Alissa Winkler CCQC's #2

Tortilla CCQC’s #2

Boyle sets up a recurring sense of vulnerability and confusion when he makes each set of characters endure back to back loss and intertwining problems. In the second half of the book just after conflict stacked on conflict, things are looking up for Candido and his pregnant wife. Just as the theme foreshadows, they get robbed for the third time and are left to the harsh street life of rummaging through the trash outside of the local KFC. Both Candido and America are left feeling hopeless. “They got everything. She looked into his eyes in the dim subterranean glow of the streetlamp and let the words sink in. There would be no bed, no shower, no dinner even,” (234). This is a familiar feeling for the couple while the string of bad luck popping up in Delaney and Kyra’s privileged life are surprising and foreign to them. The recent fire, a sad result of Candido trying to cook a turkey for his wife, ruined the Mossbacher’s prosperous Thanksgiving and burned down the house Kyra loved so much. Delaney, slowly going crazy from what he sees are “life altering dilemmas,” is looking for someone to blame when his new, new Acura is damaged in another turn of events with Candido. Set out to get Candido, the “cause” of all his families troubles, Delaney thinks, “That Mexican was guilty, sure he was, guilty of so much more than this. He was camping up there wasn’t he. He’d wrecked Delaneys car. Stolen kibble and plastic sheeting. And who knew he hadn’t set the fire himself,” (347). Even though the multitudes of these problems are almost incomparable, each seems equally as horrible for the circumstances in which the Mossbachers’ and Rincóns’ are used to living in. It’s no coincidence that in the end, members from both families are subject to the same fate, being swept away by a metaphorical and literal landslide. Nature does not discriminate.

Boyle uses images of characters and their appearances to show their backgrounds and status. Whenever the chapter switches over to Candido’s narration, each scene is filled with poverty and hopelessness. Boyle achieves this by illustrating Candido/America and their fellow worker’s clothing throughout the book. For example when America goes to the labor exchange for the first time, the men are described as looking from “beneath the brims of their sombreros and baseball caps…”(54). These men including Candido are almost always depicted as dirty, sweaty, and suspicious characters. Additionally the image of Candido’s huaraches repeats as the author tells how he treks through the harsh American terrain in his traditional Mexican sandals and one pair of pants, instantly making him a target for racial profiling. Boyle purposefully spends time telling the reader what citizens of Arroyo Blanco are wearing, conveying their wealth and higher class in comparison to the clothing descriptions in Candido’s chapters. When Delaney and his family get to the neighborhood party the guest are wearing tuxedos and the host Dominick is “resplendent, in a white linen suit that flared at the ankle to hide the little black box on loan from the Los Angeles County Electronic Monitoring Service, stood just inside the door, greeting guests, a long stemmed glass in his hand,” (262). This not only shows how extravagant Dominick’s character is, but also gives foreshadowing on what is to come.

Alissa WInklers #1 CCQC's

Tortilla Curtain CCQC’s #1

While reading Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle the specifics of Arroyo Blanco Estates way of life and Marin county cultures proved to be very similar. Boyle opens the book with a description of the Estates in all its glory and perfection, full of shiny cars and regulated diets that generalizes the rich, white portion of the America’s upper-middle class. The aspect of the Estates that most reflects Marin is depicted when Boyle is introducing the healthy and specific routine of the Mossbachers, “Delaney was up at seven, as usual, to drip Kyra’s coffee, feed Jordan his fruit, granola and hi-fiber bar and let Osbert and Sacheverell out into the yard to perform their matinal functions”(30). Just by looking at the specific diction and jargon Boyle uses we can tell the societies are well off and even something as simple as breakfast is looked at as a distinct “morning ritual,” complete with the granola, fresh fruit, and coffee you’d see sold abundantly throughout places like Marin. Kyra, the breadwinner of the family, “washes down her 12 separate vitamin and mineral supplements…” (31)  before driving away in her new Lexus, resonating the forward thinking, healthy oriented vibe that many areas Marin encompass. I laughed out loud when I read the pretentious names of the household pets. The recurring theme of this suburban wealth is shown throughout the book by the various descriptions of white adults and their cars, something we also see a lot of in Marin as a common outward display of wealth.

As a powerful member of the community, Jack Jardine represents the self-righteous, hard headed conservative who tries to spread his racist views throughout the Estates. This character is a common day racists that believes people of almost any race except white are reason for all flaws of his community and issues in the United States. Jack tries to back up his discriminatory mind set by driving around in a flashy car, wearing the most up to date styles, all building ethos to convince our more liberal and thoughtful main character Delaney that he knows what is best for Arroyo Blanco. Jack takes advantage of the recent loss of Delaney’s dog and uses it as another excuse for why building a wall around the community would be the appropriate thing to do, even though Jack just wants to keep out the “insubordinate” immigrants away from his utopian society. “- if you don’t stick to the agenda you’ve got chaos, pure and simple. And the gate thing is important, probably the single most important agendum we’ve taken up in my two years as president,” (100). He goes on to tell Delaney of his opinion on border control who replies by telling Jack “that’s racist.” To that Jack retorts, “Not in the least -- "'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). Jack is so set in stone and pompous that he refuses to admit he is a racial profiler and racists, stating his opinions as if they are facts.

