Analysis Of The Tortilla Curtain
Kevin Lee
Pirouzian
English 1H Period 2
7 September 2017
Directions: In order to keep a record of your reading and to concisely summarize important information, you will need to keep an accurate reading record. Please delete the directions and descriptions once you are ready to turn in final product. Each reading record should be typed (MLA Format) and include the following information: Title– The Tortilla Curtain
Author– T.C. Boyle
Genre– Fiction
Setting and Significance–
Where : Topanga Canyon
When: 1990
Point of View– Third Point Omniscient
Tone– Lifelike
Protagonist – Candino is a 30 year old male, who is Exhausted, Hopeful, Overworked.
Antagonist – Society, it has many ages and genders, and has characteristics of being racist and unaccepting.
External Conflict – Man vs. Society. Delany, the Topanga Community, Candido are involved in the conflict
Internal Conflict –
Man vs. Self. Delaney couldn't choose between an open ended welcoming community/society, or a closed society for a certain group of people.
Protagonist's Epiphany– Explain what the main character learns throughout the course of the novel. This lesson is usually something they learn about life or people. You should explain what they learn as well as how they learn this lesson.
Climax– The major turning point of the novel is when Topanga Canyon catches on fire. After this event life goes downhill for many of the characters such as Candido who loses his little bit of money and has to evacuate his
Tortula Curtain Immigrants
The Harsh Realities of Immigration Immigrants from all over the world come to America with dreams of creating a new life. While this journey is challenging for many, the opportunities that America harbors is worth the hardships. The experience that many immigrants face after coming to the United States is portrayed in The Tortilla Curtain, a novel by T. C. Boyle. America, the protagonist of the book, demonstrates hard work and determination in hopes of achieving her aspirations. America is an important character used by Boyle, to represent how the hardships of being successful as an illegal, Mexican, immigrant can lead to danger and desperation in trying to find work. America and her husband, Candido, come to the United States and encounter
The Tortula Curtain Analysis
With immigration a hot topic in modern media, novels like T.C. Boyle's The Tortilla Curtain are helpful texts for discussion. The Tortilla Curtain is a satiric approach to addressing the "immigration problem" of the United States, as well as addressing the racism and xenophobia perpetuated by white Americans living close to the border with Mexico. The novel revolves around two contrasting couples: white liberals Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher, who lead cushy lives of ignorance and luxury in the Arroyo Blanco Estates, and Mexican immigrants Cándido and América Rincón, who live in the actual canyon of Topanga Canyon and struggle to even put food on the table. As the story progresses and the parallels between these two couples' lives become clear,...show more content...
He recycles, he hikes, and he writes a column for Wide Open Spaces called "Pilgrim at Topanga Creek," in which he details his adventures and even advocates for change. His advocacy grows closer to home, however, as the prevalence of both coyotes and Mexican immigrants overwhelms him and the rest of the inhabitants of Arroyo Blanco Estates. Originally very liberal, Delaney's morals are transformed dramatically by the end of the novel, shifting from idealistic liberalism to gritty conservatism. In The Tortilla Curtain, the coyotes are a symbol for immigrants and white fragility, jumping their fences and stealing their "handouts." They represent the caricature with which Arroyo Blanco residents associate immigrants: violent, unpredictable, and wild, tricksters who roam the earth and find resources where there are none. As the novel progresses, Delaney's antipathy against coyotes corresponds to his waning sympathy for Mexican
Tortilla Curtain, Candido And America
In Tortilla Curtain, Candido and America have a very difficult time living in Los Angeles. Being illegal immigrants is harder than they thought. Delaney Mossbacher, a middle–class man, hit Candido Rincon, a Mexican immigrant, with his car as he was crossing the road. Candido was badly injured, but accepted twenty dollars from Delaney and ended up going their own ways. Delaney, his wife, and stepson, Jordan, live their routine life in a neighborhood called Arroyo Blanco. This incident left Candido battered and close to death. After the incident, Delaney went from liberal humanist to racist elitist. This incident also turned Candido from a diligent immigrant to an individual who commits crimes. Candido blamed having bad luck on his...show more content...
