Los Vendidos Play Analysis

Los Vendidos Play Analysis Beyond an energetic and comical playwright, Luis Valdez Los Vendidos is an accurate reflection of the contemporary American society, focusing on how Mexicans are perceived in this society. The play abounds in stereotypes about Mexicans, which is why the main theme of Los Vendidos is stereotyping. Stereotypes appear in societies because the dominant majority has difficulties in understanding the specificities of particular minorities, as it is the case of the Mexicans, portrayed in Los Vendidos. Nevertheless, stereotypes are nurtured as a modality of keeping minorities socio economically repressed and inferior to the dominant race in the society (Escobar p. 562). By portraying the main stereotypes that are used to refer to Mexicans in United States, such as farm workers, gang members or revolucionarios, Valdez describes the identity crisis experienced by Mexicans, who are trying to resist to the cultural assimilation of becoming Americans. The plot of this play revolves around an intended sale, wherein Miss Jimenez, a secretary of the Presidential administration is on a mission to purchase a Mexican model, in order to appeal to the Mexican electorate. Honest Sancho, the owner of the store that sells Mexican models, introduces to Miss Jimenez three types of Mexicans that she can purchase: the farm worker, the gang member and the revolutionary, exemplifying like this the main stereotypes with which Mexicans are associated in United States. The sole idea that the members of a race can relate with a single model, a robot that is believed to encompass the distinctiveness of an entire race is based on a prejudice (Kassin, Fein Markus p. 155). Another problem that the play raises in relation with the stereotypes created for Mexicans in United States, is that Mexicans themselves came to identify with the stereotypes that the American society created to define them. As such, Honest Sancho admits the main models of stereotyping existent in the American society and promotes them for sale. Although Honest Sancho seems to be interested in his business, exploiting the American culture of stereotyping in order to be profitable, there is, nevertheless, a truth in the fact that Mexicans adhere to the stereotypes created for them and transmit them from a generation to another. The fact that the typical Mexican people living in United States are represented through robots suggests the idea that Mexicans are not seen as humans, but as machines, hence the objectification of this people (Belkin p. 17). Honest Sanchos robots are seemingly created to serve the American society through their hard work, as exemplified by the farm worker, who is built close to the ground, durable, friendly and loves his patroness (Valdez pp. 41-42). On the other hand, the other machines that describe the stereotypical roles of Chicanos in U.S., respectively the gang member and the revolutionary. Yet, the roles of these Mexican models are also well justified, because they serve as criminals that get arrested (Valdez 44). In this sense, they are fulfilling the social role of criminality, serving as the scape goats for the malfunctions of the American society. Through the Mexican robots kept in store to be sold, Valdez demonstrates that the stereotypes have a functional role in soci ety, serving as the servers or the people to be blamed by the dominant race. This reinforces the idea that stereotyping is a form of racism that generates feelings of superiority from the dominant race towards minorities (Escobar 562). Although she is also a representative of the Mexican people in United States, Miss Jimenez identifies more with the dominant Americans than with Chicanos. Just as the white Americans, Miss Jimenez fails to admit the individuality of Mexicans, although she too, is a Mexican American, or una chicana (Valdez 41). On the other hand, she seems to be ignorant of the stereotypes and prejudices that Mexicans experience in United States. As such, when Honest Sancho describes to her that the farm worker is cutting grapes, she responds Oh, I wouldnt know (Valdez 42). This scene raises the question of whether one needs to dissociate of his national identity in order to escape the stereotypes associated with ones race. As such, Miss Jimenez insists that her name should be pronounced using English and not Spanish pronunciation, correcting Honest Sancho and admonishing him for his lack of good English skills, when he addresses her in a Mexican style: My name is Miss JIM-enez. Dont you speak English? Whats wrong with you? (Valdez p. 41). Although the play critiques the American society for its lack of cultural sensitivity to Mexican people, arguing that Americans consider all Mexicans as either farm workers, gang members or revolutionary, Miss Jimenez is the exception that deconstructs this myth. She is a Secretary in the U.S. government, therefore, she is educated, urban, modern, possessing all the features of the casual American. As Belkin (p. 18) observes, she is assimilated. In contrast with her, all the other Mexicans, who fail to become Americans and stick to their Mexican identities are considered stupid, uneducated or violent (Valdez p. 48; Belkin p. 18). Nevertheless, the play transmits mixed impressions about what the American society expects from the Mexicans, which further perpetuates the racial stereotypes directed at this nationality. As such, Miss Jimenez, as the representative of the American government, seeks a Mexican model that is educated, knows good English and a romantic figure to attract the women electorate. These values do not describe Mexican stereotypes, but the product of cultural assimilation (Belkin 18). On the other hand, through the character of Miss Jimenez, the play writer transmits the idea that the American society expects the Mexicans to be cheap. The constant question of Miss Jimenez is he economical (Valdez pp. 42 49) acts like a leitmotif in the play, putting an equal sign between Mexicans and cheap labor force. Cheap labor force is a stereotypical representation of Mexicans, one which is desired and expected by the white Americans, even from the educated and acculturated Mexicans. As such, speaking for the U.S. government, Miss Jimenez seems shocked to hear that the price for the educated Mexican is $ 15,000, asking Fifteen thousand dollars? For a Mexican!!! (Valdez 50). In other words, while the American society expects the Mexicans to become acculturated and integrated, acting and behaving like normal Americans, they still expect them to be cheaper, hence perpetuating the socio economical oppression of this people through prescriptive stereotypes (features widely accepted as defining roles or behaviors) (Corell and Benard 5). What started as a comical play developed complex sociological concepts of assimilation, acculturation or stereotyping. Stereotyping is the central theme of the play and it is vividly represented through all the characters presented in the play (Honest Sancho, Miss Jimenez and the robots). In addition, the social expectations from the Mexicans also perpetuate the stereotypes that keep this people in socio economical oppression to the dominant race in U.S. Las Vendidos teaches audiences about the danger that lies in stereotyping, which can take the form of economic oppression or riots. Stereotyping is more than a form of social discrimination; it is a lifestyle by which the dominant majority and the vulnerable minority live, abiding to the socially shaped misconceptions about how minorities should be or how they should act. Works Cited Belkin, Elena. Changing Fronts in La Lucha Chicana: Cultural Construction of Class, Race, and Gender in Chicano/a Literature. Ohio: Ohio State University. 2008. Print. https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/32190/Changing_Fronts_in_La_Lucha_Chicana-1.pdf?s Correll, Shelley, J. and Benard, Stephen. Gender and Racial Bias in Hiring. [Online] 21 March, 2006. Available at http://provost.upenn.edu/uploads/media_items/gender-racial-bias.original.pdf. 7 March, 2017. Escobar, Angela Sanchez. Chicanos: Stereotypes and Search for Self Identity as Seen through Literature. CUACE 14-15: 561-571. 1992. Print. http://cvc.cervantes.es/literatura/cauce/pdf/cauce14-15/cauce14-15_30.pdf Kassin, Saul, Fein, Steven Markus, Hazel Rose. Social Psychology. Belmont: Wadsworth. 2014. Print. https://books.google.ro/books?id=jtdnyrG9xboCprintsec=frontcoverdq=social+psychology+kassinhl=ensa=Xredir_esc=y#v=onepageq=social%20psychology%20kassinf=false Valdez, Luis. Luis Valdez Early Works: Across, Bernabe and Pensamiento Serpentino. Texas: Arte Publico Press. 1994. Print. https://books.google.ro/books?id=t62V4sknDw8Cprintsec=frontcoverdq=Luis+Valdez+%E2%80%93+Early+Works:+Across,+Bernabe+and+Pensamiento+Serpentinohl=ensa=Xved=0ahUKEwjV0KKH18XSAhWHzxQKHc0kCr4Q6AEIGjAA#v=onepageq=Luis%20Valdez%20%E2%80%93%20Early%20Works%3A%20Across%2C%20Bernabe%20and%20Pensamiento%20Serpentinof=false

