These are time sensitive. You do not receive credit if you write them after the deadline each week.
First, there's a blog entry (about 250 words) which will have you respond to a hopefully thought-provoking question. Each week, you must do the blog entry with enough time left in the week to be able to enter into dialogue online with your classmates. Write, reply, write more, reply more, and then write and reply more.
Second, there's a reading. There’s no blog entry associated with this. Just read.
Third, there's a written response to the reading. Your reading and writing on the blog must be completed by the SATURDAY (by midnight) of the week in which the reading falls. This entry should be a long paragraph. YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESPOND TO OTHER STUDENTS' PART THREE EACH WEEK.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
WEEK FOUR WRITING ABOUT WHAT YOU READ
This week. write a few quotes that stand out from Tortilla Curtain. As you read, if something strikes your eye or makes you think, write it here. Keep reading, come back, add another.
"It felt as if a bomb had gone off inside his head, one of those big atomic ones like they dropped on the Japanese, the black roiling clouds pushing and pressing at his skull, no place to go, no release, on and on and on" -pg. 16
"Have I sunk to to this, a good student and a good girl who always respected her parents and did as she was told, sitting here penniless in the dirt with a common drunk?" - Page 60.
The frustration, the anguish, the sadness America must have felt. Broke my heart. At that point in time she must have felt completely hopeless.
The hopeless romantic in me loved on page 25 when Candido asked America, "Adonde vas, mi vida?" In the book it's translated as my love, but when I read it first, I took vida more literally as 'life'. "Where are you going, my life?" I'd melt if someone said this to me.
After reading 3 chapters I found this book easy to read. It is very descriptive and I am getting a picture of the 2 couples point of view. Every culture has people that have take pride in their selves. The upper class naturalist that eat healthy foods, have a spotless lifestyle, and the pampered pets have morals, but their son doesn't appreciate the food he is made to eat. That family works hard for the money and life style they live in. Delaney tried to do the right things when he hit Candido. He did have superficial thoughts concerning his car, insurance premiums increasing, and scams that had occurred in the area Chapter 1. I recognize that Candido and America have integrity, ambition, and the willingness to leave there homeland to better themselves. Candido was prideful, page 26 " It was a slap in the face," for a man not to provide for himself. The thought of a woman working for money was unthinkable and humiliating. America has pride in her appearance she dressed for success, "the one with the blue flowers against the beige background that she wore when she wanted to make a good impression," page 25. Each couple had an agenda, had goals, and had passion in their own way. They were more the same than different.
I am currently reading a banned book for my communications class, 50 shades of Grey, this book is very descriptive. And an easy read, but this book Torilla Curtain has been hard for me to read. I am trying my best for it to capture my attention, but I know that I will read it and it is starting to capture my attention. I truly read these first five pages and was completely lost for a moment, but I am trying my best not to judge a book by its cover.
The first 10 pages were very familiar to me as to how communication is key, even in these situations. And how noticing little things on people tell a story.
"...and though they didn't have a roof over their heads and nothing was settled, he'd felt happy for the first time since they'd left home." Pg. 26 I love this quote because it reminds me of the times I didn't have anything, but was still happy because I had "him" next to me and the sun was still shining with a glimmer of hope.
This is so inspiring that you chose this quote. I feel as if I can relate to you Lauren because there were soo many times when I was growing up where I had nothing. The amazing thing was that I was always a happy kid though, because I knew I was blessed for what I did have, and I also had "him" next to me. Wonderful choice of a quote Lauren
The self absorption of Delaney has me very intrigued in the first chapter. The sad part is that most of us have thought this thoughts when in an accident, Why me? Page 7 quote, "Delaney's gaze jumped from the shopping cart to the path and then to the bush at his right, and there he was, the man with the red-flecked eyes and graying mustache, the daredevil, the suicide, the jack-in-the box who'd popped up in front of his bumper and ruined his afternoon".
"Just because he spoke Spanish didn't make him a criminal." Pg. 11......This is sad just to base it of the fact that he spoke spanish. I find it a bit over exaggerating.
I agree Angel. I have to say it is almost insulting because I am Hispanic myself, so to base something on the fact of whether someone speaks Spanish or not is sad. I can remember a time when I was in Jr. High and there were a group of girls who made fun of me and told me "I do not act Mexican enough." I was so appalled and upset because I didn't even know what in the world that meant. I feel like I could relate to this book.