Grace Strasen CCQC's

CCQC #1 – American Dream

A large theme seen in Tom Coraghessan Boyle’s novel “The Tortilla Curtain” is the search for the American Dream and lifestyle. Boyle sets up a strong contrast between the dreams of the Rincón family (the illegal Mexicans) and the dreams of the Mossbacher family (the white Americans). By comparing the two, Boyle shows how immigrants see the American Dream and how many citizens of the United States are living the Dream yet want more, not fully appreciating the life they were born with. Cándido and América Rincón arrived in the United States hoping to create a better life. Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher had everything the Rincón family wanted, yet they still felt unfulfilled. All of the immigrants in Boyle’s novel have a similar dream, their goals in life simply to be able to live comfortably, to have a steady job, and to not have to wonder every day whether or not they will have money to eat. América described her American dream as “A house, a yard, maybe a TV and a car too – nothing fancy, no palace like the gringos built – just four walls and a roof. Was that too much to ask?” (Pg 29). The immigrants wish for things that most Americans just expect. The Rincón family wants “laws and respect and human dignity" (Pg 27). Boyle points out that this is something that thousands of Americans have and take advantage of, not appreciating their privilege nearly as much as they should.

On the other side of the spectrum, the people that the immigrants feel are living the American lifestyle are still striving for more. Kyra Mossbacher wants more than “One of those Spanish Mission Houses (floor plan #A227C, Rancho White with Navajo trim)” (Pg. 30) she wants the incredibly ostentatious Da Ros property sitting high on the hill. When describing the home, Boyle even states that Kyra knows that it has more rooms than anyone would know what to do with, an idea that completely opposes the Rincón families idea of the American Dream. Kyra most likely was born into the life she lived, a life different than many would ever get the chance to experience.

“The Tortilla Curtain” shows how the American Dream can be changed depending on the perspective – those looking in and those already inside.  James Truslow Adams in 1931 defined the American Dream as "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement … too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." Adams describes the American Dream as how the immigrants in Boyle’s novel see it. Boyle as well describes the perspective of those who already live in the United States, those who are already “living the Dream” and yet they are unsatisfied still. The problem Boyle is trying to pull out of todays society is the constant yearning for more and more and more without appreciating or accepting what most already have.

CCQC #2 Jack Jardine & Jack Jardine Jr.

In “The Tortilla Curtain”, the character of Jack Jardine is the epitome of the successful, upper middle class, white American. Jack Jr., Jack Jardine’s son, represents the violent anti-immigration sentiment many Americans hold. Jack is the Mossbachers’ family friend and legal consultant. Throughout the novel Jack walks a fine line between a racist and a self-righteous man with concerns of the safety of his neighbors. His son however, vandalizes, destroys, and objectifies his way through the book without much cause. Jack is an interesting character because in a number of ways he represents a rational side to the anti-immigration arguments. He voices a number of credible points “Do you have any idea what these people are costing us, and not just in terms of crime, but in real tax dollars for social services?” (Pg. 102). Jacks character provides an interesting argument because illegal immigration does hurt the economy. Illegal immigrants do take away jobs from citizens. But, Jack takes his argument to such an extreme that it is hard for one to feel that his views of illegal immigrants and his opinions about them are purely because of his concern about the economy and country. Jack’s self-righteous views shine when he spoke to Delaney: "Don't be surprised, because this is only the beginning. We're under siege here – and there's going to be a backlash"(Pg. 146), often persuading him to change his positive views on immigration. Jack represents the rational yet extreme side to anti- immigration, bringing up a view that is still battling for its voice to be heard today in the United States.

Jack Jardine Jr. is represented through his violent tendencies. As one of the most hate filled character in the book, Jack Jr. represents an important part of racism in society: youths. When comparing him to his father, he is more racist, violent, and defensive towards immigrants. This shows the amplification of racism across generations, Delaney having no doubt that his son Jordan will end up with the same attitude. Jack Jr. is first introduced when he and his friend attack Cándido and América Rincón’s camp and destroy all of their possessions. Jacks says, “‘Shit, man, one of them’s a girl,’ the bigger one said, holding up América’s everyday dress … The bigger one tore the dress in two, balled up the halves and flung them at the other one” (Pg. 61-62). Jack uses his more physical and hate-filled racist to not only symbolically disrespect and hate women but mark their homes with notes like “BEANERS DIE”. Cándito points out an interesting fact in this scene: “Cándito confirmed what his ears had suspected: these weren’t men; they were boys, overgrown boys” (Pg. 62). Jack Jr. was just a boy, and yet he felt he had strong enough feelings against immigration to destroy and vandalize an immigrants home. These actions in comparison to his fathers rational and harsh words is a large generation jump in how people think about immigration. Today in the United States, it seems that Boyles concern over the expansion of the anti-immigration movement is pointless. Although there is a population of almost 11 million immigrants in the United States, there is not that much movement going on to get them out. Even President Obama in November 2014 started executive action, prioritizing deporting “felons not families”, protecting thousands of immigrants already in the United States.

Jack Kolb; Underlying Memorandums

The purpose of this novel was not to tell a story, not to write a dramatic and well-developed plot, but rather to show the reader, through countless images of juxtaposition, of the hardships Latin American immigrants endure compared to the relatively easy lifestyles of the majority of Whites. While of course a loose plot is followed (for without one the book would be more of an essay, not a novel), the real messages lie in the juxtaposition of the characters: Cándido and America live in a canyon, a sandbar, and then a bush, each getting vandalized or ruined after the other, while Delaney and Kyra live in a fancy neighborhood with walls and town meetings, their largest concern being the safety of their pets. Cándido and America live forgotten lives, filled with false promises, dashed hopes, and shattered dreams. At the end of the novel, Cándido reflects on his life in America: "All he wanted was work, and this was his fate, this was his stinking pinche luck, a violated wife and a blind baby and a crazy white man with a gun, and even that wasn’t enough to satisfy an insatiable God: no they’ll all had to drown like rats in a bargain." (Page 353). He came to America with hopes of "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." (Page 29) but instead ultimately found himself in a crude garden shed where "The nights were cold. And where was his son going to be born—in a hut with the rain driving down and nobody there but Cándido with a pot of water and a rusty knife” (Page 249). Meanwhile, Delaney lives his life of upper-middle class luxury: "Delaney made his home in one of these Spanish Mission houses (floor plan #A227C, Rancho White with Navajo Trim), along with his second wife, Kyra, her son, Jordan, her matching Dandie Dinmont terriers, Osbert and Sacheverell, and her Siamese cat, Dame Edith." (Page 30).  The two live very close together, however their lifestyles are made exponentially more different when placed next to one another, and Boyle effectively did.  Had the book simply been about one family, the Rincons or the Mossbachers, our perceptions on social racism and the immigrants' quality of life would be quite different, however Boyle's use of juxtaposition hits us strong with a feeling of injustice, inequality, and hatred towards our sense of indifference.

