Walls are designed to be impenetrable and to enclose and isolate an area from the immediate surroundings. In The Tortilla Curtain, the wall encompassing the Arroyo Blanco Estates was a physical barrier between the “gringos” and the “Mexicans.” The wall symbolized the barrier between the wealthy, pretentious white community and the struggling, suffering illegal Mexican immigrants. The wall physically acted to keep the illegal immigrants out and protect the citizens inside the Estates. "'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.'" (page 101). This literal barrier between the cultures failed however, when the coyote breached the wall and invaded the lives of Delaney and Kyra Mossbacher. The coyote, symbolic of the illegal immigrants, easily ascended the Estates' wall, similar to the illegal immigrants coming into America over the border. “…this coyote, this emissary between the two worlds,” (page 59). Like the coyotes, the Mexicans defied the border and stole into the country in an attempt for an improved life. The wall surrounding the Arroyo Blanco Estates was a physical barrier between the two cultures, however proved to be permeable and represented the stream of unwanted Mexican immigrants into the United States.
In the United States, the American Dream is a set of ideals that many hope to achieve as a direct result of our nation’s freedoms: there are opportunities for one’s prosperity and success if pursued through hard work. However, in The Tortilla Curtain, the validity and soundness of the American Dream is questioned. The Mossbacher family has conquered the American Dream demonstrated by the fact that they live in "… 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.” (page 30). They were prospering and had everything they could possibly wish for. However, América and Cándido Rincón were struggling in the land that they believed held the answers for all life’s success. “She wanted. Of course she wanted… 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. Was that so much to ask? He’d promised. Sure he had. He’d held up the lure of all those things, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, the glitter of the North like a second Eden…” (page 19). América stated that she did not want a lavish lifestyle, she only desired to live contentedly with no worries regarding insufficient necessities. It is ironic that when she and her husband migrated to the States to pursue the American Dream, they ended up faring worse than they did in their hometown of Mexico.
The 'easy' penetration of the Mexican Immigrants through the tortilla curtain, as an extension of the Coyote metaphor, can be cited with a quote from Racist Jack, the neighbor: "And trust me: When we get control of the border again–if we get control of it– I'll be the first to advocate taking that gate down. But don't kid yourself: it's not going to happen anytime soon," (103).
ReplyDeleteAnother reason why it isn't easy for America and Candido to get a job is how the American's view the Mexican's. When Delaney hit Candido with his car and was explaining what had happened to his wife, he used a write off of “I told you-he was Mexican(15)." Because being Mexican makes it ok to hit someone, seriously injure them, which makes them not work, and then pays them 20$ as an apology.
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