Haunted :: Creative Writing Essays

Haunted One day I was walking along side a road that not to many people travel on. All of a sudden it started storming really bad. I didn't want to get sick so I decided to run into an old abandoned house for cover. No one lived there, I was sure of that. As I got in, I looked around and noticed what a spooky house it was. It seemed really spooky. I saw a large room that was the foyer. The room had a checkered tile floor. It was lit a dark blue color. There were two lights on either side of the staircase that led to the second floor. Off to the right of the large foyer was a door that led to the kitchen. The kitchen was old a musty smelling. As I walked to the back of the kitchen, I noticed a door. I stared at it. A second later it opened! I ran out of the kitchen as fast as I could and ran up the stairs. Up stairs it was even darker. I saw a long narrow hallway with a lot of doors on both sides and on the end. I checked all of the doors and I could only get into one of them. I walked into the one that I could get into and heard someone yelling and pleading. I grew scared but then noticed it wasn't a person. It looked like a hologram, but you could see and hear him. He seemed to be pleading for his life. I could not see whom he was talking to, but I don't think it was a person. The man was balding and looked like he was in his upper forties. He was saying, "I am sorry for coming into your house. I thought it was empty. Please! Please! Let me go. I won't say anything; I didn't see you murder him. No! Don't! Ahhhhhhh! Stop..." Then he fell to the floor after I heard a sickening crack. I raced out of that room only to find myself in the hallway again. I decided it was time for me to leave! I went quickly down stairs and went to the door I came in at. I turned the handle and nothing happened.