Delaney's rapid transformation from a person with mild interest towards immigration to someone with complete racist intentions was the result of him recognizing and losing control of his power over immigrants. Before Delaney's encounter with Candido, he had little cares in the world, enjoying his nature walks and newspaper column writing, however only a week after the incident he has developed extreme maliciousness towards Candido, America, and illegal immigrants in general, until he finally decides to end the treachery and misery that had been cursing him ever since the accident. Shortly beforehand, Jack Jardin Sr. had convinced Delaney to purchase a handgun, "for home-protection", and while at first Delaney was scared to death of the thing -so much he had locked it in a garage- he soon recognized the power it held and knew that while wielding the gun he could scare Candido and America back to wherever they came from. He quickly became overcome with this sense of finally ridding himself of Candido, and the mental curse Candido had set upon him, so he went for it. A short while later, Candido remembers: "Something fell against the side of the shack, something considerable, something animate, and then the flap was wrenched from the doorway and flung away into the night and there was a face there, peering in. A gabacho face, as startling and unexpected and horrible as any face leaping out of a dark corner on the Day of the Dead. And the shock of that was nothing, because there was a hand attached to that face and the hand held a gun." (Page 351). This novel is an attribute to the corruption that follows in the wake of power, of superiority. It is a dangerous thing, power, and should be regarded but not abused.. used only with extreme caution and moderation. Delaney is a wimpy character, who would never hurt anyone nor consider such an act, however his stable life and a weapon of great power made him forget his humble persona, for all it takes is a small lapse in self-control for the power-hungry beast in all of us to come forth, especially when we take everything we have for granted.

Carmen CCQC #2

In the novel Tortilla Curtain Boyle uses Juxtaposition to highlight how so much of mainstream America is materialistic. Delaney`s wife, Kyra, is a realtor who deals with around, “5 houses” that are worth millions while Candido and America live in a hut in the woods and hope for a, “decent apartment” (181).  Kyra is a upper middle class realtor who she is good at what she does and, “she knew it,” going on to say that because she paid attention to the, “little things, the courtesies and reminders, the birthday cards...and gifts,” that people would go to her for their realtor (156). Meanwhile Candido did back breaking labor, “repairing stucco on an apartment building,” and all he had made in three weeks was, “two hundred and fifty dollars” (180-181). Candido wants to, “have a roof over their heads,” so that America could, “have the baby,” in a home (181). Throughout the entire novel Candido`s objective is to earn enough money to afford a simple apartment while Kyra deals with many houses that remain vacant. Boyle uses this ironic twist to highlight how materialistic and unhappy the majority of America is despite their fortune and money.

In his novel Tortilla Curtain, T.C. Boyle uses diction and imagery to reveal the struggle that Candido is going through. Candido and his wife America fled from Mexico to America in an attempt to live a better life and to pursue the american dream. When they first got to America the couple camped out in, “a little nook in the woods,” while Candido looked for a job. One day on the trail to their nook, America was robbed of her money and raped by two men, however she only tells Candido that the money was, “all they took” (176). One night after Candido comes home drunk and upset he laments, “how could he pretend not to know what happened?” (181). He thinks about how he, “wanted to hurt her, wanted to hurt himself, twisting the knowledge round and round in his brain like a rotten tooth rotated in his socket” (181). The use of the words rotten and twisting highlight how dark Candido`s character is becoming and how his need to hurt gives the section a resentful tone.

Vert CCQCs II

Much in the way that directors will shoot scenes in Mexico using sepia tones, Boyle uses surreal language and odd word choices to create a unique feel to his story. On page 214, Delaney writes “We cannot eradicate the coyote, nor can we fence him out, not even with eight feet of chain link, as this sad but wiser pilgrim can attest. Respect him as the wild predator he is, keep your children and pets inside, leave no food source, however, negligible, where he can access it...The coyotes keep coming, breeding up to fill in the gaps, moving in where the living is easy. They are cunning, versatile, hungry, and unstoppable.” In a way, the coyote is painted as less of an animal than a force of nature—an unstoppable, unswayable storm that yields to nothing, sweeping through wherever it sees fit. Subconsciously, this is also how Delaney views Mexican immigrants. Not as human beings, but as mindless perpetrators of a sociological disaster. That disaster, of course, being the overrunning of the gated communities of the world with “riff-raff” and “criminals.”

The parallel between Delaney’s and Candidio’s families works as the centerpiece of The Tortilla Curtain. It would be easy to call this book a compare and contrast on the differences between white and Mexican experiences in America, but really, there’s far more contrasting than comparing. On page 101, Jack Jardine says “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.” In a way, the novel is not as effective as it could be, because it makes the characters of Jack and Delaney too repulsive to really identify with, therefore making their casual racial bias seem unique and unusual. If these characters were presented less as cultural outliers and more as everyday people, the book could go a long way to connecting with readers. 

