Yoga Lordason, 1306372763
Shuri Mariasih Gietty S.Hum., M.Hum., M.A.
English
Prose AB Class, Final Paper
In a general term, a wall is a stone
or brick structure that divides an area of land as a means of protecting a
certain thing, lending it some privacy, keeping outsiders beyond the wall or in
particular case, deliberately establishing a barrier that imprisons someone in
a restricted place. In the novel under the title “the Tortilla Curtain” by
T.C. Boyle, the portrayal of wall that separates people from the society in
Arroyo Blanco property from outsiders, which throughout the novel are addressed
prominently to Mexican illegal immigrants, can be interpreted both literally
and metaphorically. Throughout the novel, the circling wall that separates the gated
Arroyo Blanco society from the rest of the society appears to represent each
literal function of a wall, but in addition to representing its literal
functions, it also metaphorically represents some profoundly highlighted issues
that have long been an important topic in the United States-Mexican border.
In order to present a comprehensive
analysis, this essay is arranged in a systematic order that includes three main
sections. The first section is focused on the interpretation of metaphorical
relation between the circling wall that separates the gated society and the
coyotes. Then second section provides an analytical account about the metaphorical
relation between the wall that is eventually struck by mudslide and the
so-called illegal Mexican immigrants. Meanwhile, the analysis of profoundly
highlighted issues in relation to United States – Mexican border makes part of
each section. Finally, the last section draws the conclusion of this essay.
The
wall and the Coyote
The
circling wall that separates the gated Arroyo Blanco society from it
surrounding area has an extremely deep, symbolic meaning in relation to the
portrayal of the coyotes and their presence that becomes an alarming jeopardy
for Arroyo Blanco society. In this case, Boyle’s thoughtful way in presenting
the issues between the United States and Mexican border is depicted through the
presence of coyote that first appears in the Mossbacher’s house, seizing and killing
Sacheverell, one of Mossbacher’s
pet dogs (Boyle, 38). Boyle illustrates the wall as a separating brick structure
that divides the Arroyo Blanco and its surrounding area into two contrastive
conditions; inside from outside, comfort from everlasting sacrifice, extremely high
level class society from thousands of people living under the line of poverty,
and the secured area with complete facilities from the dry and rough land of
the canyon beyond the wall.
Boyle’s
intention to use coyotes to symbolize the United States-Mexican border issues is
underpinned by their characteristics that correspond to the Mexican illegal
immigrants’ condition at that time. Coyotes live in the canyon, a vast, rough
and dry area that lacks of foods to feed them, separated by the circling wall.
On the other hand, people in the gated society have more than enough to suffice
their necessities. Simply, these two contrastive conditions are separated by only
a wall; a wall inside which the coyotes are by far more likely to find their
prey, and a wall over which coyotes should jump to keep them alive because it
promises a better food source. Therefore, the coyote’s action of preying Sacheverell by jumping over the
wall reflects the Mexican illegal immigrants who lack of prosperity but want to
pursue more in the North, the land of plenty, by illegally crossing the
United-State-Mexican border in order to find more opportunities to make their
future a fortunate one.
The
symbolic meaning of coyotes jumping over the wall that Boyle intends to
illustrate can also be traced by looking at the history of the land on where
Arroyo Blanco is built. The descriptions about the conversion of a vast area of
land into the luxurious property Arroyo Blanco provides a fundamental reason of
what the coyotes demand from the land in terms of animal-environment natural balance,
which becomes a symbolic meaning of what Mexican immigrants demand from the
North, the land that they think provide more opportunities. The establishment
of Arroyo Blanco has massively converted the vast area of land, and it has
tremendously decreased the space where the coyotes once might have used to hunt
their prey to survive. Then this account provides a logical reason that forces
the coyotes to jump over the wall of Arroyo Blanco in order to find foods to
feed them, mainly because the rest of the land where they survive cannot
suffice their demands of foods. After all, it becomes a symbolism that relates
to the California annexation to the United States from Mexico. California, which
was once under the rule of Mexico, was annexed to the United States, forcing
Mexicans to lose a large area of land where used to use as a source of
livelihood to suffice their necessities. Consequently, they inevitably have to cross
the border to the North to pursue prosperity because the land from where they
come is not promising enough anymore, partly due to the massive decrease of
land-space, and migrating to the North is an urgent decision in tackling this
problem.
The
idea that Boyle attempts to reflect about Sacheverrell being caught by the
coyote, and the coyote once again goes back in its endeavor to catch Osbert in the Arroyo Blanco property has
another deep symbolic meaning attached to it. In that, the coyote that
successfully catches Sacheverrell symbolizes that Mexicans are benefited from
their migration to the United States by crossing the border, and after being
benefited from their first wave of migration to the United States, they have a
notion that this land can provide fortunate future and opportunities for them
and their families, and that by crossing this border, they can raise up their
lives above the line of poverty. Having this notion, Mexican immigrants are
then forced by their hopes and dreams for the future to cross the border all
over again despite the systematically planned strategies to prevent them by
using the wall; the systematic strategies that the Arroyo Blanco society are
certain that it will definitely erase any threats originated either from
Mexican immigrants or the coyotes (Boyle, 165-167).
