The Totilla Curtain Analysis

“Immigrants are the lifeblood of this country- we are a nation of immigrants…” Within The Tortilla Curtain” written by T.C. Boyle, and “Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden” written by E.L. Doctorow, many examples of social commentary can be found. The above quote is only one example provided by Boyle of the hypocrisy that goes on within the book. The reason the quote would be identified as hypocrisy is because Delaney, the character who said the quote, later goes on to terrorize an immigrant and treat him badly because of the fact that he is an immigrant. Another social commentary that can be found among The Tortilla Curtain would be issues of racism, as well as boundaries, and the American Dream. Social Commentary can also be found in Doctorow’s …show more content…
Some differences include the targets or end goals of the two pieces, major points, and the major moments in the two works of literature. In The Tortilla Curtain the target is to survive and accomplish the typical “American dream”, which includes having a safe place to live where Cándido’s whole family can live and he can raise his children. The authors target for the book was to make readers more aware of who could possibly be living next to them. Boyle’s target was to show that with every good thing there comes a bad side of things, or in this case people, but that does not automatically give anyone the right to judge someone based on racist thing they have heard. To really know the true intentions of a person you must get to know them. In The Tortilla Curtain some major events that distinguish it from other books or short stories such as “Child, Dead, in the rose Garden” include the perseverance of Cándido and America as they continue to make it somewhere and then are sent straight back to where they started, such as when they had almost saved enough money for a place to stay, but then the fire burned their money once again leaving them with nothing. Another example includes their humanity towards Delaney in the end of the book. Even after he comes at Cándido with a gun, Cándido still sticks his hand out to the man that tried to kill him during the mud slide. Lastly, The Tortilla Curtain is different from Doctorow’s short story because of the social commentary. In this story Boyle talks about social commentaries such as the American Dream, boundaries, and hypocrisy. He shows the American dream through Cándido and America as they do anything to move up in life and be in a better position, such as work for barely any money in harsh conditions, or by barely eating so they can save money. Boundaries are shown through the gated community Delaney lives in. It shows how it is meant