This analysis is one of my favorites so far. I wasn't quite sure about it when I first thought of the idea because I didn't think that I could clearly draw the connection. I received very positive feedback from peers with a suggestion of possibly adding more quotes. But, I tried something more out of my comfort zone by analyzing one of the ironies in this novel and ended up pretty pleased:
In “The Tortilla Curtain,” T.C. Boyle uses the irony of a name to illuminate the unattainableness of the American dream for those who are not American. It is ironic that Boyle chooses the name América for the visionary Mexican girl that sneaks across the boarder into “the land of the plenty”: America. América Rincón, at the age of 17, has a bright future ahead of her as her older husband, Cándido, has promised her a life she has only fantasized about from her small Mexican village. The newlyweds are filled with hope and anticipation until each time they come within reach of fulfilling their dream, it is once again snatched from their grasp. América is so beaten down by the harsh country that she “had to catch her breath to keep from sobbing with the hopelessness of it. ‘I hate it here. God, how I hate it’” (326). Notice how the once hopeful América, has turned hopeless in America where she should have achieved the American dream. In América’s mind, this country was an opportunity to improve her life, not a chance feel dehumanized. In “The Tortilla Curtain” it is ironic that a non-American be named America who is after the American dream but is unable to acquire such a goal.