In
another perspective, the gated society’s response by walling off the property
suggests the rejection against any influences from Mexicans in terms of social
class and culture, which is described throughout the novel that it makes the
characters—Delaney, Kyra and people in the society become racist. However, the fact that the wall fails to
prevent coyotes from hunting
Osbert
becomes a clear indication that, by any means, the blend of culture and social
life and class between United States citizens and Mexicans are unavoidable. It
is because part of the United States, which in the novel is focused on the area
of California, was acquired from Mexico. Throughout the novel, a number of
names of place in the California are using Spanish, the language of Mexicans,
such as Da Ros Place, Los Angeles, and even the word Arroyo Blanco derives from
Spanish language, meaning white stream. It gives a clear indication that part
of Mexican culture still makes part in today’s US (particularly California)
culture, meaning that Mexican influences are inevitable. Moreover, the two
countries share border, meaning that they are within very close proximity. Therefore,
regardless of any systematic plans to prevent Mexican influences, as depicted
through walling off the property about which the gated people think would
prevent them, cultural and social blend are unavoidable.
The
Wall and illegal Immigrants
In the Tortilla Curtain,
Boyle deliberately makes the portrayal of wall that circles the Arroyo Blanco
property open to both literal and metaphorical meanings in the endeavor to
reflect United States-Mexican border issues. The word wall in the novel does
not merely mean stone structure used to divide two areas of land, but it also
conveys a wall that Delaney and people in the gated society build in their
minds.
It is interesting that Boyle uses
the wall that separates the property from canyon, the dry land beyond it to
convey a very deep meaning, particularly in its relation to Cándido and América, an illegal couple from Mexico
that also represent the lives of all illegal immigrants from Mexico in the
North. Considering the motives behind the wall-building project, apart from
preventing coyotes, it is also to avoid threats from Mexicans to whom the whole
problems are addressed. Nevertheless, the fact that Cándido is one of workers in the
wall-building project arouses a question that suggests a crucial meaning. Why
does Cándido
work to build a barrier that later on will prevent him from getting access to
Arroyo Blanco, which symbolizes the North? (Boyle, 243-244) The building of the
wall by Cándido,
which comprises a slow but steady way of constructing brick into an upright and
high structure, becomes symbolic in its relation to the origin of racism in the
society’s mind. Boyle reflects that Unite States citizens’ racism towards
Mexicans originates in the number of crimes, homelessness and unemployment
associated with Mexican immigrants themselves, which then shapes a paradigm
about Mexicans and leads the US citizens to the so-called racism. It then
results in the US citizens having no sympathy towards Mexican immigrants
because a number of Mexicans themselves contribute to the shaping of that
paradigm and racism.
However in his novel, Boyle does not mean to
sympathize with the United States citizens and blame Mexican immigrants. Rather,
instead of suggesting who to blame, Boyle attempts to describe the wall in its
metaphorical meaning, that is, the wall that Delaney and people in the gated
society build in their minds; the wall that finally makes the society unable to
understand the Mexican immigrants’ dreams and life sufferings; the wall that
makes them view the world only as one that put them at most advantages; the
wall that creates an absolute exception between Mexican immigrants and
immigrants from other countries. Above all, the wall in the gated society’s
mind is the one that triggers catastrophic clash of culture and society. It
becomes the origin of the whole prejudices, stereotype, and racism that inevitably
exist in the society, making all issues happening in the North addressed to
Mexicans without taking into consideration any possible perpetrators, as when
the fire starts in the canyon and engulfs part of Arroyo Blanco (Boyle, 266),
and as the wall is painted the graffiti (Boyle, 316)). Those happen because of the wall; the wall as
its literal meaning, and the wall as in its symbolic meaning.
Towards the end of the story, the
wall that circles the Arroyo Blanco property is finally torn down by a massive
mudslide, making it as flat as floor (Boyle, 353). In that, Boyle visibly makes
an attempt to suggest that the one and only way of tackling the whole issues
existing among the United States citizens and Mexicans immigrants is through
creating a new world without a wall as a barrier, the barrier that triggers
prejudices and stereotype; the barrier that imprisons people with their own
thoughts so that they cannot see the world in the other’s perspective as a
source of wisdom and toleration. The mudslide, which tears down the Arroyo
Blanco wall and the little camp where Cándido and América
stay, also becomes a reflection that a wall as a barrier will never benefit any
of both sides. This is clearly illustrated through the wall that prevents Cándido from getting helped as América is in the middle of giving birth
to Socorro (Boyle, 296-297), this is also the wall that prevents Delaney from
getting the beautiful view of nature and the peace it offers that is actually
his main consideration as an environmentalist in choosing to live in the Arroyo
Blanco (Boyle, 220).
In
conclusion, the issues in the United States-Mexican border emerge as people
build wall; the wall that literally functions as a stone structure that divides
the Unite States and Mexico, and the wall as a metaphor in those people’s minds
that creates prejudices and stereotype. Nevertheless, the issues that Boyle
depicts in his novel “Tortilla Curtain” using the wall as a symbol are
not aimed at expressing his sympathy towards either Mexican immigrants or the
United States citizens. Rather, his piece of wok reflects the situation in the
US-Mexican border by leaving this idea to be interpreted by the readers
themselves. In this novel, Boyle suggests the danger of a wall, which is
particularly in its symbolic meaning, as one that is likely to create issues in
society.
Works Cited
Boyle,
T. Coraghessan. The Tortilla
Curtain. 1997. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
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