To America, the American dream was not living in a huge, fancy house, but to have a "house, a yard, maybe a TV and a car too – nothing fancy, no palaces like the gringos built – just four walls and a roof" (Boyle 29). The typical immigrant does not come to American with the intentions of becoming wealthy. They come to American to have a better opportunity in life. To be able to own a home, work and have a family. According to The New York Times, "The phrase "American dream" was invented during the Great Depression. It comes from a popular 1931 book by the historian James Truslow Adama, who defines it as, "that dream of a land in while life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone." "In the decades that followed, the dream became a reality. Thanks to rapid, widely shared economic growth, nearly all children grew up to achieve the most basic definition of a better life – earning more money and enjoying higher living standards than their parents had." Learning that us Americans are likely to achieve the American dream shows that it is all that much more difficult for immigrants and even more so for illegal immigrants. T.C Boyle, in Tortilla Curtain, attempts to show the separation between the American dream of the community of immigrants and the American dream of the whites.
In the book, immigrants gather each and every day at a place called the labor exchange in hopes that someone will need workers in need to cheap labor. Most of the days, the men
Tortilla Comparison And Contrast Between Characters The tortilla curtain is a wonderful book showing a typical life of both a Hispanic family chasing the American and a white family that is born in. The white wealthy stay at home father Delaney mossbacher is faced against life as a modern day America and an immigrant from Mexico, Candido rincon looking for nothing but to fulfill the American dream that for him and his young wife which begins to seem unreachable due to the constant troubles begin to face. These two character throughout the story show very similar traits both positive and negative, while both sharing ways they overcome struggles of living life in modern day America. Both being fathers and/or soon to be fathers, how they...show more content...
Comparison of the other male character Delaney which lives his life as a typical American which sometimes can play the role as the one that is not the bread getter in the family, and With being a typical American comes with typical prejudice "The ones coming in through the Tortilla Curtain down there, those are the ones that are killing us. They're peasants, my friend. No education, no resources, no skills – all they've got to offer is a strong back, and the irony is we need fewer and fewer strong backs every day because we've got robotics and computers and farm machinery that can do the labor of a hundred men at a fraction of the cost"(101). Delaneys family shows how American culture has affected the ways that America begins to believe her fantasy and goes against what candido is trying to sustain in there family "It was a private community, comprising a golf course, ten tennis courts, a community center and some two hundred and fifty homes, each set on one–point–five acres and strictly conforming to the covenants, conditions and restrictions set forth in the 1973 articles of incorporation"(30) Also being an outcast that sticks out in the crowds of rich white "gringos" that are in Malibu Begins to have an added stress on both America and candido with staying hidden at their camp. Since they are casted out to the revine that they have placed shelter in, it does take a toll on the way that candido reacts with the actions that america is
Racism in The Tortilla Curtain by T.C.Boyle
Is wanting a better life a crime? Does everyone not deserve the right for a better life and to be considered a human being despite the means that they used to try and get it? In this novel The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C.Boyle he brings up the theme of racism that is constant towards those who are struggling for a better life even if it's through illegal means. He shows this by using main character Delaney Mossbacher a Caucasian self–proclaimed liberal humanist, Candido Rincon a Mexican illegal immigrant and their families (Boyle 3). Boyle starts the novel off with Delaney running someone over and first worrying about the car before thinking of this stranger who could be dead. There's also other characters that see illegal immigrants as less...show more content...
