In Luis Valdez's Zoot Suit, the zoot suit has many obvious and inconspicuous meanings. The zoot suit is an ostentatious outfit that many Chicano gangsters wore to gain recognition from the police and people of Los Angeles. The boys' family members believe the zoot suit symbolizes insubordination while the police and press consider it delinquency. The boys of the Thirty-eighth Street Gang, who admire zoot suits, consider the zoot suit to be power. In the show there is a clash of opinions as to whether the zoot suit represents power or thuggery. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The zoot suit helps many Chicano boys on Thirty-eighth Street identify with other kids as they face discrimination and aggression from the Downey Gang and police officers. At the beginning of the show, El Pachuco, Henry Reyna's alter ego, expresses his appreciation and fondness for the zoot suit. He describes wearing a zoot suit, “…makes [the Chicancos] feel the true root like a diamond, sparkling, sparkling…” (Valdez 1.1.3). Rather than hide, El Pachuco shows herself as if she is a radiant gem that everyone can flatter because she dresses with style and therefore should command respect. The zoot suit gives the boys the confidence and swagger to earn the respect of their peers and the Downey Gang, a rival group. The boys use the zoot suit as a uniform which symbolizes the ideology of a group of individuals fighting for a common goal which was Chicano pride. Even more, El Pachuco, wearing the zoot suit, embodies the Chicano spirit because he reminds Henry Reyna not to hesitate in trying to gain the respect of the police. Ultimately, El Pachuco states that he is, “…the ideal of the original chuco was to resemble a diamond to look like a sharp bonarro” (Valdez 2.6.16). Therefore, the boys consider Pachuco a true symbol of what they are fighting for. Boys feel more awesome when other boys wear zoot suits because it gives a sense of brotherhood and community. In a pack the kids feel comforted by numbers but in the zoot suit the kids feel invincible. In the eyes of the police and the press, the zoot suit is seen as a symbol of bad behavior and mischief. After the police break up the barrio dance and Sergeant Smith arrests Henry and the rest of the boys who are the main culprits in the Sleep Lagoon murder case, Smith questions the boys and sarcastically comments, "you pachucos are real tough " (Valdez 1.3. 1). By sarcastically insulting the boys for being a tough bunch, Smith actually calls them weak and thus views the zoot suit as helpless and merely a symbol of rebellion. Sergeant Smith believes that the zoot suit is just plain ostentatious clothing that makes boys a target of discrimination. He goes further and states, “I hear you pachas wear these monkey suits as some kind of armor. Is this right? How does it work? This is what you zooters need: a little old-fashioned discipline" (Valdez 1.4.41). Smith still uses insults instead of properly addressing boys. The "zooter" means that Smith avoids the zoot suit entirely and thinks it's so ridiculous. that the boys wear them. He even goes so far as to question the zoot suit's secret powers as if to play with the boys' emotions and further mock the zoot suit of the zoot suit for real Even the headlines of the Los Angeles newspaper articles “Zoot-Suited Goons of Sleepy Lagoon” (Valdez 1.5.15) show that the.