Cash flow analysis

The company's cash flows from operating activities were inadequate to cover depreciation and dividend payments from FYI to IFFY. This indicates that HEAD Banks cash flow engine is not generating enough cash to keep the company whole for those three years. However, the company generated excess cash in IFFY, which was used for growth and investment purposes. Thus, the cash flow engine is not very powerful. However, it is showing signs of recovery in the recent years. Pinpointing the Good News and the Bad News The capital expenditure shows an increasing trend and is around 1 . Xx of appreciation.In addition, it made significant investment in subsidiaries and Joint-ventures, which is another growth indicators. However, these indicators have not remained consistent throughout. Such investments were only made in FYI 1 and IFFY. HEAD Bank has consistently borrowed from other banks in the form of term deposits and demand deposits to pay dividends and for capital expenditure. This can be cons idered as a bad news because it doesn't have sufficient cash flow from operating activities. Puzzle Since the company is operating in the Banking and Finance Industry, Reserve Bank ofIndia norms mandate that the company hold a large proportion of cash along with significant deposits with the RIB (CAR and SSL norms) in order to maintain liquidity. The cash and bank balances held by the company has ranged from xx to xx of their net income. Earlier, we identified a few unusual line items, which are explained as under: In IFFY, RIB increased policy rates by 1 . 75% and Rib's borrowings against SSL increased by almost 270%. After adjusting for this, cash flow from operating activities shows a positive figure in IFFY.In the cash flow from operating activities, the cash used in distributing loans & advances as well as making investments (operating activity since it is a bank) exceed the cash generated from increase in deposits. This has resulted in a negative cash flow from operating activ ities in 3 out of 5 years. This requires the company to seek outside sources for funding such as financial borrowings from other banks and financial institutions. This may not necessarily be a negative sign if the returns from operating activities exceed the net borrowing costs and hence reaping the benefits of leverage. Housing Development Finance Corporation

Negative Effect of Overpopulation. - 1365 Words

THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF POPULATION GROWTH Some observers attribute nearly all of the world s maladies to excessive population growth. They claim that rapid population growth has at least three adverse effects on human well-being. First, it increases poverty--the number of people that are impoverished, the proportion of the community that is impoverished, and the severity of the impoverishment. Second, it increases environmental degradation--the misuse of natural resources--with adverse consequences on many dimensions of human well-being. Finally, it prevents environmental enhancement by holding back the savings and investment that would permit environmentally sustainable economic growth and retards the agricultural productivity that would†¦show more content†¦This view is developed in models of economic growth such as the acclaimed Solow (1956) growth model. Of course, proponents of this view recognize that technological advances can accommodate population growth, but neo-Malthusians argue that the accommodation is more the exception than the rule. It also merits noting that neo-Malthusians view poverty as more than income deprivation. Rapid population growth strains the fixed capacities for basic human servicesï ¿ ½education, health, and nutrition. Fixed levels of basic infrastructure essential for survival and longevity are spread over greater numbers of people and hence the per capita delivery of services is reduced. In short, nonpecuniary measures of poverty also increase (Ahlburg 1994). DEFORESTATION Some observers claim that resources are harvested at excessive rates due to population pressure. Their contention is that timber is harvested too soon in order to supply products such as wood for housing construction. This depletes forests and causes additional environmental problems. More generally, the impoverishing effects of population growth make the populace excessively dependent on natural resource-based activities such as timber production. Deforestation can cause soil erosion, watershed instability, and loss of carbon sequestration. It can also reduce agricultural productivity. Moreover, the poor, it is said, bear aShow MoreRelatedThe Negative Effects Of Overpopulation1285 Words   |  6 PagesOverpopulation Essay Overpopulation is a world problem which is when the number of people exceeds the carrying capacity of Earth. It is a very prevalent issue because it is causing many issues for the environment. Primarily, it is harming other species. Second of all, many energy sources are curtailing due to overpopulation. Finally, overpopulation is causing death in the environment. Environmentally, overpopulation is degrading the environment in a negative way and needs to stop. 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