Now this is a man who thinks of himself as a liberal humanist he should really get his priorities straight to matching his ideals to his actions and thoughts since after running a man over and then buying him off with 20 dollars he ended up feeling relieved. There was another occurrence and it was with Delaney's wife Kyra who's a realtor and notices the rise in Mexicans looking for work and how their presence brought the property value down in the area, she thought how "there were too many of them here and [how] that was the sort of thing that scared buyers away from the area" (Boyle 157). So she impulsively drove her car into the lot where the 7 eleven is to get details with the counter ladies as to the dark little men being there and how it must be bad for business but the shop lady just said how its neither good nor bad for business (Boyle 158). Not thinking twice about the reasons as to why these men would be standing out in the heat with hopeful eyes Kyra sets out to make them disappear so her listings wouldn't go down in price with the help of Jack who also holds strong views against illegals and how they are ruining America.
With Jack he is more forthcoming with his comments on illegals
Tortilla Curtain gives the reader an impressive insight into the lives of two families. One with everything needed for a wealthy life, the other fighting on the edge of existence. Illegal immigration from
Mexico has never been addressed in such a personal and emotional way. Prejudice roots in fear. Fear can turn into hate. When reality strikes us, our loved ones are in danger, then we are our most truly self. And is that self ready to put aside all the hate and prejudice?
The Tortilla Curtain Character Analysis
Reading more into part two of The Tortilla Curtain, the character that I chose to still analyze, and find more facts about, who's personality trait stood out even more to me was Kyra. We can determine these traits by the actions that are described that the character took in the situation that impacted her in some way. Another thing I noticed was that Kyra expresses particular values on many occasions and at points. Because the character expresses these particular values, I was able to ask the question why the character says or does a certain thing and those also lead to the speculations about the causes of behavior, its motivation, if the character goes through significant changes and its effects. In part two I noticed that Kyra's old habits seem to still be with her, after thinking that it will change at the end of part one. For example what made me notice Kyra's old habits was when Delaney was meeting Kyra for a lunch date after he got back from the dealership and as usual, she was really busy with work and she orders food already. She rushes there lunch, they had so she can get back to work, she had to close a property and then she had to go because she had the fence around their house risen up two feet so it will help keep the coyotes out. Before going back to work she also wanted to go look for a new car. So, you get a sense of her old ways of Kyra being a workaholic and her work comes first before everything or it's the most important. It's more important than
The Tortilla Curtain Quotes
A 2009 study by Phillippa Lally, a health psychology researcher at UCL, entitled 'How long does it take to form a habit', found that on average it takes 66 days for a habit or thought to become ingrained. This can be from different influences that are seen around and done to people. Us as humans grow mostly from personal experience, for better or for worse. In this case, it is for worse. Delaney Mossbacher, one of the main characters, is an average white male living in a small estate called Arroyo Blanco, where most of the wealthy and middle class live. The fact that he lives there makes it easier for him to have the mindset that he should act and be his social status, which is the "better than everyone" attitude. In the novel, the Tortilla Curtain by T.C Boyle, Delaney Mossbacher's point of view shifts from a liberal to a racist due to courses of "unlucky" events. Those events being him hitting Candido Rincon with his car, getting his dog taken...show more content...
Delaney was clearly shaken up by this incident, feeling guilty and questions swarming through his head. Delaney and Candido part ways after he gives Candido 20$. He begins thinking about how the man did not sue, if his insurance will be okay, and overall just being hard on himself. The then starts wandering how Candido was there to begin with and what he was doing with the shopping cart. Convincingly enough, Delaney's shifts his guilty conscious to anger and points out the negatives in this situation to relieve himself. He stresses himself out thinking about Candido's safety that he stops to pin his anger, assumptions, and confusion on him instead, especially since he is Mexican. When he calls his wife, Kyra, about the incident, he specifically points out his race in hopes of getting the same anger and distraught from
Essay On The Tortilla Curtain
The Tortilla Curtain is a principle novel to compare the United States of America to. The novel itself discusses environmental destruction, illegal immigration, materialism, poverty, and xenophobia which parallel the country altogether. Throughout the novel, the audience learns about the two different lifestyles the Mossbachers and the Rincóns live. As the novel is continued, a sequence of incidents and a discussion of these incidents arise about them. Although these incidents, like illegal immigration and rape, could be considered too difficult to comprehend or too mature to discuss in a high–school classroom, they're important to the development of the novel. The discussion of these incidents throughout the novel could be informative to...show more content...
