Miller CCQC's

In Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle, the name of Delaney's column, "Pilgrim at Topanga Creek," and his license plate which reads "PILGRIM," are examples of satire and irony. This is used to make fun of Delaney in all of his white, privileged ignorance. Delaney and his liberal humanist family moved to the Arroyo Blanco Estates by choice, because they wanted to and they also had the privilege of being able to afford to. The real pilgrims in this book are Cándido and América, who came north to the United States because their home in Tepoztlán had no money to offer them to support themselves. They came to the North because they needed a better life, and they entered a new frontier without knowledge of the land or language, as the pilgrims did. The irony comes in that now, Delaney and his wife are living comfortably in the estate where "the houses were all in a Spanish Mission style, painted in one of three prescribed shades of white,  with orange tile roofs" (p30). These houses, in shades such as "Rancho White with Navajo trim" (p30), are essentially fancy mexican homes, specifically inhabited by whites, not Mexicans. In contrast the Mexicans, Cándido and América are forced to camp down in the valley and go to the labor trade every day, searching for any work they can get. Delaney's interpretation of himself as a "pilgrim" portrays the life of a pilgrim to be easy and fun, exploring the new land while always being able to return the safety of his private mission-style community with a wall and gate surrounding it to keep out unwanted visitors (immigrants). Delaney see's the Mexicans as a dirty nuisance because they leave trash in the valley. The true life of a pilgrim is the life of the immigrants who survive on a day-to-day basis, always threatened by the hostility of the white community and the huge economic barrier between the two classes. The word "pilgrim" is used purposefully to criticize Delaney's ignorance to the harshness of life for the true immigrants.

In Tortilla Curtain, the life of Delaney Mossbacher, his wife Kyra, and her son, Jordan in the estates is easily comparable to the lives that most Marin County residents live. They live in a community that is literally walled off from the outside society, a private, organized community much like the 'Marin bubble' that surrounds most of our county. They live an organized, healthy life very similar to the stereotypical Marin life. Every day Kyra "washed down her twelve separate vitamin and mineral supplements" (p31), and "insisted on the full nutritional slate for her son every morning" (p32). These are two concepts that are very common in Marin surrounding food. Walking into a store such as Good Earth or Whole Foods, one can find many examples  of mineral and vitamin supplements as well as an array of healthy, organic foods and snacks that include gluten free, lactose free, vegan, sugar free, vegetarian, and raw options. Kyra also uses a typical Marin parenting technique that Delaney refers to as a 'stock response,' telling her son, when he asks why his breakfast is different from other kids, "You're not other kids, that's why" (p35). This response, a direct reflection of her liberal humanism, is a go-to response for Marin moms. The life that the Mossbacher's live is organized, busy and healthy, 3 ideas that most Marin families are very familiar with. Both parents in the family have jobs, and as his wife is the chief breadwinner, Delaney acts often as a work-at-home dad, cooking and cleaning. This idea, going against stereotypes, is practiced by many families in Marin and considered normal and not embarrassing at all, while Cándido is embarrassed to have a girl earn him money. The Mossbacher's are "joggers, nonsmokers, social drinkers, and if not full-blown vegetarians, people who were conscious of their intake of animal fats" (p34). This description fits many Marin county parents, conscious of their lives, health, and environment. The similarities between our lives in Marin, and the Mossbacher's in the estates makes this book even more potent because it is possible for us to find some sort of relation to Delaney and his family, and makes us question our own lives as we look at the criticism of Delaney's.