Radhakrishnan 1 Sachin Radhakrishnan EWRT 1B Brennan 09 December 2009 The American Nightmare Southern California houses millions of immigrants,

both legal and illegal. Most of these immigrants have come with the mindset that they will successfully find the American Dream through honest, hard work and determination. However, the life most envisioned in America, turn out to be an indigent, struggle-filled ordeal. This unfortunate taint on the American Dream can be directly attributed to harshly discriminatory, established American citizens. They feel that immigrants pollute the United States with their unlawful lifestyle and willingness to work for minimal pay, so they attempt to force their deportation for the purification of their country. T.C. Boyles Tortilla Curtain shows readers how, in reality, established Americans deliberately try to twist the immigrants American Dream into something akin to a nightmare because of the cultural, social, and financial differences between the two groups. These differences create tension between the two groups, causing established Americans to provide resistance against the hard work and determination of the immigrants, tainting their preconceived notion of the unbiased conditions America offers to foreigners. The novels characters and transpiration of events cannot hold any relevance in relation to the real world if it werent for Boyles accurate portrayal of the cultural, social, and financial differences between the Rincons and the Mossabachers, giving readers plausibility to relate the Tortilla Curtain with their world. Because the novel is written with a third-person narrator having the ability to disclose the thoughts and feelings of each member of the two families, it gives readers an impartial perspective into the cultural, social, and financial aspects of each members life. For this reason, readers can carry over events dealing with immigration and the

Radhakrishnan 2 American Dream, and equate them to events under the same topics in the real world. The respective ideas of the immigrants and the American citizens in the novel can be treated as if they represent the views of their respective groups in reality, so that the Rinconss views are representative of Mexican Immigrants views and the Mossbacherss views are representative of the views of established American citizens living in Southern California. Boyle shows how their thoughts on immigration and the American Dream directly compare to their respective groups they represent and their thoughts in present-day. Candido and America s reasons for illegally crossing the Mexican-American border into the United States show readers how much influence the idea of the American Dream has on people looking to advance their social and financial status, which relate to the present-day thoughts foreigners have about this country. After America suggests that she should try for some work in light of Candidos recent near-death experience, Candido reveals that Hed taken America from her father so they could have a better life, so they could live in the North, where it was green and lush the year round and the avocadoes rotted on the ground, and everyone, even the poorest, had a house, a car, and a TV (Boyle 26). Here, readers are able to see the attractive qualities of the American Dream and how easily it lures destitute foreigners onto the path towards America. The American Dream seduces the Rincons into thinking that even the people on the lowest rung of the social ladder have access to these minimal luxuries, things that only the filthy rich back in their country could brag about. People today in other countries hoping to come to the United States carry this same vision of the American Dream, thinking that being poor in this country compares to being well-off in theirs. It lures them into taking drastic steps towards fulfilling this vision, forcing them to take risks, sometimes illegal, and reduce themselves as low and vulnerable as possible. These aspiring Americans eventually find out, as do the Rincons, that

Radhakrishnan 3 their notion of the American Dream does not live up to its preconceived potential. They find themselves unable to attain their dream and struggling to survive in a new environment, fighting against more prejudiced odds than those in their homeland. Akin to many immigrants who risk the relocation to the United States, the Rincons suffered the realization of finding out that no such American Dream opened its caring arms at the border, forcing them to struggle with the most extreme, oppressive conditions. After America had expressed her discontent about how Candidos promises failed to blossom into reality, Candido could only express helplessness, saying, Hed promised. Sure he had . . . What else was he going to tell her? That they would get robbed at the border and live under two boards at the dump till he could make enough on the streetcorner to get them across? That theyd hide out like rats in a hole and live on a blanket beside a stream that would run dry in a month? That hed be hammered down on the road so he could barely stand or make water or think straight? He didnt know what to say (29). Readers can see the opposition the Rincons faced upon their initial entrance in America. Unlike the end of the novel when Candido reached out to help a white, established American in trouble, there was no such savior for him and his adolescent wife. Nobody was willing to help out the Rincons because racism wiped away any Good Samaritan thought, Americans viewing these people as if they were animals, taking their few, important belongings and leaving them only despair. Because of the multitude of immigrants, few Americans find the benevolence within to help those struggling to survive in the cold streets. Immigrants are reduced to living like animals, this lifestyle helping garner towards them a racial bias by established Americans seeing themselves as superior to these primitive humans. The opposition immigrants, like the Rincons, face upon entry into the United States forces their realization that the American Dream is truly a dream and cannot possibly exist within the

