mingo digambarkan sebagai orang Amerika keturunan Meksiko yang khas. Lalu pada akhirnya dia terungkap kalau dia berubah menjadi seorang yang berbeda karena pengaruh mimpinya menjadi orang Amerika.

THE INFLUENCE OF AMERICAN DREAM TOWARDS

MINGO, THE MAIN

CHARACTER OF LUIS VALDEZ’S

THE SHRUNKEN HEAD OF PANCHO VILLA

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

LENNY YULIASARI RAHARJO

Student Number: 094214014

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

THE INFLUENCE OF AMERICAN DREAM TOWARDS

MINGO, THE MAIN

CHARACTER OF LUIS VALDEZ’S

THE SHRUNKEN HEAD OF PANCHO VILLA

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra

in English Letters

By

LENNY YULIASARI RAHARJO

Student Number: 094214014

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award of any other degree at any university, and that, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except where due references is made in the text of undergraduate thesis

Yogyakarta, October 16, 2015

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KATYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma Nama : Lenny Yuliasari Raharjo

Nomor Mahasiswa : 094214014

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul

THE INFLUENCE OF AMERICAN DREAM TOWARDS

MINGO, THE MAIN

CHARACTER OF LUIS VALDEZ’S

THE SHRUNKEN HEAD OF PANCHO VILLA

Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal 16 Oktober 2015

Yang menyatakan,

FOR

THE ALMIGHTY GOD

DUITT LISTYAWAN

TAN ENG SIEN

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am terribly excited that finally I can finish my undergraduate thesis that I had been working on these two years. I cannot go through all of those years without help from all of the people who supported me.

First of all, I would like to thank to God that has been guiding my way since I was born. I thank God for His love and guidance in every step I take in my life. This would be impossible without You.

Also, I thank my parents for all their patience and support. I am sorry that I cannot be their perfect daughter, but I am still lovely, right. I promise I will make them proud someday. For mom, I am thankful for her love and she is my truly inspiration. For dad, I promise I will always be his little daughter no matter what.

Further, I would like to thank to my brother Iman for the grammar inspiration and staying late with me. I also thank to Aldo, Debby, Reta, Etri, Yenni, Fenny, and Ling-ling for being my second home. For Kepik, I thank them for the wonderful 7 months. Teater Seriboe Djendela, I thank them for all the performances and workshops. For my badminton and MMA friends, I thank them for bringing laugher. For Samsul and Mbak Bea, I thank to them for the comments on this thesis. For my Agung, I thank him so much for everything.

Last but not least, I would like to thank Sri Mulyani, Ph.D for being my advisor. I am sorry I took so long to finish.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE………...………. ii

APPROVAL PAGE ………. iii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE………..……….. iv

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH……….………... v

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ………..…….. vi

MOTTO PAGE ………. vii

DEDICATION PAGE………... viii

ACKNOWLWDGEMENTS……… ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS……….. x

ABSTRACT………... xi

ABSTRAK………... xii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………. 1

A. Background of the Study………. 1

B. Problem Formulation……… 4

C. Objectives of the Study……… 4

D. Definition of Terms……….. 5

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE……… 7

A. Review of Related Studies……….….. 7

B. Review of Related Theories……….. 11

a. Theories of Character and Characterization………... 12

b. Theories of American Dream………. 13

C. Review on Mexican-American in the 1960s ………... 15

D. Theoretical Framework ……… 17

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………. 19

A. Object of the Study……….. 19

B. Approach of the Study………. 20

C. Method of the Study………. 21

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS………. 23

A. Mingo as the Mexican-American Son……….. 23

B. Mingo as Mr. Sunday, his new Anglo-American Identity………… 38

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION………...…. 43

ABSTRACT

LENNY YULIASARI RAHARJO. The Influence of American Dream towards Mingo, the Main Character of Luis Valdez’s The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2015.

The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa is a play written by Luis Valdez. It tells a story of a Mexican-American family in the USA. The family contains of a father, a mother, a Mexican-American son, a Chicano son, only-a-head son, and a daughter. This play mainly discusses the conflicts between the Mexican-American and the Chicano son.

This undergraduate thesis follows the Mexican-American son, Mingo, in reaching his American Dream. Mingo’s parents are Mexican immigrants. They come to the USA to make their life better. However, they still live in dirty neighborhood. This situation makes Mingo want to help his family to live in better condition, middle class.

To ease, this thesis is divided into two main analyses. The first is the presentation of Mingo as a Mexican-American. The second is the influence of American Dream towards Mingo’s characteristics.

In making the analysis, the researcher uses the library research since the play takes place in the past. Library research means that the researcher uses only from written ones. It is either from book or internet sources. This thesis is using sociocultural-historical approach. It is used because the approach sees literature as the representative of an age and society.

Based on the analysis, the researcher finds out that Mingo has to let go of his root in exchange for his American Dream. His character is not fully clear revealed from the beginning of the play. However, it is revealed gradually until the end of the play. At the beginning, Mingo is described as typical Mexican-American person. Later in the end, it is revealed that he is changed into an Americanized person because of his own American Dream.

ABSTRAK

LENNY YULIASARI RAHARJO. The Influence of American Dream towards Mingo, the Main Character of Luis Valdez’s The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2015.

The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa adalah sebuah naskah drama yang ditulis oleh Luis Valdez. Naskah drama tersebut bercerita tentang keluarga Meksiko di Amerika. Keluarga itu terdiri dari ayah, ibu, anak Amerika, anak

Chicano, anak yang hanya kepala, dan anak perempuan.

Skripsi ini membahas anak Amerika yang ingin menggapai mimpinya sebagai orang Amerika bernama Mingo. Orang tua Mingo adalah imigran dari Meksiko. Mereka datang ke Amerika Serikat untuk memperbaiki hidup mereka. Tetapi mereka masih hidup dalam lingkungan kumuh. Hal ini membuat Mingo ingin membantu keluarganya menjadi lebih baik yaitu kelas menengah.