Lorinda- I am sorry to hear that those group of girls made fun of you. I am Mexican as well, the funny thing is people always guess my race incorrect. I've gotten greek, irish, german, asian, french, and middle eastern. Every so often people will guess correctly. I understand spanish more than I can speak it.
I've only made it to chapter 4 thus far, but I find it a bit comical that I can already see similarities between the two families central to this story. For example, both women go out to work and provide for the family while the men stay home and both women seem to be much stronger characters than their counterparts.
In addition to the tidbit about worrying about a dent on his car first before worrying about the man that he hit, this following quote from pg. 35 reminds me again of the extent of Delaney's selfishness. "He did the little things for her -- out of love and consideration, sure, but also in acknowledgment of the fact that she was the chief breadwinner here, the one who went off to the office while he stayed home. Which was all right by him. He had none of those juvenile macho hang-ups about role reversal and who wore the pants and all of that -- real estate was her life, and he was more than happy to help her with it, so long as he got his four hours a day at the keyboard."
I also find it funny (in an ironic way) that he identifies as a Democrat and strives to better the world by educating the masses of the injustices done to nature, but then he turns his head when he hits a homeless man with his car. To make the situation worse, he tells people it was a dog...and then spends more time worrying about his dog when it disappears than he does worrying about the person he maimed with his car. It's just comical how someone can genuinely worry about the fate of the flora and fauna of the planet ("Their memberships included the Sierra Club, Save the Children, the National Wildlife Federation and the Democratic Party" pg. 34) but then blatantly ignore what should have been a huge wake up call to anyone else. It's as if he has become completely detached from the world around him and cares about these matters only to the extent of how his money can touch upon these causes or how his words typed onto a keyboard can. When it comes to really helping someone, he is at a loss as to what to do.
I can already make a comparison with the coyote and the illegal Mexicans that Delaney has voiced his irritation with. He wants the people in his neighborhood to stop feeding the wild coyotes so they will stop coming, and he wants illegal immigrants that are camping out in his pristine wilderness to leave it, also.
"I've always been a quieter..." I feel like I have always been a quieter not like that character but because I never tried harder. My entire life everything I do I do it good enough but not the best u can be. I feel like I quit on myself. What I do gets me by so I don't feel liKer I should do more. but I have realized that I have to serve my best, be my best, do my best and each time do better and better. I have realized that I need something larger than me to fight for and I think that is just sad because I devalue myself. Meaning that maybe I have not quit what I am doing but I have quit on what I havnt even began. I pray to God that after realizeing this I stand up for myself and start knowing that I am worth more, that I have value, And that I am capable of flying.
"His whole life was a headache, his whole stinking worthless pinche vida." I have felt this many times~!
"He'd brought her a glass Christmas ball with the figure of a gabacho Santa Claus imprisoned in it and artificial snow that inundated him with a blizzard when you turned it upside down." That just made me laugh, and will probably have the awkward giggle at Christmas dinner when one of my sister in laws get a new Christmas ball.
"No education, no resources, and no skills—all they’ve got to offer is a strong back." When I read this line, I thought of my grandma from mexico. She didn't have much of an education, and was a field worker. When I was disabled and depressed, I remember her telling me, "Don't worry, we are very strong people, you may be down, but you'll get back up and stronger, don't worry." In spanish, though. I have always seen my grandma as a strong person, not very educated, but strong, and it just made me connect to that memory.
"He said something then in a foreign language, a gargle and a rattle in the throat, and Delaney didn't know what to do."
"Delaney felt his guilt turn to anger, to outrage."
"Just because he spoke spanish didn't make him a criminal. Maybe he was a picnicker, a bird-watcher, a fisherman; maybe he was some naturalist from South of the border studying the gnatcatcher or the canyon wren..." "Yea, sure. And Delaney was the King of Siam."
