Heroes and Saints Essay Questions

What is the link in the play between the environment, the agricultural industry, and the poor health of the inhabitants of McLaughlin?

The residents of McLaughlin are predominantly agricultural workers. Many practices in the agricultural industry deplete nutrients in the soil, and as a result pesticides and fertilizers are needed to increase crop yield. Some pesticides contain carcinogenic chemicals that permeate the ground and often water systems. The people of McLaughlin live and work right next to the fields and are exposed to high doses of toxins, leading to a variety of health impacts. McLaughlin becomes a "cancer cluster," where there is a higher-than-average incidence of cancer in both children and adults, and also an abnormally high level of birth defects. The agricultural industry is not regulated, and the agricultural companies are not punished for the damage they are doing to the environment or people.

Why does Moraga use a combination of Spanish and English in the script of the play?

Heroes and Saints takes place in a California community that is Chicano, a term used to refer to people of Mexican ancestry living in the United States. One of the ways to authentically portray this community is through language. As immigrants from Mexico, Dolores, Amparo, and Don Gilberto all have had to learn English as their second language. More at home in Spanish, they comfortably mix Spanish and English in their speech. Growing up bilingual, the children Yolanda, Mario, and Cerezita do as well. Moraga’s choice to write the script phonetically and with Spanish intermixed is a political and artistic choice. It allows the characters to be fully themselves without having to adapt to an English-speaking audience. Immigrants in the U.S. face many cultural and linguistic barriers. For a non-Spanish speaking audience, moments of the play might be difficult to fully understand. Writing the play as she does, Moraga invites the audience to briefly experience the cultural and linguistic barriers that immigrants face.

What is the significance of the title Heroes and Saints?

Heroes and Saints is a highly political play that shines a light on the living and working conditions that many farm workers are forced to endure in the United States. The majority of these farm workers are immigrants and/or Latino. Although their job is vital to food production, they’re often mistreated and taken advantage of. Naming the play Heroes and Saints, Moraga lifts these unsung heroes up and gives them center stage to tell their stories. Fighting to end the exploitation, the characters take on two different paths. Amparo becomes a leader in the community; she openly criticizes Arrowhead and the government for their role in all of the death and sickness people experience in McLaughlin. She tries to motivate those around her to demand better. Amparo is a heroic figure. Cerezita has the same goal as Amparo. With limited mobility, she takes a different path toward justice. Using her innocence and prophetic ability, she appears before the people as a saintly figure. Cerezita knowingly sacrifices her life, feeling that it’s worth it if it helps end the suffering of those around her.

How are light and sound used in the play?

Moraga’s use of light and sound greatly add to the development of religion and environmental racism as themes in the play. In her stage directions, Moraga describes the frequent sound of crop dusters. Each time they pass by the fields to spray chemicals, it reminds the characters of the pesticides that are wreaking havoc on their health and the land. In addition, there are the sounds of the helicopters Arrowhead contracts to monitor their fields after the symbolic crucifixions in their grape vineyards. The frequency of the two sounds throughout the play adds to the oppressive feeling that the community is surrounded by malevolent forces from which they cannot escape. At the same time, the lighting is used as a sign of hope and to emphasize Cerezita as a religious figure. When Cerezita is looking out at the vineyards or after her transformation into the Virgin, Moraga describes Cerezita as bathed in light. This singles her out as a unique and holy figure, and offers a sign of hope for the other characters.

How does Moraga foreshadow the deaths of Juan and Cerezita?

There are many moments throughout the play that foreshadow Juan and Cerezita’s deaths. Cerezita is established over the course of the play as someone who sees things that others do not. Twice during the play, Cerezita states, “Martyrs don’t survive.” A martyr is someone who is killed for their belief, religious or political. Therefore, her repetition of this statement can be seen both as foreshadowing her death and strengthening the development of Cerezita’s character as a prophetic figure. Juan also mentions that he would like to die a martyr's death. These moments create tension and foreshadowing, and lead up to the eventual death of Cereztia and Juan in the final scene.