ipl-logo

The Importance Of Borders In The Tortilla Curtain

1009 Words5 Pages

Borders are everywhere, whether seen or unseen, there are language borders, walls, social status division, race, and distance just to name a few. Borders play a constant role in humanity’s everyday life, those same boundaries – both seen and unseen- play a large role in the novel The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C.Boyle, especially the front gate and later surrounding wall of the Arroyo Blanco Estates. These boundaries represent the divide between humanity and animality, wealth and poverty and paranoia and sanity. Candido and America Rincon are the poorest of the poor with no home, steady income or food at times, and to make matters more defeating, they have a baby on the way. The Mossbachers, Delaney and Kyra live a life of luxury, as agnostic liberals …show more content…

The boundaries that separate the Mossbachers from the Rincon’s are not just figurative in terms of social status, money and the location of where they live, but are also physical. The front gate of the Arroyo Blanco, was set in place by the community to protect the houses and people inside from thieves, murderers, rapists and illegal Mexican immigrants. Just like the gate that protected Prince Prospero and his court from the “Red Death”. In “Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, Prince Prospero and his court lock themselves in a community that protects them from the plague, partying and enjoying eachothers company day by day. “This wall had gates of iron…There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet dancers, there were musicians, there was beauty, there was wine…without was the “Red Death” (Poe 1)”. One could make a connection from the Tortilla Curtain and The Masque of the Red Death, and the illegal immigrants and the “Red Death”. While the wealthy can lock themselves away from all the nastiness and ugliness of the world, the poor suffer and try to find ways to survive. the connections between humanity and animality can be seen early on in the novel, as

Show More
Related

Review Of The Devil's Highway By Luis Alberto Urrea

785 Words | 4 Pages

Many readers of this story can understand that life may be across the border into the United States, but they fail to comprehend to what extent the life is better and Urrea gives a detailed narration that tries to show the difference. Urrea does this well by giving brief overviews of the lives of these men in their home country and what they expect to get once they cross the border. The desperation of the men seeking to cross the border can be quantified in pesos and the men find that they cannot earn enough to cater for their basic needs such as shelter, food and clothing (Urrea, 2008). With the lack of such basic needs the men even find that catering for their children’s need for education is far beyond their reach. Urrea highlights the desperation of families in Mexico and how not only the old suffer, but also the young who miss opportunities because their poor societies have little to offer them.

Read More

Literary Techniques Used In 'La Migra' By Pat Mora

101 Words | 1 Pages

In “La Migra,” Pat Mora uses cultural context and point of view in order to give readers insight on the troubles of the US-Mexico border. Mora also uses several literary elements such as imagery, tone, and setting in order to distinguish two completely different characters.

Read More

Similarities Between Bartleby And Etheridge Knight's Prison Of Capitalism

766 Words | 4 Pages

Their stories are about the failure of modern social existence. also the story of the effects of living in a society operating at a high level of production and consumption. In their lives, there are two kinds of the wall: the physical boundaries prison, and the psychological walls which institute in order to defend themselves from requests to change. They represent all the victims of greedy capitalism, demanding, mechanical

Read More

Macaria's Daughter Analysis

1149 Words | 5 Pages

Situated near the U.S.-Mexico border during the early twentieth century is the fictional setting of Fort Jones, the outskirts of which is where Americo Paredes’ short story “Macaria’s Daughter” takes place. Emblematic of the disappropriation of Mexican land, as well as the increased marginalization of the Mexican people, the overbearing presence of Fort Jones reveals the struggle for preservation that characterizes the Mexican-American community of the story. “Macaria’s Daughter” is the tragic account of what happens in a small community when the upholding of Mexican values and institutions, and opposition to Anglo-American culture, become more important than a young woman’s life. In this essay, I will argue that “Macaria’s Daughter” is a text

Read More

A Very Brief Story Of The Luis Rodriguez Family

765 Words | 4 Pages

The family of Luis Rodriguez, like many Mexican Americans in the border regions from the 1950’s to the 1960’s, faced much disparity in the social and economic realm of their new homes and communities. Living in the United States, they believed, would allow for growth and opportunities not possible in Mexico. In their quests to lead a better life, the heads of many households had to work hard and long hours in order for the sustainment of their livelihood and in Luis Rodriguez’s case, both of his parents worked long and hard hours. Rodriguez’s parents wanted better for their family, but their journey to Los Angeles would forever change the trajectory of the life they envisioned for their family and, namely, for Luis Rodriguez. Born in El Paso, Texas, the Rodriguez family moved back and forth between the border and the region of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Read More

Chicano Borderlands Essay

821 Words | 4 Pages

Borderlands is a concept that does not have to be seen to be considered borders and can often be placed subconsciously by ourselves. These borderlands are unsettled and unclear and are consistently changing. The famous singer Rosita Fernández was born in Mexico but spent majority of her life in San Antonio performing music. Rosita was very popular in the San Antonio music scene and eventually was inducted into both the San Antonio music hall of fame and the Tejano Music Hall of Fame. Rosita’s induction into both of these halls demonstrates her diversity border including her Texan connection as well as her Mexican connection since she is considered half Mexican and half Texan.