On page 52, "For 3/4 of the year the villages changed...became a village of women" because the real money was in the North. the only men that stayed around we drunks, people with no motivation, deadbeats. The immigrants in this story show that each culture is made up of good and bad. The couple in this story choose to break the law, to cross over the border, and find a better life. They had experienced heartbreaks and disappointments, they were human. On page 160 "The little things, the courtesies and reminders." "Goodwill, that's what counted." This was what made Kyra special. She was proud that she was so special in providing this service to her client's. But she did not relate this courtesy to other areas. Kyra's perspective of life was told on page 164 "she didn't want anything tacky-looking, and above all, she told him, she wanted strength and impregnability. I don't want anything getting in here ever again!" "Of course, there's not much you can do about snakes---" . This was how Kyra related to predators animals that killed her dog but more important that was how she related to immigrants, bums, beggars. Finally, on page 165 both world intersect. after Kyra and the boss of the manual labor crew negotiated price on the fence project to protect Kyra and her family from predators she notices ....the HIM, "she noticed him for the first time, the man with the limp and the graying mustache, his face bruised and swollen like bad fruit. He went right by her on his way to the truck and SHE SUCKED INHER BREATH ASIF SHE'D BURNED HERSELF." So now it is getting good and coming together. I thought both perspectives, back and forth, explanations of their existence was very expressive.
"The man must have been crouching in the bushes like some feral thing, like a stray dog”-pg. 1
“For a long moment they stood there, examining each other, unwitting perpetrator and unwitting victim, and then the men let the use useless bag drop from his fingers with a tinkle of broken glass”-pg. 8
“And then that pink-faced gabacho ran him down with his flaming gabacho nose and the little lawyer glasses clenched over the bridge of it”-pg. 17
"To his shame, Delaney's first thought was for the car (was it marred, scratched, dented?), and then for his insurance rates (what was this going to do to his good-driver discount?), and finally, belatedly, for the victim. Who was he? Where had he gone? Was he all right? Was he hurt? Bleeding? Dying?..It wasn't his fault, god knew -the man was obviously insane, demented, suicidal, no jury would convict him- but there it was, all the same."
I appreciate how the author captures the thinking patterns of an archetypal American yuppie given the situation he is in; when the narrator describes how fearful Delaney is over the condition of the man he hit, it seems as if Delaney himself is trying to compensate for his initial concern for his automobile instead of the victim.
I absolutely agree with you on this one. Selfishness is a quality that Americans have mastered very well. I know I have been guilty of being selfish too at times, but I try to be a good person and live an honest life. Unfortunately, this quote is reality to many.
The same here. I think we can both agree that it's only human to feel and/or act on your selfishness. Despite this, I do feel that it is a step in the right direction to be aware of it.
"...well, now he saw his mother, dead of something, dead of whatever. He was six years old and he thought he'd killed her himself -because he wasn't good enough, because he didn't say his "Hail Marys" and "Our Fathers" and because he fell asleep in church and didn't help with the housework. There was no refrigeration in Tepoztlan, no draining of the blood and pumping in of chemicals, just meat, dead met. They sealed the coffin in glass because of the smell. He remembered it, huge and awful, like some ship from an ancient sea, set up on two chairs in the middle of the room..."
This popped out at me, because it made me think about how much Candido and his family were lacking in their village. They had to do funerals without any sort of embalming, meaning however the deceased had died, that would be how they would look at the wake.
"Have I sunk to to this, a good student and a good girl who always respected her parents and did as she was told, sitting here penniless in the dirt with a common drunk?" - Page 60. "Just because he spoke Spanish didn't make him a criminal." Pg. 11 “I told you- he was Mexican.” Pg 15 “She felt a surge of hope: the worst of it was behind them now.” Pg. 127 I felt it was quite ironic that both women in the story were the hard workers and their counterparts were the ones who stayed at home. It threw me for a loop because the way I grew up I learned that the women are the ones who stay at home, if they even do, because most do work in today's society. I felt very happy with the last quote especially because it made me feel happy to read the sense of relief that things were starting to look up. I felt like I was there.
I'd like to open my arms to everybody in the world, no matter how poor they are or what country they are from; I'd like to leave my back door open and the screen door unlatched, the way it was when I was a kid, but you know as well as I do that those days are past.
"It was crazy to refuse treatment like that, just crazy. But he had. And that meant he was illega!--go to the doctor, get deported. There was a desperation in that, a gulf of sadness that took Delaney out of himself for a long moment, and he just stood there in front of the office, receipt in hand, staring into space"
I feel like this is such a tangible experience for many of us. An experience that is all too familiar when there are horrible things going on in this world and all I can do is sit on my couch, in that moment, and stare off into space. This is what I feel, exactly, when it comes to such terrible acts like rape, murder, war, and many others. When I hear about governments going against their people in different countries and attacking innocent beings, it just rips my heart open. I too, become desperate, engulfed in sadness where I stare into space and just think. I just feel like this quote is very relatable.