Although the parallel is a clear indication of the unchanging mentalities throughout the country, The Tortilla Curtain should be taught in high–school classrooms throughout the country because of the potential for change in the generations to come. The Tortilla Curtain presents a realistic depiction of what the life of illegal immigrants is like while making the effort to live a "normal" life and survive. Our society is identical to the society in a novel published in 1995. In the novel's society, immigrants are deemed to be less of people and therefore, the white community of Arroyo Blanco Estates thought to "wall the place in" (Boyle 189). The wall is to be placed around Arroyo Blanco Estates because the residents would like to isolate themselves from the coyotes, or the Mexican immigrants. América and Cándido Rincón's perspective of the wall presents a perspective an average white American citizen wouldn't imagine to be immigrant's perspective of the controversiality. The similarity of the wall being implemented to protect what it's surrounding is one of the multiple similarities the audience learns about. A discussion about the mature and sensitive material "[stays] on your mind [and gives] a bit more strength to the difficulties of immigrants in the United States" ('Tortilla Curtain' resonates in high
Tortilla Curtain: the Myth of the American Dream
America is often portrayed through images of well off middle–class families, shown alongside multiple cars and a large house that is filled with shining appliances and cupboards full of food. For hopeful immigrants to the United States, these images conjure the widespread myth of the American Dream. Immigrants believe that upon entry into the States, they will obtain prosperity through hard work and determination. The expression was first used in the beginning of the twentieth century when America was in an economic peak. Millions of immigrants from around the world came to America during this time to have their part in the classic rags to riches story. While this prosperity is achieved by some, for the vast majority of immigrants who...show more content...
Finally, in an apocalyptic finale to the American Dream, a mudslide comes roaring through their new campsite and their newborn daughter drowns. While T. C. Boyle completely obliterates the attainment of the American Dream for the Rincons, he illustrates the fact that even families who have everything, like the Mossbachers, can never be satisfied with what the American Dream has become. Simply stated, in today's society, the American Dream cannot be
The Tortilla Curtain Essay
Racism as well as immigration, class and acceptance of minorities have been a highly discussed issue well known throughout the world. In many cases, we are able to see and identify the problems that immigrants may face while coming into the U.S, as well as those problems they face while already living here. In the novel written by T.C. Boyle, however, as readers we are introduced to a variety of different emotions and ideas as told from two completely different families living in Topanga Canyon. In the book The Tortilla Curtain, as readers we are introduced to many issues including racism, the wealth gap, and the internal conflict of pressure Delaney faces by society against immigrants. In the beginning of the story we are introduced to characters...show more content...
The symbolism behind this is the values and ideas he has against the immigrants. These racist thoughts stretch throughout the book, each idea being connected to another with the description of Delaney's feelings towards the Mexicans. As opposed to Delaney, the author also tells the story from the point of view from three other characters being Kyra, Candido, and America. The importance of viewing the immigrants lives is that the readers are able to see the struggles that these immigrants go through as well, not only does it show their hardships but also how they suffer with the discrimination. Like in today's world, life for immigrants is difficult and they suffer a great amount. Their intentions for coming into the United States is to get a better life for themselves and their families but many of the times, life here doesn't seem to be as easy. Upper and middle–class families grow up in rich neighborhoods never having to worry about how they will make ends meet and how they will go on through life. The hardships that they face will never compare to those that immigrants face while coming into the U.S and once they are already here. The landscape that was constructed as the Arroyo Blanco had affected the communities of both the upper–class and the
Symbolism In 'The Torrtilla Curtain'
A "coyote" is not only a wolf–like wild dog that is native to North America, it also is a name for someone who profits from smuggling immigrants across the US border, typically the Mexican border for a high fee. There's much myth and lure that is surrounding the coyote dog–like animal and there are thousands of stories and believes about what coyote means. It's the great trickster, it has magical powers, the medicine dog. The bringer of misfortune, signifying a time when everything backfires. Indeed, symbolism is extracted from such myths and used to represent ideas or qualities. The story seems to follow the lure in the way the Coyotes have many symbolic contexts throughout the story that add a deeper meaning to the "The Tortilla Curtain."