Read More

Analysis Of Gloria Anzaldua's Poem Borderlands

1143 Words | 5 Pages

CRA: Anzaldua Borderlands In her poem “Borderlands,” Gloria Anzaldua strategically exposes readers to the true form of the Borderlands region as she conveys the internal incongruity that is rife with this state. As she characterizes the nature of the Borderlands, extending the idea of the Borderlands from a geographical region to an extensive social phenomenon, Anzaldua emulates an experience that is shared by many; conquered by fear. Anzaldua cogently employs the use of distinct structural elements within her poem as a form of illustrative depiction in order to express to readers the strenuous relationship between the inhabitants and their environment.

Read More

The Masque Of The Red Death Syntax Analysis

819 Words | 4 Pages

Poe is often known for his dark, sometimes twisted short stories and poems. “The Masque of the Red Death” is no exception. In this short story, Poe creates and eerie and ominous mood by using a wide variety of literary techniques including imagery, diction, and syntax. Poe’s use of imagery contributes to the dark and mysterious mood of the short story, “The Masque of the Red Death.” In the first paragraph, a sense of darkness is conveyed in the sentence, “There was no light of any kind emanating from lamp or candle within the suite of chambers.”

Read More

La Mexicano Analysis

871 Words | 4 Pages

Octavio Paz, a Mexican poet and essayist, is one of the many philosophers with a written piece regarding his understanding of Lo Mexicano. Paz’s “Sons of La Malinche” was first published in the Labyrinth of Solitude in 1950 and is a rather grim interpretation of the Mexican character, however, it captures the crisis of identity that Mexico was burdened with after the conquest. Paz uses the Spanish term “chingar,” (when literally translated means “to screw, to violate”) and its associated phrases to understand the conquest and the effect

Read More

The Influence Of Moises

916 Words | 4 Pages

borders, a random man, who remains unknown, drove while drunk, causing him to speed up tremendously, and when Moises drove around the corner of the street, the man immediately crashes into Moises. The impact of the car did not killed the man, but as for the 24 years old Moises, he died from the impact of the car crash (Gutierrez). It wasn’t long until word got around that Moises was killed, and once people got to hear the news, everyone’s emotions became incredibly unstable they were experiencing the 7 stages of grief in full effect. Everyone was traumatized, especially for his family as everyone within the new modernized house had felt a high amount of depression in the air; it was as if the house itself was sad that his creator was killed. “Compared to Mexico’s’ catastrophes, they seemed to be cakewalks over this new catastrophe” (Gutierrez).

Read More

Examples Of Racism In The Tortilla Curtain

954 Words | 4 Pages

The people that lived in the community were very racist towards the immigrants. Throughout The Tortilla Curtain, T.C. Boyle shows the signs of racism using coyotes, borders, and illegal Mexican immigrants. He connects these three topics together throughout the novel. They each play a role when speaking of the others.

Read More

Analysis Of Tortilla Curtain

1195 Words | 5 Pages

From the start, it is clear that T.C. Boyle’s Tortilla Curtain aims to shed a light on the topic of Mexican immigrants in the United States. However, by having both a Mexican and an American woman share similar violent experiences with men, Boyle also places an emphasis on the less pronounced theme of sexual violence and discrimination against women, even in polar opposite realities. Early on, an invisible bond begins to form between the two main female characters, America, a recent Mexican immigrant and mother to be, and Kyra a successful white businessman. And while they never actually meet one another, as they endure and recover from their own personal problematic experiences with certain men, they are affected immensely by these events. America tries her best balance her new life of being an illegal, living in the ravine of Topanga Canyon with Candido, finding work and preparing for her baby to come.

Read More

Themes In The Tortilla Curtain

920 Words | 4 Pages

The majority of illegal immigrant’s chances for success is limited. It is more likely for people who have already been successful in life to achieve their dream than those have not had the chance to. The Tortilla Curtain illustrates the hardships and the discriminations illegal immigrants face with higher class Americans. The coyotes symbolize the immigrant’s lifestyle and how they are viewed with disdain and mistrust. The Arroyo Blanco community presents those who view the immigrants as such, and how difficult it is to break down ignorance barriers to be accepted into it.

Read More

After The Cold War Essay

741 Words | 3 Pages

The Cold War was a conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, that also caused many damages to other countries such as Vietnam, that later got involved into their own Cold War – North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam with its capital – Hanoi) against South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam with its capital – Saigon). Today, I’m going to be talking about the social and economical state of Vietnam after the Cold War. I’m focusing on three main things that were affected after the Cold War, which are: Investment and trade, agricultural production, and how Vietnam’s economy developed after the Cold War. The first point I’m talking about is trade and investment.

Read More

Analysis Of Gloria Anzaldua's To Live In The Borderlands

1054 Words | 5 Pages

In the poem “To live in the Borderlands means you”, the borderlands become a place of change, such as changing from just one culture or race into a diverse culture or race and not-belonging. (Singh, A., & Schmidt, P. 2000). The poem describes how the author’s own background ethnicity people, mixicanas, identifies people like her, chicanas, as “split or mixture that means to betray your word and they deny “Anlo inside you.” (Anzaldua, F. 1987). The poem describes that the borderland is a place of contradiction, such as of home not being a home.

Read More

More about The Importance Of Borders In The Tortilla Curtain

Related Topics

Open Document