“No education, no resources, no skills - all they've got to offer is a strong back, and the irony is we need fewer and fewer strong backs every day because we've got robotics and computers and farm machinery that can do the labor of a hundred men at a fraction of the cost.” pg. 101 This quote makes me think about more and more places are using computers to replace human labor. Stores like Wal-Mart and Fresh-N-Easy use self service checkouts that replace checkout workers. A towel folding robot was actually built a few years ago but it to the robot 15 minutes per towel. I don’t think we will have robot house cleaners for awhile.
"In times of extremity, his father said, when you're lost or hungry or in danger, ponte pared, make like a wall. That is, you present a solid unbreachable surface, you show nothing, neither fear not despair, and you protect the inner fortress of yourself from all comers." The Tortilla Curtain, 168
I really like this quote, it's a very great piece of advice on how to handle difficult situations.
"For a long moment they stood there, examining each other, unwitting perpetrator and unwitting victim, and then the man let the useless bag drop from his fingers with a tinkle of broken glass" The Tortilla Curtain, 8
I also like this quote because it's where we see the journey between Delaney and Cándido begin.
"And how could he ignore the larger trends--overpopulation, desertification, the depletion of the seas and the forests, global warming and the loss of habitat? We were all right in America, sure, but it was crazy to think you could detach yourself from the rest of the world, the world of starvation and loss and the steady relentless degradation of the environment (p.33)"
This quote was something I hadn't expected to see in the story line, but it really describes how many people are living today in America. I have to say that sadly, I have too been a part of it. We are so comfortable in what we are doing and being consumed in our own lives that we forget about everything else around us; by that i mean wildlife and mother earth. I love the outdoors and when I go to the mountains or to the beach I love the surroundings and I never want to leave; however, once we get back to our everyday lives we become disconnected once again. I try to do my share and reduce, reuse, and recycle. This makes me feel a little less selfish and destructive. I'm not much of a reader, but I have to say this book has a lot of great details and descriptions and I cant wait to read what happens when Delaney crosses paths with Candido again, if that happens. I don't read very fast so I am not even half way through the book yet, but I can't wait to see what happens.
"The one's coming down from the Tortilla Curtain down there, those are the one's that are killing us. They're peasants, my friend. No education, no resources, no skills..." " This pissed me off.
Later the phrase went on to explain about a "fraction of the cost" by using "robotics" and "computers".
This actually reminded me about a contemporary issue in Taiwan. Since there was lots of "labor issues" and many other internal problems, Foxconn, one of the worlds largest phone manufacturers, will replace a lot of human workers with robots.
Below is the link if you are interested in reading it:
"That's not the point. Times have changed, my friend. Radically. Do you have any idea what these people are costing us, and not just in terms of crime; but in real tax dollars for social services? No? Well, you ought to. You must have seen that thing in the Times a couple weeks ago, about the San Diego study?"
Doesn't this sound so much like something you would hear today? I chose this quote because of the ignorance. I won't go on to start a debate but when I read this my eyes widened and my jaw dropped slightly. I guess it shouldn't surprise me, not that this is a true event in the story, but it is in every day society for many. So many people say the craziest things about immigrants in our country and blame all our economy issues on the 'newer' ones. It is interesting to see Delaney struggling with these thoughts on immigrants in his head and I really enjoyed reading that. It made it more relatable for me.
"He wanted to tell Jack that he was wrong, that everyone deserved a chance in life..."
I couldn't agree more, but the second part of that statement is a bit controversial for me. I don't think everyone deserves a chance to live IF they assimilate because every culture should not have to merge to one. I don't agree with what he says here, but I do like that he wanted to tell Jack he was wrong, and he should have!
"What good was he? He'd taken America from her father so they could have a better life...and now he couldn't put food in her mouth. Worse: she was going to earn his keep." "He did the little things for her--out of love and consideration, sure, but also in acknowledgment of the fact that she was the chief breadwinner here, the one who went off to the office while he stayed home. Which was alright by him. He had non of those juvenile macho hang-ups about role reversal and who wore the pants and all that..."
I can see the difference of bringing up and ideals with both cultures. The Mexican man believes that his duty as a man is to provide the money, while the American man does not see his manhood threatened by his wife's ability to bring more income.