Untuk menderhanakan, skripsi ini dibagi menjadi dua bagian utama. Pertama adalah penampilan Mingo sebagai orang Amerika keturunan Meksiko. Kedua adalah pengaruh mimpi menjadi orang Amerika terhadap karakternya.

Dalam membuat uraian, peneliti menggunakan metode studi pustaka karena latar belakang naskah drama tersebut di masa lalu. Metode studi pustaka adalah metode yang hanya menggunakan sumber tertulis, bisa dari buku ataupun internet. Skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan sosial-budaya dan sejarah karena pendekatan ini melihat sastra sebagai perwakilan dari sebuah era dan masyarakat

Dari analisa, peneliti menyimpulkan bahwa Mingo harus melepaskan jati dirinya sebagai ganti untuk mencapai mimpinya menjadi orang Amerika. Karakter Mingo tidak langsung terlihat jelas dari awal naskah. Tetapi karakternya terlihat berubah sedikit demi sedikit sampai di akhir naskah. Pada awalnya, Mingo digambarkan sebagai orang Amerika keturunan Meksiko yang khas. Lalu pada akhirnya dia terungkap kalau dia berubah menjadi seorang yang berbeda karena pengaruh mimpinya menjadi orang Amerika.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter is divided into four parts; each gives introduction to the thesis. The first part is the background of the study. The second part is the problem formulation that contains two problems. The third part is the aim of the study. The last part contains the definition of terms that avoid the readers misunderstanding on certain terms used.

A. Background of the Study

From the early nineteenth century, living the United States is seen as a prestige. A lot of people want to try their luck in the United States. Henretta et al. in their book stated that the prosperity and economic innovation of the 1920s gave Americans the highest standard of living in the world, although not every American was lucky enough to benefit from this new way of life. However, patterns of consumption that appeared during the “New Era” of the 1920s and ways of spending leisure time quickly became part of American life (Henretta: 1993: 727).

It means that the United States is the basis of luxurious living in the world. Thus, people from different country wish to live in the United States. They see the United States as a land of opportunity to make their life better. They wish to work and live in the United States to take part of luxurious and prestigious lifestyle. This happens since the mid-sixteenth century, as stated by Lemay.

The Spanish found the New World to be a land of cities and golden treasures, where the natives would work for the colonists who could spend a few adventurous years in America before returning, landed with gold, to Europe (Lemay, 1989: 3).

It says that the Unites States is seen as a new place that attracts people to go there. So, the immigrants that wish their life changes, they masses to the United States to be a part of its greatness, although not every immigrant is lucky enough to be a part of it.

Basically, on the geographic position, Mexico is a country located in the south of the United States. They border the United States on the south. Although they have been neighboring countries since a long time ago, Mexico was not as established as the United States. They could be categorized as a new country compared to the United States particularly after their independence from Spain. As a result, a lot of Mexicans want to try their luck in the United States which is already an industrious country. They saw the United States as the land of chance to escape from their poor life. A Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki described:

When questioned many of them will tell you that they fled from Mexico to escape starvation. In a great number of instances the refugees have friends or relatives in this country who have told them of the wealth and prosperity of the wonderful ESTADOS UNIDOS (1993: 312).

Many of Mexicans tried their luck to escape starvation, as at that time Mexico was a very poor country and lack of human resources. They went across the border leaving Mexico behind to achieve success in the United States and told their families and friends about it.

However, all the opportunities they believed in were not all true. The Mexican immigrants came into unemployment. It was caused by the Great

Depression that was felt through the United States and many of immigrants were in debt. “Many were forced off their farms because they were unable to pay assessments of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Project, a regional agency established in 1927 to help New Mexican by increasing the land available for agriculture” (Meier, 1972: 149).

Talking about Mexican immigrants struggle to receive better life in the United States, they wish to live like middle class or higher and to get accepted by the Anglo societies. This happens especially after the World War II. However, In order to accomplish this feat, they must cut themselves off from their past, their Mexican culture and language, from all that is low and dirty (Milagro, 2009: 2). Luiz Valdes picks up this problem into his works, The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa.

Luis Valdez is an American playwright, writer, and film director. He is regarded as the father of Chicano theater in the United States and also the founder and artistic director of El Teatro Campesino, which is translated into The Farmworkers Theater. His well-known work of arts includes Zoot Suit, La Bamba, Los Vendidos, and The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. In his works, he mostly talked about the plight of Latinos and the prejudice they face (Escamilla: 2002).

The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa is one of his early works. Luis Valdez wrote this play when he was still a student at San Jose State College. This play tells a story about the struggle of Mexican-American son who wants to reach his American Dream in the United States. He is Mingo.

Mingo is one of the main characters in Luis Valdez’s The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. He is described as a Mexican-American person who has his own American Dream. He desperately wants to be an Anglo-American and he believes that he can achieve it by working hard on it.

The researcher is interested in Mingo’s characteristics development in the play. Thus, Mingo becomes the main topic of this research. The researcher follows Mingo’s character from the beginning of the play until the end.

B. Problem Formulation

In revealing the American Dream through the play, the researcher focuses on problems stated below.

1. How is Mingo presented as a Mexican-American?

2. What is the influence of the American Dream towards Mingo’s characterization?

C. Objectives of the Study

This research goal is to find out the attitude of the Mexican-American people who live in American society at that time. The first objective is to understand further about Mingo’s presentation as a Mexican-American. The second objective is to reveal the influence of American Dream towards his character and his characterization.

D. Definition of Terms 1. American Dream

Singh et al. state that the term of American dreams originated from the early seventeenth century by Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay colony who had given America one of its strongest images i.e. the myth of success. Most new Americans have believed in their myth of success in seeking new and improved lives in their country. Others who have lived in the US for generations also believe in and have fought to cover themselves in the American dream that hard work will always lead to success and that life can always get better (1995: 10-11), meaning that through hard work one could have a better future in America since it has been a dream land for everyone.

