Theme
Each question should be clearly written above each of your answers in your paper. Again, organize your paper so it is easy for me to read. Watch your writing, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and more. It is important that you think critically about theme in this novel, and in the novel and fiction in general.
During an argument with Jack Jardine, Delaney makes the following statement: “Do you realize what you’re saying? Immigrants are the lifeblood of this country — and neither of us would be standing here today if it wasn’t.” In another instance, Jack says to Delaney,
“What do you expect, when all you bleeding hearts want to invite the whole world in here to feed at our trough without a thought as to who’s going to pay for it, as if the American taxpayer was like Jesus Christ with his loaves and fishes.”
How do these two sentiments play out in the novel and in the larger theme and issue of immigration? Be specific. Cite examples from the text of the novel, complete with page numbers,.
In an interview, the author stated that he feels it is a novelist’s job to inhabit people of other races and sexes, for his/her own understanding of an issue as well as for the reader’s.
Did The Tortilla Curtain help you to better understand the issue of immigration and the people involved? How? Again, be specific by pointing to textual material to bolster your claims.
Do you think he should have offered a solution? Why or why not? From what you’ve learned, is this positioning important to state in novels in general?
How do these contrasting images play off one another? Did the conclusion leave you with a feeling of hope or despair? What language in the text left you with this feeling and why? be specific, again.