"Well, it was a shock--like seeing that gabacho with the long hair in Venice, begging on the streets. America felt all the hope crumple in her. And then the gringa--Mary--was digging around inside her clothes as if she were scratching fleas..."
America feels discouraged at the fact that a white woman in America is unemployed. How could this be, she thinks, that a white woman is struggling in her own country. Now what hope does she have. Another thing that I'd like to point out is that skin color does not make one more superior. In this instant the are both in the same boat, the iron curtain is dropped between both cultures.
"If we'd wanted a gated community we would have moved to Hidden Hills or Westlake, but we didn't. We wanted an open community, freedom to come and go--and not jut for those of us privileged enough to be able to live here, but for anyone--any citizen--rich or poor..it goes against my grain to live in a community that closes its streets to somebody just because they don't have as fancy a car as mine or as big a house."
This shows that not everyone who is successful believes that they are superior. This man differs in Delaney's way of thinking and was very insightful and backed up his beliefs. I foreshadow that this is the beginning of Delaney's change of attitude towards immigrants.
"HE'D HAD HEADACHES BEFORE- HIS WHOLE LIFE was a headache, his whole stinking worthless pinche vida- but never like this."
This stuck out to me because he was in a terrible predicament being hit by a car and not being able to go to the hospital. Instead, he had to try and tough it out in the desert, on a blanket, under the sun with no food or comfort. His comparison with his life and his accident really showed the situation he was in.
"That was the most humiliating night of her life. She was herded along with a hundred other people toward a line of Border Patrol jeeps and she stood there naked and bleeding, every eye on her, until some one gave her a blanket to cover herself. Twenty minutes later she was back on the other side of the fence."
This part really stuck out because it showed the struggle of what she went through to cross the border. This was not her first attempt and yet she went across the border again.
"It felt as if a bomb had gone off inside his head, one of those big atomic ones like they dropped on the Japanese, the black roiling clouds pushing and pressing at his skull, no place to go, no release, on and on and on" -pg. 16
ReplyDeleteSo descriptive!
"Have I sunk to to this, a good student and a good girl who always respected her parents and did as she was told, sitting here penniless in the dirt with a common drunk?" - Page 60.
ReplyDeleteThe frustration, the anguish, the sadness America must have felt. Broke my heart. At that point in time she must have felt completely hopeless.
This isn't a particular spot, but I love the "Spanglish" used throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteThe hopeless romantic in me loved on page 25 when Candido asked America, "Adonde vas, mi vida?" In the book it's translated as my love, but when I read it first, I took vida more literally as 'life'. "Where are you going, my life?" I'd melt if someone said this to me.
ReplyDeleteOk, sappy rant over.
After reading 3 chapters I found this book easy to read. It is very descriptive and I am getting a picture of the 2 couples point of view.
ReplyDeleteEvery culture has people that have take pride in their selves. The upper class naturalist that eat healthy foods, have a spotless lifestyle, and the pampered pets have morals, but their son doesn't appreciate the food he is made to eat. That family works hard for the money and life style they live in. Delaney tried to do the right things when he hit Candido. He did have superficial thoughts concerning his car, insurance premiums increasing, and scams that had occurred in the area Chapter 1.
I recognize that Candido and America have integrity, ambition, and the willingness to leave there homeland to better themselves. Candido was prideful, page 26 " It was a slap in the face," for a man not to provide for himself. The thought of a woman working for money was unthinkable and humiliating. America has pride in her appearance she dressed for success, "the one with the blue flowers against the beige background that she wore when she wanted to make a good impression," page 25. Each couple had an agenda, had goals, and had passion in their own way. They were more the same than different.
I am currently reading a banned book for my communications class, 50 shades of Grey, this book is very descriptive. And an easy read, but this book Torilla Curtain has been hard for me to read. I am trying my best for it to capture my attention, but I know that I will read it and it is starting to capture my attention. I truly read these first five pages and was completely lost for a moment, but I am trying my best not to judge a book by its cover.
DeleteThe first 10 pages were very familiar to me as to how communication is key, even in these situations. And how noticing little things on people tell a story.
ReplyDelete"...and though they didn't have a roof over their heads and nothing was settled, he'd felt happy for the first time since they'd left home." Pg. 26
ReplyDeleteI love this quote because it reminds me of the times I didn't have anything, but was still happy because I had "him" next to me and the sun was still shining with a glimmer of hope.