2. Mexican-American

This term is commonly used to recognize US citizens who are descendants of Mexicans, following the pattern sometimes used to identify the extraction of other ethnic Americans (such as, African-American). This term is acceptable to many Mexican descendants, but for those who do not view themselves as "Americans" by choice, this term is problematic (http://www.mexica.net/chicano.php). Although the term Mexican-American is common, a lot of people who disagree with this term will say that they have been brainwashed by Anglos and they have betrayed their own people (Salazar, 1970).

3. Chicano

The Chicano term, or Chicana to refer the woman, is insulting to some Mexican-American people. “Mexican-Americans have used the word “Chicano” to describe people of Mexican origin living in the United States since the early twentieth century. Originally wealthier Mexican-Americans used the term as a pejorative, a way to describe Mexican-Americans of lower social standing and some people avoid the label because of its ties to leftwing politics.” (Planas, 2012). As described by Ruben Salazar, “A Chicano is a Mexican-American with non-Anglo image of himself.” He added, “A Mexican-American will tell you that Chicano is an insulting term and may even quote the Spanish Academy to prove that Chicano derives from chicanery.” (Salazar, 1970).

4. White Anglo-Saxon Protestant

It is term to describe the white Anglo-Saxons and Protestants of the German and Dutch strains. They were the very first immigrants of the United States which historically has controlled more social, political, and financial power. (Adamic, 1945: 133). The people of Anglo-Saxon and Protestant ancestry were described as a well dressed, good mannered, and properly behaved people. (Novak, 1972: 84).

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

In this chapter, the researcher reviews some criticisms and comments about The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa and studies about Luis Valdez’s other work that is related to The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa.

To become an American citizen is having been born in the United States or certain territories or outlying possessions of the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship). It means that the people who are born in the United States of America or areas belong to the United States of America automatically become American citizens, whether their parents are legal American citizens or illegal immigrants.

American-born kids, usually the second generation, specifically children of Mexican immigrants, were confused with their language and culture. They did not know who they should get along, Americans or Mexicans. If they got along with Americans, they would feel different because it could be seen from their outer appearance. And when they got along with Mexican, they became minorities in the American society.

Martin Milagro in The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa Study Guide said that this play represents the attitude changing of Mexican-American towards the society to be seen. At first, Mexicans were just immigrants, mostly illegal, from Mexico who come to America to make money. After they settled, they breed their

descendants in el norte who become legal United States citizens. However, they were still considered as foreigners by the society because they were colored even though they were legal American citizens. Slowly but sure, the Mexican-American started to find their way to be seen. In the story, Mingo represents person who wants to get accepted by the American society, on the other hand, Joaquin, his brother, represents a rebel who opposes the United States.

It represents a change in attitude of the Chicano from silently enduring in hopes that conditions might change for the better, in order to be accepted, to one of vigorously acknowledging his worth, his differences and his identity. The “invisible minority”, the “silent minority” began to find its voice (2009: 2).

The study above is also supported by the statement he previously wrote in his book, “It is a play that speaks to the core of the Chicano dilemma: “Are we

Mexican or American?”” (Milagro: 2009: 1). This question is simple, but for some people, they have difficulties to choose the answer. They are actually American but the social and cultural ties around them are Mexican. To answer such questions, some people have to define themselves for who they are. It is either to become an Anglo-American or to accept the reality that they are Mexican-American.

Martin Milagro talks about the identity dilemma seen in The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa. He talks about the dilemma between choosing as an American or as a Mexican. Choosing between these two choices is not easy for them as they are not included in one of the choices. On one side, they will not be accepted as Americans because of their different look. On the other side, they are no longer counted as Mexicans because they were born in the United States.

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 60's." (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 Domingo/Mr. Sunday in The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa (Milagro, 2009: 3).

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 Vendidos’ 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

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.

1. Character and Characterization

According to Forsters, 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 character, 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

that, Forsters’ 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. This 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.

American Studies: A Conceptual Approach states that inner power/ characteristics of a person also play important role. The book pints out that American and foreign observers have attempted throughout the history to identify typical American traits: (1) Hard working, materialistic, and practical, (2) Adventuresome and optimistic, (3) Impatient and incline towards violence, (4) Patriotic and nationalistic, (5) Supporters of humanitarian and idealistic goal, (6) Believers in fair play, equality of opportunity, and individual responsibility (Gordon, 1983: 385).

In some way, the immigrant created the American Dream. It was not a native-born idea. It began in the 19th century as immigrants -- mainly Irish and German -- began coming to the United States and describing their experience as transformative. They were no longer living the lives of their parents and grandparents. They could separate themselves from their past. They created the American Dream (Close, 2014).

American Dream never finds its exact definition. However, the common goal is usually about economic, social progress, and individual freedom, and later about politics and education. Many says that American Dream is to get opportunity to freely participating in the competition for jobs, wealth, status, and power in society. American Dream can be achieved only through hard work and determination.

Every person has different American Dream as every person has different point of view, for example, background, culture, and neighborhood. To Mingo, American Dream is to become an Anglo-American person with similar features.

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-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 country… 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).

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

soliloquies found in the play, it is not used. Forsters’ theory is used for analyzing the development of Mingo's character that is influenced by American Dream.

Next, the researcher uses the theory of American Dream to explore the idea of American Dream. The idea is then applied to identify Mingo’s characteristic in the play. The theory of American Dream is needed so that the researcher understands deeply about it, and understands further its influence towards Mingo’s characteristics.

The theory of Mexican-American in the 1960s is used to find out the history of Mexican-American in the United States. This theory is needed in analyzing the relation among the life experiences of Mexican-American, their struggle, and the society reaction towards them in the United States.

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of this research is The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa, a play written by Luis Valdez. This play was written by him while he was still a student at San Jose State College. The first publication of the play was in 1967 by El Teatro Campesino. Later it was published in 1989 along with five other plays in Necessary Theatre: Six Plays About the Chicano Experience by Arte Publico Press in Houston, Texas.

This play consists of 53 pages and it is divided into 5 acts. Valdez firstly directed this play for El Teatro Campesino in 1968 and later 1970. Since then, some directors staged this play.