Weller CCQC #2

Throughout the book, each of the characters face her or his own unique problems, or setbacks. Boyle carefully picks these problems out in order to create a growing sense of confusion, vulnerability, and powerlessness among each character, that continues to grow along with the story. When things progressively start to look better, something suddenly happens for the worst, or throws the character off course. ‘“They hit me with something,” he said, his voice so pinched and hoarse she thought at first he’d been strangled. “A baseball bat, I think. Right here.” He lifted a hand to his hairline and touched the place where the blood was blackest. “They got everything. Every penny”(234).  When Cándido and América’s lives appeared to be heading in the right direction, it was all suddenly destroyed, and it forced them to go back to their previous home in a devastated state. Boyle uses scenes like these to portray how vulnerable and powerless Cándido and América are, and all other immigrants struggling to find work and a place to live.

Boyle also shows how not just the poor are confused and vulnerable, but also the wealthy like Kyra and Delaney. “He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it. Despite his headlong rush, despite the quickness of his feet and the hard - honed sinewy strength of his legs, despite his rage and determination and the chorus of howls from his wife and son, he was impotent. The coyote scaled the fence, rung by rung, as if it were a ladder, and flew from the eight foot bar at the top...” (194). While this situation isn't as severe as Cándido’s, it is a prime example of how Delaney and Kyra’s fenced off house isn't enough, and they too are powerless, and left in disbelief.

One of Boyle’s biggest arguments in Tortilla Curtain is that American citizens have a luxurious lifestyle compared to illegal immigrants, and their problems are far less critical and serious than they believe them to be. Up in Arroyo Blanco, Delaney worries about what he is going to write about next in his nature column, and complains how other writers across the U.S. have material to write about and that they have it better off. “What was there to recommend in hundred - degree temperatures, zero - percent humidity and winds that forced fine grains of degraded sandstone up your nostrils every time you stepped out the door? Where was the charm in that?” (240). Boyle uses this to show the luxury Delaney has of being able to work at his home, on a low stress subject, yet he still feels he has legitimate problem. In contrast, Cándido is informed that the only place he knows where he can get work has been shut down, “ Cándido felt his jaws clench. What were they going to do now? If there was no work here anymore and La Migra to make sure of it, he and América would have to leave - either that or starve to death” (199). Boyle uses these contrasting situations to illustrate his argument that upper middle class American citizens have it better off, and their problems of, “not knowing what to write about,” are much less critical and unimportant to those who are poorer, and need to find jobs in order so they do not starve to death.

Sophia Scherr Ccqc #2

Both of the couples get twisted into more chaos and dilemmas just when they are getting out of their last situation. The Rincóns’ misfortunes are presented in ironic parallel misfortunes such as Delaney’s car getting stolen and Kyra’s other dog is getting taken by a coyote after she puts up a fence to keep them out. América and Cándido can never catch a break when it comes to money because they keep getting robbed or hungry. “What gave them the right to all the riches of the world?” (200). They start to show their feelings toward the rich and lash out when they are left with no hope for a job when Kyra calls a friend to get rid of the illegal immigrants who hang around the roads that her and her clients drive on. “La Migra nailed him, and now he stood in line with all the hopeless others.” (172). This state of confusion and desperation that Kyra goes to to make the streets clean so she could assure more clients that they are living in a safe and protected community. Kyra has this sense of selfishness and disregards these people who are poor because she is so overwhelmed with the American Lifestyle. “I agree that everybody’s got a right to work and have a decent standard of living, but there’s just so many of them, they've overwhelmed us, the schools, welfare, the prisons and now the streets…” (185). Delaney feels absolutely powerless when his car is stolen and is upset that he gets a brand new one hours after the theft. América and Cándido are robbed also, but by all the money that they own. The Tortilla Curtain is all about the characters having no hope and how similar and different their problems relate to each other.  

T.C Boyle juxtaposes the two main characters and their hardships they go through. The wall represents the segregation of Arroyo Blanco and the bad aspects of Los Angeles. While trying to support his wife and have a home, Cándido struggles to stay alive. On the other hand, Delaney and his family are living in a nice home and struggle with keeping people like Cándido out of their community. “He was being walled in, buried alive, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.” (244). Their lives intersect and when ones lives are the worst in their world, when in another, they feel bat their lowest point. “They lived in their glass palaces, with their gates and fences and security systems” (200). In the Arroyo Blanco Estates community the gate that protects from burglaries and coyotes. This keeps things out and keep things in like free roaming ideas like his neighbors racial opinions.“This is a community… an exclusive private highly desirable location. And what do you think’s going to happen to property values if your filthy coyotes start attacking children” (221). There is another juxtaposing side between Delaney and Cándido as they both try to support their families and how  they pursue their individual model of the American Dream. Another example for this racial indifference is when Kyra goes to the house and finds the disrespectful words that the man in the baseball cap wrote. “Black paint, slick with the falling light, ten looping letters in Spanish: PINCHE PUTA” (223). Kyra gets her first taste of this dangerous life that América and Cándido live with everyday. The vicious and angry pitfire that grows with people who have so little grows throughout the book with América and Cándido’s dilemma with money. The possessions of the Mossenbachers’ is what they have and what they have grown to have their entire lives. Ones who live with at least something and grow apart from this lifestyle of the priority of possession.