This is so inspiring that you chose this quote. I feel as if I can relate to you Lauren because there were soo many times when I was growing up where I had nothing. The amazing thing was that I was always a happy kid though, because I knew I was blessed for what I did have, and I also had "him" next to me. Wonderful choice of a quote Lauren
DeleteThe self absorption of Delaney has me very intrigued in the first chapter. The sad part is that most of us have thought this thoughts when in an accident, Why me? Page 7 quote, "Delaney's gaze jumped from the shopping cart to the path and then to the bush at his right, and there he was, the man with the red-flecked eyes and graying mustache, the daredevil, the suicide, the jack-in-the box who'd popped up in front of his bumper and ruined his afternoon".
ReplyDelete"Just because he spoke Spanish didn't make him a criminal." Pg. 11......This is sad just to base it of the fact that he spoke spanish. I find it a bit over exaggerating.
ReplyDeleteI agree Angel. I have to say it is almost insulting because I am Hispanic myself, so to base something on the fact of whether someone speaks Spanish or not is sad. I can remember a time when I was in Jr. High and there were a group of girls who made fun of me and told me "I do not act Mexican enough." I was so appalled and upset because I didn't even know what in the world that meant. I feel like I could relate to this book.
DeleteLorinda- I am sorry to hear that those group of girls made fun of you. I am Mexican as well, the funny thing is people always guess my race incorrect. I've gotten greek, irish, german, asian, french, and middle eastern. Every so often people will guess correctly. I understand spanish more than I can speak it.
DeleteI've only made it to chapter 4 thus far, but I find it a bit comical that I can already see similarities between the two families central to this story. For example, both women go out to work and provide for the family while the men stay home and both women seem to be much stronger characters than their counterparts.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the tidbit about worrying about a dent on his car first before worrying about the man that he hit, this following quote from pg. 35 reminds me again of the extent of Delaney's selfishness. "He did the little things for her -- out of love and consideration, sure, but also in acknowledgment of the fact that she was the chief breadwinner here, the one who went off to the office while he stayed home. Which was all right by him. He had none of those juvenile macho hang-ups about role reversal and who wore the pants and all of that -- real estate was her life, and he was more than happy to help her with it, so long as he got his four hours a day at the keyboard."
I also find it funny (in an ironic way) that he identifies as a Democrat and strives to better the world by educating the masses of the injustices done to nature, but then he turns his head when he hits a homeless man with his car. To make the situation worse, he tells people it was a dog...and then spends more time worrying about his dog when it disappears than he does worrying about the person he maimed with his car. It's just comical how someone can genuinely worry about the fate of the flora and fauna of the planet ("Their memberships included the Sierra Club, Save the Children, the National Wildlife Federation and the Democratic Party" pg. 34) but then blatantly ignore what should have been a huge wake up call to anyone else. It's as if he has become completely detached from the world around him and cares about these matters only to the extent of how his money can touch upon these causes or how his words typed onto a keyboard can. When it comes to really helping someone, he is at a loss as to what to do.
I can already make a comparison with the coyote and the illegal Mexicans that Delaney has voiced his irritation with. He wants the people in his neighborhood to stop feeding the wild coyotes so they will stop coming, and he wants illegal immigrants that are camping out in his pristine wilderness to leave it, also.
"I've always been a quieter..." I feel like I have always been a quieter not like that character but because I never tried harder. My entire life everything I do I do it good enough but not the best u can be. I feel like I quit on myself. What I do gets me by so I don't feel liKer I should do more. but I have realized that I have to serve my best, be my best, do my best and each time do better and better. I have realized that I need something larger than me to fight for and I think that is just sad because I devalue myself. Meaning that maybe I have not quit what I am doing but I have quit on what I havnt even began. I pray to God that after realizeing this I stand up for myself and start knowing that I am worth more, that I have value, And that I am capable of flying.
ReplyDelete"His whole life was a headache, his whole stinking worthless pinche vida." I have felt this many times~!
ReplyDelete"He'd brought her a glass Christmas ball with the figure of a gabacho Santa Claus imprisoned in it and artificial snow that inundated him with a blizzard when you turned it upside down." That just made me laugh, and will probably have the awkward giggle at Christmas dinner when one of my sister in laws get a new Christmas ball.
