Genre
Chicano Play
Language
English and Spanish
Setting and Context
Honest Sancho's Used Mexican Lot, California, in the late 1960s
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is that of the playwright; with no narrator as such, his beliefs and viewpoints are the ones the play is written from.
Tone and Mood
Bitter and ironic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The models of the stereotypical Mexicans are the protagonists whilst Mrs Jiminez in the antagonist.
Major Conflict
There is conflict between Mrs Jiminez and Sancho when he pronounces her last name with a Spanish accent and she chastises him and tells him he should pronounce it the Americanized way.
Climax
At the end of the play the models reveal that they are actually real human beings and that the only robot is Sancho, the store operator.
Foreshadowing
The fact that the Farm Worker speaks no English at all foreshadows Mrs Jiminez rejecting him.
Understatement
No specific examples.
Allusions
The playwright alludes to Governor Ronald Reagan who at the time was Governor of California, and who went on to become President of the United States.
Imagery
The images are all stereotypes, creating a picture of how Chicanos are believed to be.
Paradox
Mrs Jiminez is clearly a Mexican American but she does not want the robots who are overly Mexican, preferring the almost entirely Americanized option.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between each of the robot models presented to Mrs Jiminez and the stereotype that society portrays of Mexican Americans.
Personification
The robots themselves are personified and given the ability to make their own decisions.
Use of Dramatic Devices
No specific examples.