Through metaphors and deeper meaning the book takes on a stark contrast between Delaney Mossbacher who lives the "American Dream" and Cándido and America Rincón who struggle to attempt to reach that dream. The wall symbolizes fear and segregation from outside elements. and increases racism attitudes towards immigrants. The Author of "The Tortilla Curtain," T.C Boyle also uses the symbolic messages using wild animals, coyotes are used to create racism throughout the story. Thus, using animals, physical barriers, food, possessions, and lifestyle Boyle creates the symbolic meaning of a world of separation.
Boyle in the Tortilla Curtain heavily draws symbolic meaning from the coyotes who are like the Mexicans sneak around the edges of
Tortilla Curtain Essay
For those who miss the days when it was a finely crafted cinematic art to pull back the weathered layers of artic cool from suburban upper class women a la Alfred Hitchcock, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN is a welcome remembrance of things past. While the movie doesn't entirely shake it's tell tale bookish mustiness as an adaptation of The York Times Bestseller of the same name by British Author Paula Hawkins, it is extremely effective as a post mortem on what it means today for many women to seemingly have it all via the perfect man, the perfect baby and the perfect house, but still to feel utterly lost at sea.
Well in keeping with THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN's highly cinematic gimmick of looking in from the outside at a scene that seems indescribably...show more content...
To the movie's credit, everything is about smoke and mirrors and nothing is ever simply what it is – right down to the beguilingly complex performances of all of the players in what has been formed into knockout ensemble cast. Among the standouts, Rebecca Ferguson's palpable fear of being left alone as a stay at home mother to her own baby is flawless. Haley Bennett is luminous as Megan, the young married woman with everything and nothing in front of her. In an interesting choice for the removed psychiatrist, Edgar Ramirez gives some real girth to the enigma on the outskirts that is Dr. Kamal Adbic. Nevertheless, despite a considerable cast of characters, the movie never steps too far out of what has been laid down as "real" in delivering it's biggest punches. As the titular star of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, Blunt has a very difficult job as the constant observer who can never fully trust her own recall due to alcoholism and her inability to see beyond her own blackouts without assistance. Yet it is Blunt's unflinchingly realistic portrayal of this affliction and how it wears upon her psyche that becomes the very glue of this movie and in this Blunt hits the ball way out of the park with every painstakingly long and bitterly invasive close
Tortilla Curtain Essay
Tortilla Curtain: Jack Jardine
Jack Jardine is a very interesting character in the story Tortilla Curtain. He has a very strong influence on Delany Mossbacher, one of the central characters in the story. His influences, along with the tragic string of events concerning Delany and Candido, produce a complete turn around in the ideals of Delany by the end of the story. At the start of the story Delany is a 'liberal humanist';, albeit a hypocritical one, but by the end of the story Delany is carrying a gun looking for Candido.
It is easy for readers to categorize Jack as a cruel, cold hearted, upper class bigot considering his actions and words. I have to admit I think he comes off that way sometimes. But he also is a lot more than just...show more content...
It's also hard to deny the race issue. The way he is so emotional about the topic of illegal immigrants, it is easy for people to think racism has something to do with it. Some might go as far to say the whole immigration thing is just a cover up so he can vent his racist views (considering that most illegal immigrants are not white). I would not go that far, but I do believe racism plays a factor in his actions. Says Jack, 'The ones coming in through the Tortilla Curtain down there, those are the ones that are killing us. They're peasants, my friend. No education, no resources, no skills…';.