"No education, no resources, and no skills—all they’ve got to offer is a strong back." When I read this line, I thought of my grandma from mexico. She didn't have much of an education, and was a field worker. When I was disabled and depressed, I remember her telling me, "Don't worry, we are very strong people, you may be down, but you'll get back up and stronger, don't worry." In spanish, though. I have always seen my grandma as a strong person, not very educated, but strong, and it just made me connect to that memory.
"He said something then in a foreign language, a gargle and a rattle in the throat, and Delaney didn't know what to do."
ReplyDelete"Delaney felt his guilt turn to anger, to outrage."
"Just because he spoke spanish didn't make him a criminal. Maybe he was a picnicker, a bird-watcher, a fisherman; maybe he was some naturalist from South of the border studying the gnatcatcher or the canyon wren..."
"Yea, sure. And Delaney was the King of Siam."
On page 52, "For 3/4 of the year the villages changed...became a village of women" because the real money was in the North. the only men that stayed around we drunks, people with no motivation, deadbeats. The immigrants in this story show that each culture is made up of good and bad. The couple in this story choose to break the law, to cross over the border, and find a better life. They had experienced heartbreaks and disappointments, they were human.
ReplyDeleteOn page 160 "The little things, the courtesies and reminders." "Goodwill, that's what counted." This was what made Kyra special. She was proud that she was so special in providing this service to her client's. But she did not relate this courtesy to other areas. Kyra's perspective of life was told on page 164 "she didn't want anything tacky-looking, and above all, she told him, she wanted strength and impregnability. I don't want anything getting in here ever again!" "Of course, there's not much you can do about snakes---" . This was how Kyra related to predators animals that killed her dog but more important that was how she related to immigrants, bums, beggars.
Finally, on page 165 both world intersect. after Kyra and the boss of the manual labor crew negotiated price on the fence project to protect Kyra and her family from predators she notices ....the HIM, "she noticed him for the first time, the man with the limp and the graying mustache, his face bruised and swollen like bad fruit. He went right by her on his way to the truck and SHE SUCKED INHER BREATH ASIF SHE'D BURNED HERSELF."
So now it is getting good and coming together. I thought both perspectives, back and forth, explanations of their existence was very expressive.
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ReplyDelete"The man must have been crouching in the bushes like some feral thing, like a stray dog”-pg. 1
ReplyDelete“For a long moment they stood there, examining each other, unwitting perpetrator and unwitting victim, and then the men let the use useless bag drop from his fingers with a tinkle of broken glass”-pg. 8
“And then that pink-faced gabacho ran him down with his flaming gabacho nose and the little lawyer glasses clenched over the bridge of it”-pg. 17
"To his shame, Delaney's first thought was for the car (was it marred, scratched, dented?), and then for his insurance rates (what was this going to do to his good-driver discount?), and finally, belatedly, for the victim. Who was he? Where had he gone? Was he all right? Was he hurt? Bleeding? Dying?..It wasn't his fault, god knew -the man was obviously insane, demented, suicidal, no jury would convict him- but there it was, all the same."
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how the author captures the thinking patterns of an archetypal American yuppie given the situation he is in; when the narrator describes how fearful Delaney is over the condition of the man he hit, it seems as if Delaney himself is trying to compensate for his initial concern for his automobile instead of the victim.
I absolutely agree with you on this one. Selfishness is a quality that Americans have mastered very well. I know I have been guilty of being selfish too at times, but I try to be a good person and live an honest life. Unfortunately, this quote is reality to many.
DeleteThe same here. I think we can both agree that it's only human to feel and/or act on your selfishness. Despite this, I do feel that it is a step in the right direction to be aware of it.
Delete"...well, now he saw his mother, dead of something, dead of whatever. He was six years old and he thought he'd killed her himself -because he wasn't good enough, because he didn't say his "Hail Marys" and "Our Fathers" and because he fell asleep in church and didn't help with the housework. There was no refrigeration in Tepoztlan, no draining of the blood and pumping in of chemicals, just meat, dead met. They sealed the coffin in glass because of the smell. He remembered it, huge and awful, like some ship from an ancient sea, set up on two chairs in the middle of the room..."
ReplyDeleteThis popped out at me, because it made me think about how much Candido and his family were lacking in their village. They had to do funerals without any sort of embalming, meaning however the deceased had died, that would be how they would look at the wake.
