Post Traumatic Events In T. Boyle's The Tortilla Curtain

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Psychological Outcomes of Traumatic Events The Tortilla Curtain, written by T.C. Boyle is a dramatic story about an illegal immigrant named Cándido Rincón from Tepoztlán, Mexico, whose behavior demonstrates the effects and outcomes of psychological strain after getting exposed to a traumatic and stressful event (AC). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a handbook used by health care professionals to analyze mental disorders, explains how posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is categorized in DSM-5 as a disorder caused by a trauma. The specifications incorporated in this category involves the experience of direct exposure to a traumatic or stressful event as a diagnostic norm. Evidently, Cándido suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder after getting seriously injured from a car accident and the exact experience of the accident affected him psychologically. …show more content…

Cándido clearly showed conditions of PTSD as the result of the traffic accident that occurred very fast: “The whole thing had happened so quickly,” and the accident pushed him to handle the challenges of nearly becoming a disabled man (Boyle 3; ch.1, pt. 1) (VP). Cándido’s face was blank when Delaney found him on the side of the canyon after the accident, and Delaney mentioned that Cándido “looked pretty shaky” indicating that Cándido was in shock, which is a feeling some people will have at the time of the traffic accident (Boyle 9; ch. 1, pt. 1). Another example that implies Cándido was in shock was when he tried to gather himself as if nothing serious just happened to him when Cándido is certainly in need of medical attention. Cándido stood at the site of the accident for a while, observed Delaney, and stared at the bag he dropped, stuck in the moment, till he reached down inattentively to get the tortillas before finally snapping out of it (Boyle 8; ch. 1, pt.