The Tortilla Curtain Study Guide

The Tortilla Curtain Summary

Part I of the novel opens with Delaney Mossbacher, a middle-class, white American and nature enthusiast, hitting thirty-three year old Cándido Rincón, an illegal Mexican immigrant, with his car as the latter was crossing the road in Topanga Canyon, near Los Angelels, California. Though the Mexican is badly injured, he simply accepts twenty dollars from Delaney and the two part ways. Delaney, extremely shaken up by the incident but confident that the whole affair is over, gets his car fixed and goes back to his highly scheduled, routine life in his neighborhood of Arroyo Blanco. Every morning he makes breakfast for his wife, Kyra, and his stepson, Jordan, Kyra's son from her first marriage, and after sending them safely on their ways, he…

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Posted By ana r #229243 at Feb 07, 2012 9:48 PM

why doesnt candido want to move to the city?

candido has to move to the city but doesnt want to

The Tortilla Curtain | Answers: 1

Posted By shoniece f #215971 at Nov 28, 2011 11:50 AM

"What do Delaney and Kyra believe about "the American way of life?"

In The Tortilla Curtain, both couples display false consciousness in the ways they conceive of "the American way." What do Delaney and Kyra believe about "the American way of life?" What beliefs do Candido and America initially hold about 'the American way of life,' despite growing evidence to the contrary?

The Tortilla Curtain | Answers: 1

Posted By aric g #213007 at Nov 14, 2011 1:26 AM

Boundaries- both real and imaginative(visible & indivisible)- play a large role in the novel especially the front gate at Arroyo-Blanco estate. In what other part do boundaries appear and what do they represent? What role do the different character play i

think about it

The Tortilla Curtain | Answers: 0