Ryan George CCQC 2

Boyle uses many juxtapositions in this book to support the themes.  Boyle uses the Rincon’s and the Mossbacher’s different occupations together to support the theme.  Boyle uses the Arroyo Blanco Estates and the Immigrants together to support the theme.  But the one that Boyle uses the best throughout the entire plot so far, is the entire life of the Rincon’s and the Mossbacher’s.  The way Boyle dances back and forth between the two families helps the reader understand the drastic difference between the two.  By doing this it makes the Mossbacher’s situation seem like heaven while at the same time making the Rincon’s situation seem to get worse and worse.  “He staggered past the post office, his feet like lead, past the storefronts, the bright windows, the cars lined up like ciphers of the wealth that bloomed all around him, unattainable as the moon.  And what was it all about?  Work, that was all.  The right to work, to have a job, earn your daily bread and a roof over your head.”(200)  This shows what situation the Rincon’s are in and how they are taking things day by day, trying to find any place they can get.  “All I’m saying is what’s the sense of living up here if you can’t see fifty feet beyond the windows—we might as well be living in a condo or something.”(220)  This quote emphasizes the situation of the Mossbacher’s, complaining about living in a “beautiful exclusive private highly desirable location”.(221)  The two quotes represent the juxtaposition Boyle uses with the two families throughout the whole book and how it influences the theme of greedy, blind, ignorant Americans.

Boyle evokes many emotions and controversial situations in the Tortilla Curtain.  With that said, I think his overlying argument is that the upper-middle class and many Americans are already and are continuously becoming more and more naive and blind to what is going on around them every day.  We seem to take things for granted, and when educated about the atrocities and prejudice things that happen every day to immigrants, we often brush them off or forget that anything even happened.  “This was not a good situation.  There were too many of them here and that was the sort of thing that scared buyers away from the area.”(157)  This quote just goes to show that Americans are all about business and profit, and that when they see things like this, it’s a problem because it’s costing THEM money.  The real problem here is that there are 50 Mexicans gathered on the street, gladly looking for any work, to put food on the table.  Kyra just sees them as animals, scaring away her customers.  This is a perfect example of Americans being blinded by greed, and not being able to see any of the real problems.  We need to make a change, and no law is going to do that, we have to do that.  We need to not turn a blind eye on everything that’s happening and stop pretending that people aren’t going hungry everyday.

CCQC's 2 - Adrienne

Through the apocalyptic metaphor of walls represented in Tortilla Curtain, a barrier is provided in which society reflects the ways one must cross boundaries to survive creating a growing sense of vulnerability, confusion, and powerlessness. Crossing the wall, doesn’t mean just crossing a literal border or boundary, it portrays a meaning much deeper than that. In this simulated society the walls represent the endeavor it takes to break past them. This struggle to cross these “walls” or “barriers” that continue to penetrate certain characters add to the overall sense of confusion, vulnerability, and powerlessness. We see the way in which the wall becomes a metaphor for the citizens living in Arroyo Blanco. The wall is a way in which they can hide behind their fears, and block out something they simply have the impatience to deal with. The metaphor is further extended when we witness the coyote entering Arroyo Blanco for a second time; "We cannot eradicate the coyote, nor can we fence him out, not even with eight feet of chain link, as this sad but wiser pilgrim can attest. Respect him as the wild predator he is, keep your children and pets inside, leave no food source, however, negligible, where he can access it...The coyotes keep coming, breeding up to fill in the gaps, moving in where the living is easy. They are cunning, versatile, hungry, and unstoppable"(214-215). The coyote directly parallels the immigrants and the way in which they “keep coming” and there is no way to keep them out. It demonstrates the strife the immigrants must make to cross that wall, with intrigue so great it pulls either sides of the wall to face their fears and reflect upon each other. This only leads to more confusion, vulnerability, and powerlessness between the two separate worlds.  

Through a plethora of unfortunate events, Delaney develops the racist opinion towards the immigrants, especially the Mexicans. In the beginning of Tortilla Curtain Delaney is tolerant of the immigrants, but as particular events unfurl, Delaney’s permissive attitude begins to morph into an austere racist. Paranoia begins to command the lifestyle of Delaney, and he cannot escape. In the midst of a hike Delaney can only think of his new car and, “Suddenly, without thinking, he sank into the brush no more than a hundred yards from the road. He could see the car glittering in the sunlight through the stalks and branches of the vegetation that lined the trail. He was being paranoiac, that was all---you couldn’t hold on to everything could you? He knew that, but for the moment he didn’t care. He was just going to sit here, sit here through the afternoon hidden in the bushes, sit here and watch”(155). This paranoia and malaise is brought on, claims Delany, by the immigrants living in his community. Instead of searching for solutions, like most, Delaney turns towards blaming others. Things only deteriorate when Kyra arrives home one day to find Pinche Puta written on the wall of their home. Upon Delaney finding out, he comes to his own contemplation, concluding, “a vision then of all the starving hordes lined up at the border, of the criminals and gangbangers in their ghettos, of the whole world a ghetto and no end to it, and he felt the pendulum swing back at him”(227). He begins to see the world as only bad, and everything and everyone is out to get him. Without being able to negate the image from his mind, the hapless actions of Delaney continue.

