The Tortilla Curtain Analysis

The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle

Delaney Mossbacher, the protagonist of Boyle’s The Tortilla Curtain, is the typical American family man. He is married to Kyra, “the undisputed volume leader at Mike Bender Realty, Inc.” and he is the stepfather of Jordan. As Kyra has a fulltime job, Delaney takes care of Jordan and the household duties, while receiving the privilege of working from home as a “liberal humanist.” Delaney writes for “Wide Open Spaces,” which is a magazine of “a naturalist’s observations of the life blooming” around him. As Delaney is only required to write one magazine a month, he tends to have a lot of spare time, in which he can “let the day settle around him.” In his free time, Delaney enjoys taking
Topanga Canyon provides a home for Cándido and his wife, América, deep in a canyon, where they are far from society. This setting proves the generalized society in America because it shows the separation and isolation of the Mexican immigrants from the rest of society. Also, Delaney lives in Topanga Canyon, but he lives in Arroyo Blanco, a community in society. Once again, this proves how it is much more difficult for Mexican immigrants to assimilate themselves into society than it is for American white men. Additionally, Delaney’s neighborhood, being located in Topanga Canyon, is a canyon made up of vast mountains, inhibited by wild animals and plants. Topanga Canyon is the perfect place for Delaney because all he likes to do is be with nature, and in order to do so all he has to do is just look outside his backyard and he is there. The canyon gives Delaney a place to think about anything, and Delaney often uses this to his advantage. Not only does it provide work for Delaney, as he writes for an environmentalist magazine, but it also provides him a break from the world and lets him just be one with nature, which is what he loves