This play is about a Mexican-American family who lives in the United States. They are Pedro, the father, Cruz, the mother, Belarmino, the oldest brother which is a head, Mingo, a Mexican-American son, Lupe, a daughter, and Joaquin, a Chicano son. The parents are Mexican immigrant who has been living in the United States for a long time.

The brothers, Joaquin and Mingo, are become the main focus on this play. Joaquin who always finds trouble in the hood and Mingo who wants to let go of his root and become Anglo-American.

B. Approach of the Study

To analyze the play, the researcher uses sociocultural-historical approach. This approach is the most suitable for analyzing the play because the play itself contains socio-cultural and historical background. “Literature is considered as a social institution. This view sees literature as “social creation”” (Wellek, 1956: 94).

Rohrberger and Woods in Reading and Writing about Literature says that critics whose major interest is the sociocultural-historical approach insist that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization that produced it (Rohrberger, 1971:9). This implies that the critics will focus on the relation between the play and the reality happens in the society at the specific time where the play takes place.

Furthermore, Rohrberger and Wood add that “it’s necessary to investigate the social background in which a work was created and which it necessarily reflects, because literature is not created in emptiness and expresses ideas significant to the culture that produces it” (Rohrberger: 1971: 9). This means that a play always connects to the cultural and historical background of the society. This theory strengthens what Rohrberger and Wood state in relation of the theory mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

This approach sees a literature as a representative of an age and society, including economic, social, and political system. From the explanation above, this criticism helps the researcher to reveal the influence of American Dream towards

C. Method of the Study

The method that is used to collect data for the thesis is library research. This method is used since the setting of time which the play takes place is in the past. The research can only be done with collecting data from the library as it is impossible to directly observe something that happens in the past. Thus, the researcher only looks and collects data from library and trusted web articles.

There are many steps taken in analyzing this research. First, the researcher starts with reading the play. From the reading, the researcher finds that the play has interesting topic. Then the researcher re-reads and is understanding the whole play. From the understanding, the researcher finds that the American Dream found in one of the characters is more interesting to be explored than comparing between the two main characters. After absorbing the play, the researcher finds that the American Dream thoughts in one of the characters influence his own characteristics.

The second step is preparing the problem formulations, which later become the question which has to be answered. In this part, the researcher reads the play more carefully in order to find the right topic. After that, the researcher finds that one of the characters has deeper relation to American Dream. Thus, the researcher is interested in analyzing this topic.

The third step is collecting data, references, and theories related to this play from both library and online sources. In this part, the researcher uses library research. The information collected is mostly from printed books and some from trusted internet sources. Next, the researcher sorts the contents which can be used.

The fourth step is analyzing. In this part, the researcher organizes the whole data. It is including the theories, references, and approaches. After that, the researcher starts to analyze the character using related theories. This later reveals that the character has a dream to be achieved. Knowing that the character has specific dream, the researcher digs up deeper about the character’s goal, which the American Dream theory is applied. In order to understand the circumstances, the researcher also needs historical background during that time. It is needed so that the research finds exact answer.

CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS

In this chapter, the problems formulated in the earlier chapter are answered. Based on the problem formulation, this chapter is divided into two parts. The first part describes the main character, Mingo, who is a Mexican-American person. The second part reveals the concept of American Dream that is reflected in Mingo.

In addition, this chapter contains original quotations from the play that uses broken English as spoken by Mexican-American. As a result, there are some ungrammatical and Spanish-mixed English. They use mixed language. They do not use English like other Anglo-American, but use Spanish English instead. They use this kind of language in everyday life to communicate with other people. For example, it can be seen from the conversation between Pedro and Joaquin below.

PEDRO : halo que? Give me one abrazo, I‟m your padre! [He hugs him] Tha‟sit – strong like a man. Look, vieja, see how much medals he gots?

(Valdez, 1989: 995)

A. Mingo as the Mexican-American Son

In this part, the researcher writes Mingo‟s presentations in sequences from act one to act five. In the story, he appears in every act although not in every scene.

The family consists of 6 people. The father is Pedro. He is described as a lazy and a wino family leader. He contributes nothing important to the family. The mother

is Cruz. She is a loving mother to her children. Mingo is the second son in the family. He has an older brother which is a head, Belarmino, a younger sister, Lupe, and a rebellious younger brother who represents a Chicano, Joaquin.

Mingo is described as a Mexican-American. This comes in contrary with his family who still tightly holds their Mexican tradition. The American traits in the character of Mingo can be seen from the appearance, the habits in daily life, and the way of thinking. Not only Mingo‟s personality, but his family‟s point of view also shows that Mingo represents Mexican-American.

From his appearance, Mingo looks different from other family members. At the beginning of the play, he is said to be just coming back from the war. He wears soldier uniform. Later in his daily life, he is described, in stage direction, wearing American typical suits.

MINGO enters dressed in new khaki work clothes, complete with new hat and boots. He carries a clipboard with papers and a money box (Valdez, 1989: 1002).

PEDRO turns toward MINGO, who is dressed in casual bowling clothes. He also carries a bowling bag (Valdez, 1989: 1014).

MINGO is dressed in fashionable casual clothing (Valdez, 1989: 1021). The way Mingo dresses himself represents the Mexican-American outfits. The clothes and properties that Mingo buys indicate that he is a hardworking person and also, he socializes with Anglo-American people. He can be said as a hardworking person because he finds occupation faster than all of his family members who are still unemployed. Furthermore, he uses his skills to get a better job than any other Mexicans who usually work as low field-workers. His clipboard and money box also

show that Mingo is not a low field-workers. The clipboard and money box represent that Mingo is a professionalfield-worker.

As described, Mingo also plays bowling. His clothing shows that he plays bowling before he comes into the house. Bowling is a sport which is usually played by Anglo professional blue-collar worker. It means that Mingo socializes with the Anglo-American. He feels comfortable hanging out with the Anglo-American. This comes in contrast with the other family members who see the Anglo-Americans as superior figures.

