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Marxism In Zoot Suit

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“In union there is strength...If the hens can overcome the fox, what about human beings?” (Allende 154). According to a survey of 42,000 elected officials, “white men are 31 percent of the U.S. population, but hold 65 percent of all elected offices” (Henderson). Many claim that America stands for liberty and individual freedom, yet the Americans that say this are the same ones who receive the benefits of privilege. Ask Carlos Bulosan, Isabel Allende, or Luis Valdez, and another story, drastically different from the ones perpetuated by those in positions of power, is heard. Marxism offers a controversial and harsh look at the realities of society. In a sink or swim nation where some people are given floatation devices and others have anchors tied to their legs, the two class system of the proletariat and bourgeoisie seems pervasive and all too relevant. While reading books written by those who were forced into the proletariat workforce lifestyle, common threads develop. The sense of hopelessness, self loathing, and …show more content…

He states, “Qué mamada, Hank [Henry]. That’s exactly what the play needs right now. Two more Mexicans killing each other… That’s exactly what they paid to see. Think about it” (Valdez 46). Pachuco is trying to show Henry that it is acceptable to embrace the feeling of vulnerability. By creating the illusion of being a strong gang leader, instead of a man who likes to dress well and hang out with his friends, he is fulfilling his own stereotype. Henry cherishes love and softness, but he thinks that he has to toughen up to seem strong for his friends. When he puts on this facade of strength, he has effectively given up his identity to those who attempt to control it, which infuriates Henry because he knows he has trapped himself but he sees no other way to freely live his

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Modern American society advocates for equality among all people, but these are just all talk and no true action taken upon word. Reporter Robert Barnes addresses this in his op-ed article titled “Supreme Court won’t check Maryland’s law banning sales of ‘assault weapons’”. By utilizing rhetorical strategies, Barnes conveys his message that even as we fight for equality, the dream will never occur with the prideful existence of class in the federal government. He appeals to the ethos-centered feeling in his audience, stating, “That court went further than other appellate courts that have reviewed similar laws [...]” (Barnes 5). His compromise between the central court and the state courts reflect the inferred views of the Supreme Court, that

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When her daughter questioned the family’s tradition she put her down and kept control over her daughter. This can be seen as an example of how those in power can use historical facts to maintain control over the people they rule and oversee. The relationship between labor and power is a vital element in understanding the Marxist theory and how it appears in the book. The De la Garza family’s power and wealth are dependent on the labor of their workers, specifically the ones who clean, cook, and take care of the family.

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760 Words | 4 Pages

Claim: Luis Valdez’s play Zoot Suit introduces the idea that people of color tend to have a little support or opportunities than any other person. The people who are colored can make a little mistake and may struggle with that mistake all their life. Context: Zoot Suit is the story of a Mexican Street Gang, whose members are accused of a murder they didn’t commit.

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607 Words | 3 Pages

When a dominant group is comfortable, it is easy to dismiss the less privileged problems because it isn’t the reality they face. America shouldn’t be based on dominant and dominant, it should be recognized as one

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876 Words | 4 Pages

Argumentative Text Essay In the book Nickel and Dimed, written by Barbara Ehrenreich, the author argues how challenging it is to live in a life of poverty. To prove to herself as well as others that this statement is accurate, she makes the decision to experience this lifestyle firsthand by taking low-wage jobs and recording the results. Ehrenreich took on jobs including a maid service, waitressing, and assisting the nursing home to make enough money for a place to sleep and food to eat. The work’s central argument is the fact that minimum and low wage workers face a myriad of difficulties in getting by in America; they receive very low pay, harsh treatments from their employers, and the inability to have an actual life.

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506 Words | 3 Pages

Through history, especially the events of The Civil Rights Movement, September 11th, and our present day; America has not lived up to these founding ideals. From the very beginning, America’s minority groups were institutionally oppressed and silenced, but the largest push for equality was The Civil Rights movement; almost fifteen years of fighting to be recognized as equals. Acts were passed, and in time America became truly equal. Right? Evidence says otherwise.

