Themes In The Tortilla Curtain

The American Dream differs from person to person. Every dream consists of striving towards success for a better future. In The Tortilla Curtain, T.C Boyle delves into what the American Dream is to the middle class American family, the Mossbacher’s, and to the illegal immigrant family, the Rincon’s. Throughout the story, it becomes apparent that that the ability for the poverty-stricken Rincon family to achieve their dream is unrealistic. The American Dream is presented to be close to unobtainable to those who need it the most through the use of the coyote, the Arroyo Blanco community, and Cándido’s luck.
Coyotes are viewed in the world of The Tortilla Curtain as pests. Coyotes are usually the object of hatred due to their .The coyotes parallel Cándido and America. They both must cross barriers and go through various struggles to survive the conditions of a new and hostile environment. Americans like the Mossbachers are not so keen on having illegal immigrants around. What they thought of coyotes reflected what they really felt for immigrants. Kyra blames her problems on the

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. Candido’s bad luck indicates that there are numerous people like him in that it is inevitable that they fail to obtain their dream. It is not impossible for immigrants to succeed but it is a difficult road many cannot get