Now what does he contribute in the larger scheme of the story? Jack serves to change Delany in such a way that by the end of the story Delany is in very many ways the exact opposite of the 'liberal humanist'; he supposedly was at the start of the story. That's not to say Jack is the only reason Delany changes. The incidents with Candido most assuredly had their part in his transformation. But Jack serves to bring the issues to the forefront. To constantly put it in Delany's face every chance he gets. After every bad incident involving Delany and immigrants, Jack is there to chime in with his views. That must certainly have an effect on Delany because by the end of the story Delany is accusing Mexicans of theft and is packing a gun to look for Candido. That is a far cry from the start of the story. Delany is very much a
The Tortilla Curtain Chapter 1 Summary
The chapter starts with Delaney walking to his house relaxed, when all of a sudden, a car, moving very slowly, shines its high beam lights in Delaney's face . From the car comes the heavy beat of rap music. The car is strolling menacingly down Arroyo Blanco. Delaney then walks into his house and finds Kyra in bed thinking about their dead dog, Sacheravell. She still does not know that Delaney had found its paw. She finally gets it out of him through a series of begs and pleads. Then the chapter skips to Kyra going to the Matzoob's to show a house. Then she heads to the five houses that she has to close each night and she goes through the first four automatically. She gets to the last house, the Da Ros house, which is her favorite. It is huge
Tortilla Curtain Chapter Summaries
Predictions– What I expect in this reading is for Delaney and his family to have a dreadful thanksgiving dinner. Delaney might spot Candido during their thanksgiving dinner. Chapter two is probably about America and Candido living life miserably and everything is going downhill for them. America might be going through a depression for everything she has been through with Candido.
Connections– The connections I see between this text and my personal experience. Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday that my family celebrates gratefully. That day we all get dressed in our best apparel reminded me of Delaney and his family getting ready very nicely and has everyone together for the perfect dinner. Unfortunately, everything goes downhill for them. The second chapter is common on people we tend to get very upset when we have bad luck or if everything is going perfect and something bad happens
Questions– What is going trough Delaney's head when the fire gets closer to the Arroyo Blanco?
What made Kyra relax and forget about her work?
What makes America stay with Candido?
Is Candido afraid to get caught or would he risk his life for America's health?
Difficult Passages– "She looks through her peephole at the gray leaves of the gray trees and thought of Soledad Ordonez, the stooped...show more content...
They were starting to feel hopeful again until the fire came to take that away. America becomes angry and disappointed that makes her shout that she wants to die due to her family not meant to succeed in the United States. The fire shows a different side of Delaney and his family towards their actions it reveals the material–minded of their lives. For example, they worry about their possessions, expensive cars, and materials that mean the most to them. As the fire gets worst America's water brakes and is going into labor at the Topanga Creek. America ends up seeing a cat and makes the Siamese cat her
Social Issues In The Tortilla Curtain
In T.C. Boyle's story, The Tortilla Curtain, there's a lot of representation of different issues that affect each character individually. The main issue that the characters have to deal with is immigration. There are characters that have to deal with being illegal and others that don't like what they have done to their community. Through the issue of immigration, there's a lot more issue that arise because of it. One of them is the social border that there is. We see how each character is truly influenced by money and the power it has. Though they might be completely opposite, money is what truly matters, just in a different form for each character.
As the story begins, we see the true importance of money. As Candido gets hit with Delaney's car, he gets is $20. Those $20 set the true importance money plays in their life. Delaney hits Candido with a moving car, but all Candido want in return is money because he needs to feed his wife and himself. Candido "had stuffed the bill quickly into the pocket of his cheap stained pants, scuked in his breath and turned away without so much as a nod or gesture of thanks" (9). Candido desperately needed money and that might have been an easy way for him to get the money, however he had to deal with pain for a long time. As the story develops, we see that Candido truly does whatever he needs to earn money for himself. As he doesn't have much, he truly appreciates any money that he has. There is a famous saying, "Money is the root of all evil", however that's not how it seems for Candido. He is truly trying to make a living for his lady because he wants her to live a better life, live in an actual home. We all truly need money to survive in some way, whether it's earning money the hard ways. Though sometimes money does truly affect the way people think when they are the lucky ones.