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607 Words | 3 Pages

In The Meaning of Freedom, activist Angela Davis critiques the plausibility of democracy and collective freedom in the United States. By examining parallels between slavery and the carceral state, Davis contends that the two systems mutually characterize black people as disposable and compels them to incapacitation. Focusing on the two oppressive systems’ reliance on the maintenance of ignorance, Davis discusses how this ignorance is connected to America’s dominant sentiments of capitalism and self-interest, which, altogether, perpetuate cycles of abuse that disproportionately harm communities of color and lower-class peoples. As a result, this propels the creation of social hierarchies which, because it inherently cultivates inequalities, causes America’s classification as a “democracy” to be impossible.

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Minorities often become self-oppressive when those who work, live, fight, and die among the white have yet to gain “equality, economic security, or freedom.” Andree Canaan, author of the essay “Browness,” writes “brown is not The Oppressor but the victim. But part of our victimization is self-oppression.” However, it is nearly impossible to cease this alliance since white man’s power is inevitable as they control they entire system, along with its vital resources needed to survive (Canaan, 2015).

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The tremendous difference in wealth between the two races results from a long history of discriminatory policies and practices, such as redlining and unequal access to education and employment opportunities. Nevertheless, recent progress has been made in dismantling racism in all areas of society—for example, the passing of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in the U.S. The House of Representatives is one step in the right direction. However, the continued prevalence

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223 Words | 1 Pages

As an American, and a human service professional, my primary job is to address the hypocrisy and moral corruption and confliction of those individuals and systems who solely convey America’s constitutional banner, but neglects its moral practicality. Americans think that by making everyone equal, constitutively and legislatively, we would effortlessly develop a moral society. Morality assumes that people have advantages over others such physical wellness, as skin-pigmentation, sexual identification, autonomy from mental illness and it dictates that we do not take advantage of those who are disadvantaged. Systems and society at large should not use our differences to justify the unjustifiable: inhumanly treatment and exclusion of other humans.

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Marxist theory aimed to examine capitalism's trends, workers' liberation, and the potential for revolution through class

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When using a Marxist lens the viewer must focus on social classes and how power is distributed throughout these classes, including who holds the power and who is inferior to that power in the society. One question that might come about when viewing the

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Equality in America America and its people have worked hard to create a home in which everyone is treated, and feels equal. We’ve fought wars, held protests, and lost many lives in situations where we were fighting for fair treatment. After all of these sacrifices, it's safe to say that Americans have the right to love, and cherish the equality that their home presents them with, but to an extent. Equality in society, government, and basic human interactions should always be kept, and held with great importance. However, we also need to keep in mind that we are not the same people.

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Marxism is the idea of social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. Social processes are the way individuals and groups interact, adjust and reject and start relationships based on behavior which is modified through social interactions. Overall marxism analyzes how societies progress and how and society ceases to progress, or regress because of their local or regional economy , or global economy. In this case, Marxism’s theory applies to the novel, Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, where a society where mass satisfaction is the instrument utilized by places of power known as the Alphas in order to control the oppressed by keeping the Epsilons numb, at the cost of their opportunity to choose their own way of life. Marx thinks that an individual had a specific job to do in order to contribute to their community and that is the only way to do so; There is no escaping your contribution either.

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1486 Words | 6 Pages

Karl Marx (1818-1883) considered himself not to be a sociologist but a political activist. However, many would disagree and in the view of Hughes (1986), he was ‘both – and a philosopher, historian, economist, and a political scientist as well.’ Much of the work of Marx was political and economic but his main focus was on class conflict and how this led to the rise of capitalism. While nowadays, when people hear the word “communism”, they think of the dictatorial rule of Stalin and the horrific stories of life in a communist state such as the Soviet Union, it is important not to accuse Marx of the deeds carried out in his name.

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