Food choices usually reflect the lifestyle of a person. In this case, the food eaten by Mingo reflects the food eaten by the Anglo-Americans. Mingo prefers to eat American typical food than eating Mexican food that can be easily obtained in the neighborhood.

Talking about Mingo‟s first dinner since he comes back home, all of the family members want to celebrate it by cooking home-made Mexican food for him. On the other hand, he refuses and prefers to eat steak in town. “No thanks. I had steak in town” (Valdez, 1989: 996). Meanwhile, steak itself is a common food eaten by the Americans. Steak is considered as a high-priced food. This shows that Mingo does not miss home cooking although he is away from home for a long time.

After living in the neighborhood for a while, his habit that makes him into an American is getting serious. He keeps American‟s typical food in the refrigerator, such as bread, steaks, milk, eggs, orange juice. Like what Lupe mentions in the dialogue, “Besides, there‟s plenty of food there – bread, steaks, milk, eggs, orange

juice.” (Valdez, 1989: 1020). It means that Mingo eats American food for his everyday life.

The researcher finds that Mingo prefers to eat American food in order to make himself looks like a common Anglo-American who eats such food. Developing individualistic character just like the Anglo-Americans, he also keeps American food only for himself. He does not allow anybody to eat his food, even his pregnant and hungry sister. This shows that Mingo does not care about his family. He only cares about himself and his American things.

One of the important things that makes Mingo as a Mexican-American is the language he uses. From the beginning, Mingo always uses English to communicate in everyday life. This does come in contrast with the other family members who use Spanish English and Broken English to communicate with others. At first, Mingo understands the language they used. However later, he slowly changes into someone who does not understand Spanish English at all and uses grammatically correct English.

The most obvious proof is when Belarmino yells some American stereotype in Spanish to Mingo. He does not understand Spanish and he replies Belo by telling him to speak in English. Belo says that Mingo is Americanized, broken down, rootless, shameless, self-centered, useless, stingy, softheaded, stubborn, foul-mouthed, amoral, drowned, and insane. Then, Mingo answers repeatedly "SPEAK ENGLISH!" (Valdez, 1989: 1030). This shows that Mingo is in the process of

From the stereotypes, the researcher also concludes that Mingo turns into an Anglo-American. This is seen from Belo‟s point of view on Mingo. Belo yells American stereotypes, according to Mexicans, to Mingo. He says that Mingo betrays their people as he becomes more Americanized.

According to Gordon, there are several American traits that play important role on a person‟s characteristic. Mingo‟s appearance and habitual daily life represents an Anglo-American, which he tries so hard to be. Mingo wants to be one of them. Not only his appearance and his habit in daily life, but his way of thinking also show that he no longer belongs to the family.

American traits by Gordon that represent Mexican-American Mingo are: hard working, materialistic, practical, adventuresome, optimistic, impatient, and incline towards violence, and patriotic and nationalistic. These American traits are owned by Mingo and they lead Mingo to reach his American Dream, and later he eventually becomes an Anglo-American.

Mingo is a hard working person. It can be seen in previous part where he comes home and brings money box. This shows that Mingo works hard to reach the position of an elite or professional worker. His money box implies that Mingo has higher position than any paid field-worker. Compared to other family member, Mingo is quite successful since the family members do not work or try to find any jobs.

Mingo is materialistic and also optimistic. In this case, materialistic is a person who is middle-class oriented. Mingo is obsessed with middle-class things. It is

seen from the way he dresses, the food and beverages he consumes, the things he owns, and his obsession to fit in middle-class society. This can be seen through the beverage that he drinks, an Old Crow Whiskey. Mingo underestimates his father‟s 35-cent drinks. He says that he will buy his father a $6.50 Old Crow Whiskey, an American product.

Mingo also owns a credited Chevrolet car which later he trades it with more expensive Chevrolet car. Chevrolet is considered as a prestigious American brand car.

LUPE : A Chevi! Mama, un Chevi!

CRUZ : Blessed by the name of the Señor. That one is ours, Mingo?

MINGO : All ours, only forty more payments to go. [Everyone looks out the window except PEDRO.] What‟s wrong, pa? Ain‟t you going to see? PEDRO : For what? They going to come for it in two months.

MINGO : Not this baby. I‟m gonna keep up all my payments. (Valdez, 1989: 997)

Mingo credits a Chevrolet car. He is optimistic that he will keep his payments. However his family members are uncertain if Mingo can fulfill the payments. On the other side, Mingo is so confident in keeping up the payments because he will find a job and make a lot of money. He is optimistic even though his other family members say that he will not make the payments going.

Cruz and Joaquin are pessimistic about their life. Cruz admits that her family will never be rich because they live only from Pedro‟s welfare. Along with that, Joaquin says that nobody is going to get rich from working on the fields. It can be seen that Mingo has no support from his family. However, Mingo is so confident at getting money. He believes in every little chance. He is going to work hard in the

CRUZ : We always been poor, my son.

MINGO : [Determined.] That‟s true, mom. But now things are gonna be

different. I‟m here now, and we‟re going to be rich – middle class! I didn‟t come out the war without learning nothing.

(Valdez, 1989: 998)

This conversation implies that Mingo learns a lot of thing in the war. It causes him to think that he can fit in middle-class society even though he is actually from lower class society.

Mingo is a practical person. It is proven since he is the only one on the family who admits Belarmino is a head. “Stop wasting money on beans and tortillas. Admit Shorty‟s a head” (Valdez, 1989: 1022). On the other side, Cruz, their mother, still refuses to admit that Belarmino is a head. Cruz still sees Belarmino as a handicapped son and does not want to realize that Belo only makes her suffering. However, Mingo sees that Belarmino burdens of the family since he cannot work and only eat all the time. Mingo feels that Belarmino is the reason of why the family cannot be successful.

