Luiz Valdez wrote this play to enhance awareness to the different stereotypes in 1960 Americas, and how other people treated him. Luis Valdez himself was a Chicano and immigrant from Mexico.
The Sellouts are people who sell out their culture and adapt to the culture of Americans. Valdez himself saw this as a huge problem to immigrant workers as it made people of his kind, who kept their culture, look bad. In this case, it is Miss Jimenez who was the Sellout.
Another important breakdown of the play can be done through the lens of linguistic terrorism and assimilation. Miss. Jimenez is a perfect example of the process of linguistic assimilation or as others describe linguistic terrorism. The attack on the Spanish language is something that is seen very early on in the play. When Jimenez first introduces herself, she accentuates the “Anglo-fiction” of her name by changing the pronunciation. This is her way of not only assimilating into the Anglo culture around her but also an example of the rejection of her own language. This literary decision by Valdez can be seen as an example of linguistic assimilation. Valde is trying to explain the notion that many Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans face. The narrative that they are fed is that “proficiency in English is crucial to broader economic success” (Espinosa & Massey 1). It is this narrative that drives people closer to full assimilation into the Anglo-dominated Society of The United States. As generations being to settle down in the country the idea of assimilation grows and as a result, people such as Jimenz being to have more exposure and inclination to forget their roots and instead prioritize proficiency in English (Espinosa & Massey 44).