Olivia Robertson CCQC 2

Boyle creates a strong and definite atmosphere of vulnerability in his book by presenting a glimmer of hope and then immediately taking it away, and then repeating this cycle indefinitely, characters falling to newer lows every time. The milder examples of this in the book can be found in the all-american Power Couple, Delaney and Kyra. At the beginning of the book, Kyra had two dogs and one cat; one of her dogs was taken from her by a coyote blatantly symbolizing immigration and immigrants. In response to this, she builds up her fence and is lured into a sense of security– only to have her second dog, Osbert, snatched away from her as well. “The animal swept across the grass in five quick strides, snatched the dog up by the back of the neck and hit the fence on the fly,” (194). However, as helpless as Kyra and Delaney may feel, their situation doesn’t come close to the circumstances of América and Cándido. Within the spacing of one paragraph, Boyle manages to throw Cándido and the reader between gratitude and absolute destitute hopelessness. “And then he got work five days in a row, brush clearance,” Boyle starts off, and only a few sentences later, “When work was finished, he didn’t show them any money [...] He never saw the man again,” (195). Later, they’re walking through the streets of the downtown with several hundred dollars, accumulated through weeks, if not months, of hard work. They encounter a man who offers them, in Spanish, a cheap place to sleep. “I’ll give you two nights for twenty bucks–I mean, it’s no big deal. It’s just around the corner,” (210). However, this man turns out to be a cold-hearted criminal, who robs Cándido, forcing them to return to the ditch they were sleeping in. “But there were two more like him waiting in the alley, and how many mojados had they clipped in their time?” It’s in this way that Boyle maintains conflict that the characters never become the masters of.

Throughout the book, Boyle maintains a running comparison between the lives and problems of the immigrant couple and the American couple. At the end of a chapter, Kyra encounters some Mexicans on the property of a house she’s responsible for. Their very presence poses a threat to her ability to sell the house. ““What do you think you’re doing here?” she cried, her voice shrill with authority. “This is private property,”” (164). Meanwhile, after the turn of one page, the reader is immersed in the world of Cándido, who is doing hard labor to earn his wages and does not have any power over any property at all, who’s desperate to be able to provide for his family. “He got work, good work, setting fence posts for five dollars an hour, and then later painting the inside of a house till past dark,” (166). He lies on the dirt by his wife and ruminates on how he will ever be able to get money; fantasizes about the possibility of back-breaking labor in the daytime. “He wanted nothing more in that moment than to die. But then dead men didn’t work either, did they?” (182). Then, once again, the reader is jolted into another reality, in which Delaney rests in the luxury of the home, enjoying his absence from work and his freedom. “Smoke rose from the barbecue in fragrant ginger-smelling tufts as Delaney basted the tofu kebabs with his special honey-ginger marinade and Jordan chased a ball around the yard with Osbert yapping at his heels,” (183). The extreme contrast of the lives of these characters emphasizes extremely what they consider to be an issue and what they’re threatened by.

Sofia Wildvine CCQCs #2

Boyle uses juxtaposition in describing the different living conditions of Delaney and his family with the conditions of Candido and his family.  He switches from chapter to chapter contrasting between the life of Candido and the life of Delaney in order to highlight and emphasize the harsh, realistic differences between their conditions.  The differences in their living conditions alone are a huge theme of this book. Boyle describes Arroyo Blanco in order to paint the image of a typical wealthy, white community. "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).  Throughout the book, he writes about more images of Arroyo Blanco to contrast from the campsite of Candido and América.  He uses Delaneys column to describe the beautiful nature that they are able to enjoy, rather than survive in, like Candido. He talks about the diet that Mossbacher family has, and how Kyra only lets her son eat all organic, very fancy food. In the next chapter he shows us how Candido and America struggle to find anything to eat, savoring the last can of beans., contrasting the harsh differences of their relationship with food. Because of the living conditions and their surroundings, they have developed a different sense of the world, and a difference tolerance of suffering. For example, Delaney is seriously annoyed by the small differences in his new car compared to his old car that he was more comfortable in, meanwhile Candido is struggling to keep his pregnant wife alive, trying desperately to find work. Boyle shows us the tragic reality of the differences of Mexican immigrants and upper class whites, using the Rincón family and the Mossbacher family as symbols of the real suffering and drastic changes of different cultures, races, and weath.

Boyle creates a growing sense of vulnerability and fear by describing a series of unlucky, horrible events causing despair to the Rincón family. By creating a domino effect of occurrences, one terrible thing after another happens to them.  In the very first scene in the book, Candido gets hit by Delaney, causing him to not be able to go to work, which forced his wife América to go the Labor Exchange alone to get enough money to get food. Because of América going to the Labor Exchange alone, she is then raped, possibly causing her child to be born blind.  After the Labor Exchange is shut down, they are forced to move to a new area with a large population of immigrants, where all of their savings are stolen.  On thanksgiving, after a single strand of luck, they receive a turkey from two white men. However, their luck is short lived. While they are cooking the turkey, the wind picks up and blows a burning coal into a pile of leaves, starting the fire that forces them to run to the shack by the Mosbacher's home. Because of the vandalization of the wall, caused by Jack Jr, Candido is caught on camera stealing a little food to give to his newborn daughter and wife, causing Delaney to find them and barge in with a gun. All of these events, one after another, cause the reader to feel sympathy and root for the innocent, hopeless Candido and his family. One specific example that the reader sees vulnerability in Candido is when Jack Jr and his friend find his camp and destroy every possession of theirs. Candido is so terrified that he will be discovered and turned in to the police, that he is forced to hide and watch these teenagers destroy his camp instead of trying to fight back. “Candido waited a long time before emerging. They’d been gone half an hour at least, their shrieks and obscenities riding on up the walls of the canyon till finally they blended with the distant hum of the traffic and faded away...After a moment he got up and waded into the stream to try to recover his things, and it was then he noticed their parting gift, a message emblazoned on the rocks in paint that dripped like blood. The letters were crude and the words in English, but there was no mistaking the meaning: beaners die” (62). This is a perfect example showing the events that have occurred to Candido and his family have caused him fear, vulnerability and powerlessness, simply because of his skin color. This is still a prevalent issue that needs to be changed, and that is exactly the point that Boyle is making.