Delaney had a different way of seeing money. Since he was the one who hit Candido, he thought that just giving money would be okay. He clearly saw how bad Candido was injured but because he was "A Mexican"(15), it was okay so let him go with some money. It seems like Delaney could just buy his way out of things because he has money and is privileged because he is an American citizen. Though money
The Tortilla Curtain Essay
Chris Farley
English A
Wilson
October 30, 2010
TC Essay In the novel, The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle a couple experiences life in California and never know whats going to happen. They find out life as they thought it would be, really isn't how they imagined. They go through some great hardships that will forever change their lives and change their thoughts on things. Candido and America went through the most hardest times in this novel, they are illegel immigrants, they have no money, and Candido turns into a criminal doing all he can to survive. They came to the United States in hope of fulfilling their dreams. When they got here they thought they would be able to make a life for themselves and be able to live happily. Their...show more content...
He finally made it out of some pallets that were held together with some nails. He turned into a criminal and was stealing dog dishes, dog food, and among other things. At this point he was climbing into peoples backyards and taking what he needed. He happened to take a piece of green plastic from a greenhouse that one of them managed to have in their yards for his roof. After he made several trips to make something out of what he had he finally brought America and even though she didn't want to be there she had no choice. While he was hungry he was thinking that some stew would be good and out of nowhere the cat appeared(Delaney's cat) and Candido called out to it "Here kitty"(308). America wanted to know what was next after all of that and she asked Candido and he shrugged and said "I'll find work I guess"(323). She made up her mind and told him "I want to go home and I don't care if you come or not, it's you they want not me. You're the one"(323). She did not want to raise her daughter like that and Candido couldn't do anything about their situation at all. He stood by the post office for hours trying to attract the attention of every pickup that pulled into the lumberyard, but he had no luck at all. He was making his way back to America when he noticed that someone was on the shoulder of the road up ahead. It was Delaney that was off on the side of the road and Candido froze. As he was thinking about the accident all over again he heard Delaney shout "You
The Tortilla Curtain
The Tortilla Curtain Summary
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book Tortilla Curtain. The main ideas of the book are especially significant in the political climate today. The books titles expresses the main idea of the book. The Tortilla Curtain refers to the physical boundary between Mexico and the California boarder. It also represents the deeper ideological and sociological chasm separating the Mexican immigrants and Americans.
The book has two main character Delaney Mossbacher and Candido Rincon. They live in the same area but have very different upbringing and life's. Delaney is white and lives in an upper middle–class town called Arroyo Blanco Estates in Los Aneles. He lives with his wife and kids and lives a normal middle–class America life. He hikes, enjoys nature, and is financially stable. He considers himself pro–immigration and says he likes immigrants. Candido is an illegal immigrant. He has spent his entire life chasing the American dream. Due to various previous setback Candido has never been able to achieve the American dream. We first meet Candido when he returns to America with his former wife's sister and new lover to pursue the...show more content...
Candido can't work due to the injures that he sustained in the car accident with Delaney. With no money and no way to provide Candidos pregnant lover is forced to get a job. It is hard for them to get legitimate jobs so they are forced to go through shady cash only jobs. A Mexican man who's always in a poncho and his shady friend end up raping Candidos lover. These men often appear when trouble is happening in the book and are often in Delaney's community. Candido and his lover can't find work and become homeless forcing them to garbage dive for food. They end up giving birth to their daughter in a hut. They believe that their daughter could even be blind due to the rape and they can't afford to take her to a doctor for her to be