Mingo is adventuresome, which comes in contrary to his family members. He is not afraid to try something new and to leave his former habits. He says to his family that they will move to a new house. A better house.“Padre, madre, so what? I‟m talking about Prune Blossom Acres. America‟s at our doorstep. All we have to do is take one step.” (Valdez, 1989: 1003). Mingo is so excited to move his family into the house located in a different neighborhood, in which he believes that it is closer to America. However, the other family members are not excited. Mingo‟s families are worried about their new neighborhood, and they do not want to move away from their old house. Simply, they do not have enough confident to face new environment, they

feel insecure to socialize with higher class people. They seem troubled to do adaptation with new people n new neighborhood. On the other hand, Mingo is so excited to move into the new house and to be accepted as an American. He does not let anybody in the house buries his dream to live in a higher level society. Mingo even mocks his father‟s house as a dirty place to live.

CRUZ : And the gringos?

MINGO : Whatta you mean, gringos? CRUZ : Who else lives in new houses?

MINGO : Americans, ma. Americans citizens like me and y – [Pause.] Aw, whatta you trying to do? Get me defeated too? You wanna spend the rest of your live in this stinking barrio?”

(Valdez, 1989: 1004).

The family members, especially Cruz, are worried about the new neighborhood. They are worried about living in new neighborhood filled with gringos or Anglo-Americans, a neighborhood with no Mexican-Americans. However, Mingo is very proud to call himself an American. From the conversation above, Mingo looks a little bit uncomfortable with the word gringos, which is usually used by Mexican-Americans to call Anglo-Mexican-Americans. Mingo prefers to use the term Mexican-Americans, instead of gringos because he wants to cut the ties with his Mexican blood.

This kind of term annoys Mingo. He feels resentful and very annoyed when Pedro calls the citizen of the United States of America with Americanos. He spontaneously yells “Americans!” to correct Pedro‟s choice of word to call American citizen. “Americanos? Americans!” (Valdez, 1989: 996). Americanos is a term used by Latin-Americans to refer American citizens. Mingo is annoyed when somebody

calls him that term. It is because the term Americanos still has relation with Spanish language, his mother tongue, which he wants to cut off.

The conversation between Belarmino and Joaquin below strengthens the idea that Mingo is truly Americanized and different from the other family members. The other family members state that Mingo is a gringo or gavacho. These terms are used to insult an American, specifically Anglo- American.

BELARMINO : You, tu, tu Mexican! Pendejo! Mira, esperate (Trans: Look, wait a minute.)…ahhh, you Mexican, me Mexican…ahhh this one familia Mexican, eh? Mingo, no! Mingo esgringo.Comprendes?

…

BELARMINO : Mingo eesgavacho, eh?

JOAQUIN : Simon (Trans: Yeah, sure.), and a t‟ief.

(Valdez, 1989: 1011)

Mingo is said to be a thief because he only cares about himself. He is accused of taking money from his worker. The fact that a lot of Mexican was given a low wages during that period of time, they have to pay insurances, lunches, and taxes. Still, their wages are so low that they could not pay all their basic needs. In this context, the workers have no choice but to owe money from their superior worker, Mingo.

In Mexican tradition, people always come first than the person himself. However, Mingo never thinks about other people‟s problem. He is impatient towards his „own people‟, the Mexican-American who are employed as a low-worker. Mingo only cares about himself and his American Dream. He does everything to make his dream comes true, even though he has to betray his family, friend, and race.

Mingo is patriotic and nationalistic. This can be seen from the beginning. Mingo just comes home from the war, and he is proud of being one of the soldiers. Becoming a soldier is a hard walk of life since a person has to leave and risk everything behind to defend the country. The war is the starting point where Mingo finds his first American Dream. He says it to Joaquin, when he wants Joaquin to be like him. “Listen man, there‟s only one thing I ever wanted in this life. That‟s not to be poor. I never got that until I become a Marine.” (Valdez, 1989: 1019).

Mingo‟s nationalism is also seen from the things he owns. He drives Chevrolet, an American brand car, and he trades it with another Chevrolet. He also drinks American brand Whiskey, Old Crow. Even though those American products are not the best of their kind, Mingo is proud of having them.

Researcher takes a note that Mingo wants to help his family to get out of their slum neighborhood. Mingo is determined to make it happen. However, his family still tightly holds their culture, and their togetherness. From Mingo's perspective, it will slow down his way to be an Anglo-American. He cannot reach his dream if he still has relation with his family: insanity and poverty. Mingo only cares about himself, and then he slowly forgets where he comes from.

I trade it in for my Chivi. (about his new red sports car) I also took 200 bucks outta the bank and bought new clothes. See? Everything new. You should see how great it feels! Instead of the head, I'm spending money where it counts: on self improvement. And with my credit, I can get anything else I want. Thirty dollar shoes, color TV, a Hi-Fi stereo, a new bowling ball, steak dinners, cocktails! I can even go to college. Sure State College! The G.I. Bill will foot the bill. Heh, you get that? G.I. Bill foot the bill? I know it's below your mental intelligence to comprehend the simplicity... [During this speech

MINGO's voice changes from a Chicano accent to the nasal tones of an Anglo: he also begins to talk down his nose at his mother.]

(Valdez, 1989: 1022)

From Mingo‟s speech above, the researcher sees that Mingo wants the best for himself, not his family. He does not care if his family agrees with him or not. He will do anything to achieve what he wants. Mingo wants to be accepted in an Anglo-American society even though he is a Mexican-Anglo-American. He wants to be one of them. In his speech, Mingo even mocks his family as low-educated people like other Mexican-American.

As written on the stage direction, Mingo voice changes from a Chicano accent to the nasal tones of an Anglo. This explains that in his unconscious mind, when talking about his “almost reached” American Dream, Mingo turns into someone different. Mingo has not yet reached his American Dream, but almost. He only needs one more important thing to do, letting go of his past.

It is obvious that Mingo starts to forget everything. He forgets his passed-away father, his sister, and moreover, he forgets that he belongs to the family. It can be seen when Joaquin mocks Mingo that he is now a White. "Mingo el gringo" (Valdez, 1989: 1024). Joaquin also curses to Mingo that he is a sell-out traitor to his family.