Noyce CCQCs Part 2

     All of the characters in the novel begin to feel a growing sense of powerlessness as the story progresses into the second part, the men especially. When Delaney’s car is stolen, presumably by a Mexican, he goes to get a new one, “He felt violated, taken, ripped off—and nobody batted an eyelash, happens all the time…but the way people just seemed to accept the whole thing as if they were talking about the weather was what really got him,” (146). This juxtaposed with the previous scene where América is truly violated by two men and while the sense of powerlessness is becoming more intense, for Delaney, he seems very ignorant when he becomes so upset while others are suffering much more than he is. When Delaney and Kyra do try to do something for an animal that was suffering in a car they get in a confrontation with the owner of the car and dog; “’Why don’t you just fuck off, lady?’…Delaney pulled Kyra aside and the Jeep was gone, a belligerent cloud of exhaust left hanging in its place. Kyra was trembling. So was Delaney,”(153). They feel very confused and have lost a large amount of the power they had and felt at the beginning of the book. As this happens to the white couple, Cándido remembers his experience with immigration officials during an earlier time in the United States; “When La Migra nailed him, and now he stood in a line with all the hopeless others…and the Mexicans…never thought to run or flex a muscle or even move. It was the Mexican way: acquiesce, accept. Things would change…but only if God willed it,”(172). Most of the illegal immigrants do not want to have to be doing an illegal act, and due to this, do not feel the urge to run from deportation. They feel powerless to change the system and do not try. They have faith that the system will eventually change, but from a higher power, not themselves. The four main characters lives are becoming increasingly difficult, though it is obvious América and Cándido have the more difficult existence. The hope that they especially had in when they first arrived in the US is beginning to fade as their conditions do not improve and are left feeling hopeless to change anything.

     In the second section of The Tortilla Curtain, Delaney begins to wrestle with his conflicting feelings about immigration; one side of him as a liberal humanist, but the other as a fearful man who wants to protect himself and his family. After his car is stolen, Delaney starts to feel differently towards the world, he begins to act differently, as he goes to hike, but instead watches his brand new car parked on the side of the road; “Suddenly, without thinking, he shrank into the brush no more than a hundred yards from the road…He was being paranoiac, that was all—you couldn’t hold on to everything, could you? He knew that, but for that moment he didn’t care. He was just going to sit here…sit here and watch,”(156). In the rational part of Delaney’s brain he tries to acknowledge that this is crazy, but he can’t seem to stop. When Kyra talks to him about the dismantling of the labor exchange, he feels very conflicted, “Delaney didn’t know what to say. He was wrestling with his feelings, trying to reconcile the theoretical and the actual,” (185). This change comes in part from the people with whom he begins to surround himself, such as Jack Jardine and the rest of his neighbors. When at the party the topic shifts to discuss a wall around the housing community, Delaney makes a joke, but realizes everyone is completely serious, “’Isn’t the gate enough? Next thing you’ll want to wall the whole place in like a medieval city or something—‘ Delaney had expected laughter…but he was met with silence…Wall the place in. That was exactly what they intended to do,”(189). Delaney, because of the events that have taken place, yet also through those who he begins to associate with, has issues dealing with what to do when the issues he has humanist opinions about become reality. In theory one can believe in immigration, but the reality is proving to Delaney it’s not a simple problem.

CCQC 2 Finn Brown

    Kyra's strange, secret, habitual desire to keep the Da Ros Place; an expensive, gigantic mansion she was trying to sell, is an obvious metaphor for the common, public and subconscious American belief that America will be sullied if a flood of immigration were to be allowed. This is demonstrated on page 216, where Boyle goes into detail of Kyra's perspective on the property. "The Da Ros Place was a white elephant. There was no way it was going to move in this market, unless at a significantly reduced price." Of course, Kyra didn't wish for the property to sell at all; it gave her a sense of power and wealth that was quite intoxicating for her. The Da Ros Place, a perfect symbol of wealth and prosperity, represents a virgin America, one without intrusion of foreign entities or masses of immigrants; but also the nagging truth behind every American's mind: That there are hundreds of thousands of people wishing to venture into America to make a name for themselves in the world are barred access, the sensation that a great injustice is being committed, and of course the easily remedied guilt. Americans are amongst the best in the world at covering up their guilt. And so Kyra continued to revel in the Da Ros Place, an example of American perfection.
   
    Delaney's column, Pilgrim at Topanga Creek, is a hypocritical almost blasé column about his experiences in nature. In one of his articles, he talks about his previous findings in nature, "I gaze round my study at the artifacts I've collected during my diurnal wanderings-the tail feathers of the Cooper's hawk, the trilobite preserved in stone since the time the ground beneath my feet was the bed of an ancient sea, the owl pellets, skeletons of mouse and kangaroo rat, the sloughed skin of the gopher snake-and my eye comes to rest finally on the specimen jar of coyote scat." (Page 211.) This column was written by Delaney shortly after a coyote stole and ate one of his dogs. Obviously, he was suspicious of the scat, wondering if it contained his former pet dog. This jar of feces represents much more than just the potential remains of Delaney's dead dog. It symbolizes the remains of an extinguished, used up America, invaded by immigrants and taken advantage of. The charred remains of a once vibrant forest; America's potential future. For Delaney, the connection was certainly unformed in his mind, the feces simply made him wonder. But for the sake of the book, Delaney's interest in the jar conveys meaning his character was unaware of.

