Sergeant Smith is a member of the Los Angeles Police Department who unfairly and mercilessly persecutes Henry and the rest of the 38th Street Gang. Like Lieutenant Edwards, Smith discriminates against the city’s Chicano community, though he is even more intolerant than Edwards, as evidenced by the fact that he frequently uses physical violence against Henry.
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Sergeant Smith Character Timeline in Zoot Suit
The timeline below shows where the character Sergeant Smith appears in Zoot Suit. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Scene 2: The Mass Arrests
...chaos. Lieutenant Edwards yells that everyone must put their hands up while his associate, Sergeant Smith, sees a white sailor and his girlfriend with the young Chicanos. Upon seeing them, Smith...
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Act 1, Scene 3: Pachuco Yo
Sergeant Smith places Henry in jail and tells him to wait for him to return. While waiting,...
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Act 1, Scene 4: The Interrogation
A member of the press enters with Lieutenant Edwards and Sergeant Smith, reading aloud a headline, which clarifies that the police arrested 22 members of the 38th...
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...statement that only Henry (and the audience) can hear. Henry refuses to tell Edwards and Smith anything about what happened that night, simply insisting that he’s innocent, though Smith claims they...
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As Lieutenant Edwards tries to reason with Henry, Smith tells Edwards to stop, saying that it’s futile to be reasonable with “animals” like Henry....
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As Henry faints from Sergeant Smith’s blows, he sees a vision of his mother. In fact, an entire scene from his...
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