Mingo's effort to differentiate himself from the family is getting stronger when he mocks Joaquin "Like a stinking Mexican!" (Valdez, 1989: 1025). Mingo thinks that he is not one of them, but sadly, he is. They are from the same parents, the same neighborhood, and even the same ethnicity, but they are not the same anymore.

In How to Analyze Drama, Reaske said that dialogue between character, hidden narration, and character in action plays important role in understanding a character. There are some dialogue, narration, and action that show how Mingo tries so hard to make his American Dream comes true.

When Mingo comes into the house, Pedro is having arguments with Joaquin. Then Pedro said to Joaquin “Why don‟ you be smart like your brother here. He don‟ go around wis stupid babozadas. He is a serious hombre con respeto y dinero. (Trans.: Man with respect and money)” (Valdez, 1989: 1015). From Pedro‟s dialogue above, it implies that Pedro admits Mingo as a successful person now. Mingo is able to fulfill his ambition and become a successful man only in three months. This is a contradictory situation to their parents‟ fortune. The family has been living in the United States way longer than Mingo, but they still have no job. They still live in meager and limitations. They do not have Mingo‟s determination. Unlike his parents, Mingo works hard to reach his own dreams.

At that time, Pedro also irritates Joaquin “…just lousies like this one. And cowards! T‟iefs! Useless cabrones! Tha‟s all I got for sons” (Valdez, 1989: 1014). Pedro mentions Mexican stereotypes. Then unexpectedly, Mingo speaks “And we‟re only chips off the old block, no pa?” (Valdez, 1989: 1014). From the conversation, Mingo states that his father is as loser as his brother in an indirect way. Mingo has intention to reflect on the famous idiom “like father like son”. Based on this fact, it shows that Mingo feels like he does not belong to the family as he never sees himself

This type of conversation also happens between Mingo and Joaquin later after Pedro died. Mingo cries about Mexican stereotype to Joaquin who dresses up like one. “Greasy, low, ignorant, lousy...” (Valdez, 1989: 1025). From this part, it is shown that Mingo judges Joaquin as a person with lower social status compared to him. Mingo sees himself as a person that is way better than his own brother. Mingo looks down on his brother‟s choice of clothes which resembles a Chicano. Indirectly, Mingo sees a Chicano as a low person.

Looking back to the middle of their fight, there is Mingo‟s word: “Then call the cops. Go on! Who you think the law‟s gonna believe, me or you?” (Valdez, 1989: 1015). This question is addressed to his Chicano brother who makes him smashes a guitar on Mingo‟s head. Based on this action, the researcher can see that Mingo underrates Chicano. Mingo begins to think like common Anglos who look Chicano as a liar, cannot be trusted, even by the government.

As mentioned earlier, Mingo also no longer respects his father. This is strengthened by Mingo‟s dialogue to his father that he wants to take over and decide everything. He also says that Pedro has failed to be a good leader for the family. Mingo‟s behavior shows that he underestimates Pedro because the family still lives in a poor condition and has no money under Pedro‟s lead.

You‟re nothing. If it wasn‟ for me, we‟d still be in gutter, like usual. Confess it. You could never handle Shorty‟s hunger. You had to drag us all to the fields together with mi „ama. And for what? We still ended up owing the store just to feed the head! That head‟s a pushover for me. From now on, I‟m in charge here and you can do what you damn well please.

Besides Pedro, Mingo also blames Belarmino, whom he calls Shorty, because he only can eat and do nothing. Indirectly, Mingo blames his family because they do not work hard in the land of opportunity to make their life better. Therefore, Mingo has to take over the lead so the family will suffer anymore.

Mingo ever said that “This is a free country, man. There‟s no law against making money.” (Valdez, 1989: 1019). This shows that Mingo will do anything to get more and more money. He will never let anything or anyone gets in his way. It is proven when Mingo does not let one of his family members bother his American Dream. He believes in himself that he can do anything to realize his dream.

From Mingo‟s desire, Joaquin realizes that his brother is indeed different with the rest of the family members. He knows that Mingo wants to be an American, Anglo-Americans to be exact, so badly. Joaquin hates how Mingo changes into “real American‟ like Mingo himself always wanted to be. Finally Joaquin understands that his brother no longer belongs to the family.

JOAQUIN : Simon, I‟m cross-eyed. But you wanna be a gavacho so bad,

you can‟t see nothing. You hated mi „apa. You hate all of us! You and your new clothes and bowling ball and shit. Well, take a good look, ese. We‟re greasy and lousy but we‟re your family!

MINGO : Damn rights, my family! But you don‟t have to be greasy and

lousy!

JOAQUIN : You don‟t have to be a gavacho!

(Valdez, 1989: 1019)

Mingo is ashamed by Joaquin‟s greasy and lousy look. Then, Joaquin curses Mingo in Spanish. Joaquin gets mad at Mingo. In reply, Mingo just yells back and commands him to talk in English. “You talk to me in English!” (Valdez, 1989: 1019).

From Mingo‟s respond, the researcher concludes that Mingo does not want his brother speaks to him in Spanish. Mingo wants Joaquin to respect him by speaking in English. This also shows that Mingo‟s capability of understanding Spanish becomes lower.

As researched, Mingo is different from the rest of the family members. He is Americanized, unlike his family members who still hold tight their tradition. Mingo‟s ways of thinking are also different from the rest of the family. He wants to be accepted by the Anglo-American society while the other family members do not want to be labeled as American, even though they actually are. In order to reach his American Dream, Mingo has to let go of his past, which means he has cut off with the family, his family. Slowly but surely, Mingo is in the process of forgetting his family and race.

MINGO : [Pause.] NOBODY! I don‟t have nothing to do with these people. I just room here. I‟m a college student.

CRUZ : Tell him, Mingo, explain – you got the words.

MINGO : What my landlady here means, officer, is that the punk you want is right there. He‟s the Supermarket Thief.