Miller CCQC's 2

In part two of Tortilla Curtain, Delaney's views on Mexicans in the community begin to shift. When Kyra began to talk to him about the labor exchange Delaney pointed out that the men there were Mexicans, "there was no hesitation anymore, no reluctance to identify people by their ethnicity, no overlay of liberal-humanist guilt. Mexicans, there were Mexicans everywhere" (p184). This moment marks a shift in Delaney's views. At the start of the book he resented racism, and believed that all men should have equal opportunities. Although in part two he often corrects himself and still reflects some belief that is was the right of the Mexicans to go to the labor exchange, he is beginning to change his views. This can also be seen when Delaney comes across a Mexican man in his neighborhood and immediately regards him as a threat "The man was a thief,  a liar, the stinking occupant of a stinking sleeping bag in the state forest, a trespasser, a polluter, a Mexican" (p229). Although some of Delaney's worries about this man came from the fact that he recognized the backwards Padres cap he wore, much of it also came from his ethnicity, whether Delaney was proud of it or not. It turned out the man was just delivering fliers, but Delaney had immediately assumed he was trespassing because of his ethnicity.   After that incident, Delaney recognizes the change that is happening to his views. "Delaney took a step back, so devastated he couldn't speak- what was happening to him, what was he becoming?" (p229). Delaney saw his shifting views and realized that he was becoming the type of person he used to condemn. This shift in Delaney echoed the shift in the community, walling out and stereotyping Mexicans as dirty and dangerous. Although it was not something Delaney wanted to admit to, his views on Mexicans were shifting towards more hostile and stereotypical ones.

In part two of Tortilla Curtain, the author created growing senses of vulnerability, and powerlessness as changes occur in the communities and lives of Delaney and Kyra. The sense of powerlessness built around Delaney comes from him, along with the community, being both literally, and figuratively walled in. When the men were building the wall, Delaney felt uncomfortable, "He tried to concentrate but he couldn't. There was a constant undercurrent of noise... He felt as if he were under siege" (p243). Delaney was powerless to the fact that he was being walled in, and, ironically, being walled in by the very sort of men that the wall would keep out. The sense of vulnerability built around Kyra comes in her meeting with two immigrants on one of her properties, and the impression that it left on her. "She saw the look the two exchanged, flickering, electric, a look of instant and absolute accord... She was afraid suddenly, struck deep in the root of her with the primitive, intimate shock of it" (p164). This confrontation was the first moment in the book where Kyra really showed fear or broke her confidence. In this moment and later visits to the house she was shaken and vulnerable, especially after she found graffiti left by the men. She was also left very vulnerable by the death of her second dog. These two situations led her to support the building of a wall around Arroyo Blanco Estates. As the lives of the Mosbachers begin to intertwine more with the lives of immigrants, they become powerless and vulnerable, just like their little white dogs.

Waterhouse CCQCs 2

In the novel The Tortilla Curtain, T.C. Boyle creates an environment unceasingly filled with confusion, vulnerability and powerlessness through a series of unfortunate events, but also, more effectively, by giving his protagonists a victory only when it’s to be taken away. Boyle does this pattern of take, take, take, give, take, so predictably the reader begins to suspect and fear the consequences of a happy proceeding. For example, Candito and America are living in a dire situation and bad things happen to them one after another, the car accident, the illness from drinking creek water, the kids who vandalize their camp, no work to be had, then as soon as they find work and things look up the tide turns against them once again. America walks to their camp dreaming of a life she can now see in their future, “the picnic basket, one of those portable radios playing, a little boy in short pants and a girl with ribbons in her hair.”(139) At this moment of hope America comes across the man with the backwards hat and when he rapes her it is a foreboding sign of things to come. After this horrific encounter America contracts an STD, the labor exchange closes, and when they venture into town all their money is stolen. This cycle continues with Candito and America but they are not the only ones who are impacted by the cycle: so are Delaney and Kyra. As soon as Delaney and Kyra finally feel safe behind their newly heightened fence, their other dog is taken and they feel “surprise first, then shock, then recognition, and finally horror.”(194). When Delaney has the success of catching a picture of “his Mexican” spray painting the wall the picture shows his friend’s son. Another victory of Delaney’s is snuffed out as soon as it is won, as soon as he finds the person he believes caused all his misfortune, “the light was snuffed out and the faces were gone” and he is swept up in a mudslide.

In the novel The Tortilla Curtain, T.C. Boyle uses diction and imagery to give his characters depth and to shape his audience’s perception of his character’s morality. Boyle uses weak diction in regard to his character Delaney Mossbacher, and paints him as emasculated and easily coercible. In the first scene of the book Delaney is rattled after getting in an accident. Boyle uses pitiful diction to describe Delaney already showing him as weak, “Delaney’s hands trembled on the wheel”, “he clung to the side of the car,” Even when Delaney is doing an honorable thing and going to go get help he thinks he will “jog to the lumberyard for help” not run as most do in emergencies, jog. On the other hand, the character Candito is described from the very beginning as strong and masculine. In that same first scene, when he is laying, broken and helpless after being hit by a car, Delaney thinks of him as “ the man with the red-flecked eyes and graying mustache, the daredevil, the suicide.” Throughout the book Candito continues this masculinity in one way by being determined to provide for his family, when his wife wants to work to earn money because he is injured, “ ‘No.’ he said, and his tone was final, clamped around the negative like a set of pliers, ‘I won’t have it.’ ”. In the end Delaney shows himself to be a raving lunatic driven to hunting out Candito in the pouring rain, with a gun. Candito shows what kind of man he is even when he loses everything in a mudslide, including the life of his daughter, even after he’s seen Delaney point a gun at his family, when Delaney reaches out a hand for help, Candito grabs hold and saves his life. Boyle seems to be saying that strong masculine people see things more clearly, strong masculine people are more morally sincere, that weak emasculated people are more selfish, weak emasculated people do not see things as clearly and are not as moral.