The zoot suit and the language

Hey guys! Here is Anqi Lin from China and you can call me Angel since “Anqi” means “angel” in Chinese. In this blog post I want to talk about the zoot suit and the language used in the play.

The play Zoot Suit is based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder case of 1942. It is set in a time when the

culture of the Chicano began to find its own style of expression, which symbolized in the rebellious fashion the so-called zoot suit. The play gives me a feeling of fear, fear of cultural otherness. And I think to the play,

the zoot suit itself is an integral statement, for being an expression of a new identity of Hispanic America, the Chicano.  As foreigners in their own country, Chicanos suffered not only the arrogance and rejection of Anglo society but also great stress as they struggled to follow the customs of their ancestors, to accept a lifestyle that they don’t really understand. They often found themselves caught in the middle. Most zoot suiters were young men. Wearing a zoot suit helped them declare their independence from parents, society and their own social and cultural norms and they considered it as the proper costume for the dance floor.

In the play, we see pachuco wear the black and red zoot suit with his moustache and leathered skin. It’s not an image of a young man of that time who we think should wear the zoot suit. What can we indicate from this contradiction?

There is no evidence for that the suit is a type of gang uniform and its style implies violence. But, when embraced by the pachuco culture, the symbolic construction of the fabric’s shape seems to have a whole new meaning or at least to be more meaningful. Although the zoot suiter and the pachuco are not the same person, they are linked together by the special clothing. Being the products of slums and victims of discrimination, Chicanos seek escape wherever they can find it, in music, dancing and drinking. However, Pachuco seems to achieve more pride and self-respect in the zoot suit. Rather than hiding, he flaunts his presence. The suit gives him the power of becoming the incarnation of Chicano pride and defiance. By carefully tracing the behavior of all the characters, what do you think is the relationship between the zoot suit, the zoot suiters and Pachuco?

We again find it difficult to figure out the meaning of Spanlish in the play, maybe more difficult than the reading of The Borderlands. We’ve all agreed on that the use of the special language indicates the mixture of cultures and the complexity of the cultural identity which is essential to the theme of the two masterpieces. But there is some critics that to some extent this language alienates both the Spanish speakers and the Anglos. In my opinion, the play is different from the fiction and the prose on the paper which we can read slowly and even repeatedly in order to catch the meaning. The plots are moving fast just in front of the eyes of the audience and thus should be understood right away. So I want to arouse the discussion of the special language again.

What do you think the role of Spanlish in this play? What’s the difference between the uses in The Borderlands and Zoot Suit? Is there any purpose in common? Which one do you think is of better use?