Written By Rachel Haynes, Staff Writer
“The Tortilla Curtain (1995) by T.C Boyle”
Imagine you are driving on a clear summer day, when suddenly, a man appears in front of you, causing you to hit him. The accident happens in the blink of an eye, and you are left in utter shock.
This is where we begin the story of The Tortilla Curtain (1995), written by T.C Boyle. Although I have not read other books by Boyle, it is clear that he is a brilliant author. In his novel The Tortilla Curtain, Boyle covers various complex themes written in such a beautiful yet disturbing way. In this book, he discusses the complexities of immigration and the American Dream, as well as hatred and how it affects our society.
The story begins with Delaney, your average liberal white environmentalist. He lives in a gated community with his wife Kyra and her son Jordan. We abruptly dive into the story when Delaney hits a person while driving. He gets out of his car and to check on the person, only to find Cándido, an illegal immigrant, badly injured in a canyon. Delaney gives him $20, as he is unsure how to help him. This leaves Cándido to recover in the canyon only with the help of his seventeen year old, pregnant wife, América.
Throughout the novel, Delaney has conflicting opinions about immigrants. While he knows that many of them are just trying to make a living, it angers him to know that so many of them are living in the canyon near his home. The event of the accident, his car getting stolen, and the land becoming trashed all contribute to his seething anger and xenophobia that develop throughout the book. Boyle helps us understand the reasons why Delaney feels this way, as he is given several valid reasons to be upset and become anti-immigration.
I think Delaney reflects the contrasting opinions that Americans have about illegal immigrants. Many have sympathy for the undocumented people because they know they go through some degree of anguish. As we later see with the characters Cándido and América, people may not fully understand the amount of suffering that undocumented people go through on a daily basis.
Cándido and América are the two main undocumented immigrants of the story. Neither of them are harmful, they are simply looking for work and a better life. They are faced with a number of different hardships, the first being Cándido getting severely injured and being unable to work. This greatly affects their income. América is the one who must find work and this puts her at risk of being around dangerous men that put her physical safety on the line. This is a consequence of not getting her papers, she is a target, which is something that no individual should have to face. Cándido, due to his injury, can no longer protect his wife from these men. These circumstances cause América to loathe him by the end of the book, so much so that she doesn’t even talk to him. They have a complex relationship that switches frequently throughout the story. Boyle does an excellent job at exploring how their struggle of being illegal immigrants dramatically shifts their relationship.
“América, in the theater performance of The Tortilla Curtain, is seen helping her husband recover from the accident.” While I felt sympathetic for the majority of the characters in the book, I especially felt it for América. Her character really stood out to me, as she is young, naive, and in love, causing her blindness to the harsh realities of her situation that later brutally strike her down. The end for her is quite sad as all of her hard work and suffering to provide a better life for her baby, ended in vain. Her story is truly, truly heart-breaking.
One critique I have of the book is regarding Delaney’s character. I think it would’ve been better if he were to continue to have conflicting feelings towards immigrants rather than turning to pure hatred at the end. I think they would’ve better represented the feelings people have towards immigration. Boyle did a wonderful job of providing valid and different perspectives when it comes to the subject of immigration. This book helped me expand my view of immigration and to consider possibilities I had not previously thought about. Although the story was written decades ago, it still ties deeply into American society today, as it covers themes of immigration, xenophobia, and social inequality, which are all ongoing conversations in America. The Tortilla Curtain is truly more relevant than ever.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Tortilla Curtain and the ending had my jaw on the floor and my eyes tearing up. I highly recommend it to those looking for an extremely intriguing and tragic story.