(Valdez, 1989: 1027)

From the conversation above, the researcher sees that Mingo tries to cut the ties with his family. Mingo denies that he is a part of the family. He says that he has no relationship with the people in the house and he is just someone who rents a room there. He does not admit Joaquin as his brother because he steals from the supermarket and acts like a Chicano antihero. Mingo even helps the officer to find Joaquin as Mingo sees him doing something wrong. Mingo‟s act is quite different

from most of the Mexicans act as they usually protect their family in such cases. However, Mingo prefers to save himself by saying that he is not part of the family and chooses to give up on his brother. Following this event, Mingo then also decides that it would be better for him to leave the house and so he goes away.

B. Mingo as Mr. Sunday, his new Anglo-American identity

In the previous part, Mingo‟s presentation is observed as a different type of person compared to the rest of the family. Mingo is Americanized, but his family members are not. He also wants to reach everything on his own, and later he betrays his own family. He does not let anybody breaking his dream to be an Anglo-American and accepted by the society. This part elaborates more about Mingo and his American Dream.

For Mingo, the characteristics of American Dream are having middle-class economic level, having higher social status, and accepted by the Anglo-American society. Mingo‟s efforts in reaching his American Dream are proven in the previous part. Mingo joins a state college which is usually meant for Anglo-Americans just to blends with them. Mingo also works hard to buy a house in the Prune Blossom Area where its neighborhood is surrounded by the Anglo-Americans. From his appearance, it can be seen that Mingo is well-dressed. These acts show that Mingo does not want to be seen as a low class immigrant. He wants to be seen as an American citizen with higher social status.

Mingo‟s style is also different from the rest of the family. He dresses up in a stylish American way. All of his clothes are new. He wears expensive shoes and drives a sport car. These are different from the rest of the family who dress up just like another Mexican.

Mingo also eats different food from the rest of the family. He eats food which is usually eaten by the Anglo-Americans. He eats healthy and fresh food. Meanwhile, the rest of the family only eats tortilla, an original Mexican food. In addition, when his mother offers him a home-made tortilla, he prefers to eat an American food outside.

From the way Mingo speaks, he is also different. He uses better English grammar than the others. He rarely ever uses Mexican word. Mingo is also being irritated when somebody says a non-proper term to indicate Americans, like

Americanos, Gringos, and Gavachos which are used by the rest of the family.

Mingo‟s mindset is also unlike the other family members. He is determined, while others are not. His way of thinking also resembles American traits. He has a dream and wants to realize it even it is not easy to do that. It is not easy because his neighborhood and even his family are not on his side.

Mingo is determined to make his dream comes true. He believes in every little chance he has in the land of opportunity. This is contrary to the rest of the family members who only depend on the welfare. On the previous part, the researcher writes that Mingo is just coming from the battlefield, and he reaches success not more than a year. On the other side, the rest of the family members, who lives longer in the

neighborhood, do not do anything to make their life better. They are only grumble about it.

The study above about Mingo‟s characteristic is consistent with the theory of American Dream as written in chapter two. It says that inner characteristic of a person plays important role. Indeed, Mingo is. From the outside it is obvious that Mingo is Americanized. At the same time, Mingo‟s characteristics are inspired by American way of thinking. For Mingo, this combination makes everything easier to reach his dream to be an Anglo-American, since the United States itself is a free country.

In the previous part, Mingo has to let go of his past to reach his American Dream. He believes that he will not reach his American Dream unless he cuts off his ties with his family and erases the Mexican blood in him.

CHATO opens the door to the side room, “MINGO‟s room.” MINGO is standing in the doorway. He is dressed in a professional gray suit and is carrying a briefcase. He wears a smart hat and glasses, shoes shined, etc. His face is unusually pale; in fact, it almost looks bleached.

(Valdez, 1989: 1034)

Mingo prefers to forget the family and goes away. Two years after, he comes back. Mingo comes back as a different person. He comes in from his former room. From the appearance, Mingo represents an Anglo-American. His face is as pale white as Anglo-American, not like any other Mexicans. He dresses up as a professional civil servant. He becomes a person like he always wanted. He becomes a person who helps the family. Mingo already reaches his American Dream.

As Mingo confesses, he has changed. Mingo changes into someone that is completely different from the way he used to be. Mingo says that he was also from another slum area, but he manages to get out of it. It is because of his hard work, his strong will, and his dream to be an American. He still wants to help the family but he has to be another person. He cuts the tie between him and his family in order to success like he always wanted. In the end, Mingo only cares about himself, not others.

43 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, the writer concludes all of the analysis given in the previous chapter. This research consists of two problem formulations that can be seen in the chapter one. The problem formulations are made to make the research easier. They contain the presentation analysis of character Mingo in the play and the influence of American Dream towards Mingo’s character.

From the analysis, the researcher concludes that Mingo’s character are revealed gradually. At his first appearance, he said he want to help his family. However later it is revealed that he is spiritually different from the others. He is not like the others since he is already Americanized. He only cares about himself and his American Dream.

Mingo is described as an American oriented person, especially after he comes back home from the war. His American oriented personalities can be seen from his appearance, his habits in daily life, and his way of thinking. He speaks English properly. He eats American food. He dresses neatly. His way of thinking is also consistent with the theories of American traits by Reaske. Meanwhile, his family members still hold their culture and habits tightly.

Mingo also treats others differently because he thinks he is more superior as he is Americanized. He sees the Mexican-Americans, especially his own family, as low, feckless, and old-fashioned because they do not have the courage to change their life in the land of opportunity.

From the research,Mingo is described as a determined person. He is brave enough to make his dream comes true and being like an Anglo-American even though he receives no support. He does everything to be one of the Anglo-Americans, including letting go of his root as a Mexican-American.

In the end, Mingo lets go of his past by leaving his Mexican-American culture and habits. He forgets his family. He even bleaches his skin and changes his accent in order to look like the Anglo-Americans. He finally makes his dreams come true by changing his identity and being like an Anglo-American.

In his play, Luis Valdez portrays the struggle and the irony of achieving American Dream. He also offers criticism and social commentary towards racism and discrimination in reaching American Dream.

45

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