Radhakrishnan 4 realms of the real world. Amidst the racist opposition against the immigrants, there exist few people willing to help them by easing oppressive barriers seeking to wall-out foreigners. Although most Americans feel the need to suppress the influx of immigrants in their country, a small percentage of Americans side with immigrants, finding no reason to disallow them the same freedoms they have. Similar to the immigrants in the real world who depend on these figures, the Rincons indirectly had to rely on a figure in this category to keep themselves from behind on the wrong side of a barrier. During the Arroyo Blanco community meeting to discuss the option of raising a wall to block out outsiders, one community member exclaimed, We wanted an open community, freedom to come and go and not just for those of us privileged enough to be able to live here, but for anyone any citizen rich or poor. I dont know, but I cut my teeth on the sixties, and it goes against my grain to live in a community that closes its streets to somebody just because they dont have as fancy a car as mine or as big a house (43). One can see the good-willed nature of this character, wanting to give equal opportunities to all persons through his refusal to exclude anyone. The idea of keeping out illegal immigrants is unjust and discriminatory, adding to the heavy opposition the Rincons and other immigrants face. This person is attempting to preserve the immigrants notion of the American Dream, knowing that it is immoral to shut out people wanting to work hard, giving some hope to immigrants wanting to assimilate themselves into the American community. Delaney had a similar view to this person because he felt immigration helped build the country in the first place, so there is no justified reason to oppress immigrants. Because the group supporting immigrants in America is so small, the voices of people wanting to keep immigrants out easily drown out the helpless cries of those preaching equal opportunity for all, oppressing determined families like the Rincons.

Radhakrishnan 5 The population of people wanting to keep out immigrants and make it difficult for immigrants already in America to fulfill the American Dream is higher than that of people on the immigrants side. This makes it a lot easier for them to raise barriers barring immigrants and tainting the American Dream. During the same meeting when somebody spoke in favor equal opportunities for all, Jack Cherrystone opposed his statement, bellowing, Id like to open my arms to everybody in the world, no matter how poor they are or what country they come from; Id like to leave my back door open and the screen door unlatches, the way it was when I was a kid, but you know as well as I do that those days are past . . .L.A. stinks. The world stinks. Why kid ourselves? Thats why were here, thats why we got out . . . I say that gate is as necessary, as vital, essential and un-do-withoutable as the roofs over our heads and the dead bolts on our doors (44). This racist sentiment eventually takes over the fight against oppression towards immigrants because of the sheer multitude of people support it. Delaneys view as well was skewed towards this way of thinking, finding himself changing his mind as his neighbors, and his wife Kyra, spoke heatedly of barring immigrants from their community. Any hope for the Rincons and their dream of fulfilling the American Dream becomes obsolete when the bigger faction in favor of discriminating against foreigners overtakes the moral principles of the group supporting immigrants. This shows how the American Dream cannot exist in America because of how much opposition there exists against immigrants seeking a fresh start in a country that does not belong to them. Although people wanting to come here work hard for minimal necessities, and have some support from the country they are new to, a larger group wanting to keep immigrants out of their country exists, defeating any hope people like the Rincons are able to muster through their unimaginable struggles.

Radhakrishnan 6 Because of T.C. Boyles accurate portrayal of the cultural, social, and financial differences between the Mossbacher family and the Rincons, readers are able to identify the absence of the American Dream in the present-day world, and how a large number of people in the United States wish to bar immigrants from the country, no matter how hard-working or determined they may be, slaughtering the idea foreigners have of the high quality of life this country has to offer. This racist and unjust discrimination of people wanting to provide the best quality life for themselves and their children ruins the idea of what America stood for in the past. Unless the voices of Americans who support these immigrants finds some success over the opposing group, immigrants like the Rincons will always face disadvantages and struggles unlike already-established Americans such as the Mossbachers. Hopefully that day will come when the outside worlds notion of the American Dream can actually hold water inside the borders of the United States of America.

Radhakrishnan 7 Work Cited Boyle, T.C. The Tortilla Curtain. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Print.