From the very beginning of the book, things were going poorly for Candido and America. Starting with being hit by a car and quickly escalating, the life of the poor Mexican couple gets harder and more hopeless. The rapid fire of misfortune that Boyle creates pushes the reader into a feeling of hopelessness and despair. Boyle uses these feelings to display the powerlessness and vulnerability of immigrants who come to America in search of a better life. In “The Tortilla Curtain”, Boyle exhibits this vulnerability and powerlessness by writing about the racial prejudice against Mexican immigrants. Candido and America are emotionally; sexually and verbally abused; they are alienated and shunned; and they, being hardworking individuals, who just want to lead a successful new life, are despised for being different. Throughout the book, Candido just wants to be left alone to live his life, but he keeps being bothered. For example, when Candido and America’s camp in the canyon is destroyed. It was all they had to call home, and it housed all of their possessions.
"In times of extremity, his father said, when you're lost or hungry or in danger,ponte pared, make like a wall. That is, you present a solid unbreachable surface, you show nothing, neither fear not despair, and you protect the inner fortress of yourself from all comers." Pg. 168
The passage, advice that Candido received from his father when he was young, displays the metal strength that immigrants have to have to be able to survive in this country. Once again returning to the theme of a wall, Boyle expresses that the only power that Mexican immigrants in America possess is mental strength and strong will.
When writing “The Tortilla Curtain”, Boyle tried to express the hypocrisy and brutality that engulfs the views on immigration policies in America. The book, alternates between the perspective of Delaney and Candido. When the book follows Delaney, someone who considers themselves very in tune with nature and a human rights advocate, there is frequent hypocrisy and hate. In reality, Delaney, the writer of a nature column and a self proclaimed liberal humanist, stays locked in his house all day, values his car more than nearly anything, and is at heart a racist. For example, in the very beginning of the book, when Delaney strikes Candido with his car, he is more concerned with his car, and then proceeds to mentally curse Candido for being Mexican, as if it made him a lesser person than Delaney.
“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…” she chewed thoughtfully. Took a sip of water. “Oh, by the way, did I tell you Cynthia Sinclair got engaged?” Pg.185
In this passage, Kyra states that she believes in human rights, but then, by using works like “them” and almost dehumanizing immigrants, she displays her hypocritical nature. Boyle worded the passage in a way that makes it appear as if she doesn't even consider Mexicans to be equal people to her. Boyle then adds further satire to the situation by following the passage about human rights with something trivial like the engagement of a co-worker, displaying of how little importance the lives and rights of immigrants are in the eyes of many Americans. Delaney and Kyra both represent the views of American people; they pretend to be good spirited and conscience people, but in reality, they are apathetic and prejudice.
Candido's struggle is indeed quite nerve wreaking, and instills a feeling of vulnerability; his story detailing the absolute worst experience possible for an immigrant such as himself. Another example of his terrible misfortune is when Candido crashed his 1971 Buick in Oregon, and being seen by Oregon state troopers. Everything that could go wrong for Candido did indeed go wrong, adding still to the feeling of vulnerability and helplessness found so commonly in Tortilla Curtain.
ReplyDeleteI concur with your stance on how the mentality in America are currently brutal toward immigrants. Yes we see Delaney as a racist but we also see more than just Delaney as being a racist.If anything he's a very minor one. I say this in comparing it to America's experience when she goes to find work and hope she is treated after she's given work by that man. She is treated like trash and isn't paid what she rightfully deserved by her employer that day. The brutality toward immigrants does exist in a lot of peoples eyes all over the country
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