"Have I sunk to to this, a good student and a good girl who always respected her parents and did as she was told, sitting here penniless in the dirt with a common drunk?" - Page 60.
ReplyDelete"Just because he spoke Spanish didn't make him a criminal." Pg. 11
“I told you- he was Mexican.” Pg 15
“She felt a surge of hope: the worst of it was behind them now.” Pg. 127
I felt it was quite ironic that both women in the story were the hard workers and their counterparts were the ones who stayed at home. It threw me for a loop because the way I grew up I learned that the women are the ones who stay at home, if they even do, because most do work in today's society. I felt very happy with the last quote especially because it made me feel happy to read the sense of relief that things were starting to look up. I felt like I was there.
I'd like to open my arms to everybody in the world, no matter how poor they are or what country they are from; I'd like to leave my back door open and the screen door unlatched, the way it was when I was a kid, but you know as well as I do that those days are past.
ReplyDelete"It was crazy to refuse treatment like that, just crazy. But he had. And that meant he was illega!--go to the doctor, get deported. There was a desperation in that, a gulf of sadness that took Delaney out of himself for a long moment, and he just stood there in front of the office, receipt in hand, staring into space"
ReplyDeleteI feel like this is such a tangible experience for many of us. An experience that is all too familiar when there are horrible things going on in this world and all I can do is sit on my couch, in that moment, and stare off into space. This is what I feel, exactly, when it comes to such terrible acts like rape, murder, war, and many others. When I hear about governments going against their people in different countries and attacking innocent beings, it just rips my heart open. I too, become desperate, engulfed in sadness where I stare into space and just think. I just feel like this quote is very relatable.
“No education, no resources, no skills - all they've got to offer is a strong back, and the irony is we need fewer and fewer strong backs every day because we've got robotics and computers and farm machinery that can do the labor of a hundred men at a fraction of the cost.” pg. 101
ReplyDeleteThis quote makes me think about more and more places are using computers to replace human labor. Stores like Wal-Mart and Fresh-N-Easy use self service checkouts that replace checkout workers. A towel folding robot was actually built a few years ago but it to the robot 15 minutes per towel. I don’t think we will have robot house cleaners for awhile.
"In times of extremity, his father said, when you're lost or hungry or in danger, ponte pared, make like a wall. That is, you present a solid unbreachable surface, you show nothing, neither fear not despair, and you protect the inner fortress of yourself from all comers."
ReplyDeleteThe Tortilla Curtain, 168
I really like this quote, it's a very great piece of advice on how to handle difficult situations.
"For a long moment they stood there, examining each other, unwitting perpetrator and unwitting victim, and then the man let the useless bag drop from his fingers with a tinkle of broken glass"
The Tortilla Curtain, 8
I also like this quote because it's where we see the journey between Delaney and Cándido begin.
"And how could he ignore the larger trends--overpopulation, desertification, the depletion of the seas and the forests, global warming and the loss of habitat? We were all right in America, sure, but it was crazy to think you could detach yourself from the rest of the world, the world of starvation and loss and the steady relentless degradation of the environment (p.33)"
ReplyDeleteThis quote was something I hadn't expected to see in the story line, but it really describes how many people are living today in America. I have to say that sadly, I have too been a part of it. We are so comfortable in what we are doing and being consumed in our own lives that we forget about everything else around us; by that i mean wildlife and mother earth. I love the outdoors and when I go to the mountains or to the beach I love the surroundings and I never want to leave; however, once we get back to our everyday lives we become disconnected once again. I try to do my share and reduce, reuse, and recycle. This makes me feel a little less selfish and destructive. I'm not much of a reader, but I have to say this book has a lot of great details and descriptions and I cant wait to read what happens when Delaney crosses paths with Candido again, if that happens. I don't read very fast so I am not even half way through the book yet, but I can't wait to see what happens.
"And then, before the words could turn to ash in his mouth, it was out: I told you--he was Mexican."
ReplyDeleteI thought the description here was good.
The author does a great job at making his readers visualize each scene vividly.
"The one's coming down from the Tortilla Curtain down there, those are the one's that are killing us. They're peasants, my friend. No education, no resources, no skills..."
ReplyDelete"
This pissed me off.
Later the phrase went on to explain about a "fraction of the cost" by using "robotics" and "computers".
This actually reminded me about a contemporary issue in Taiwan.
Since there was lots of "labor issues" and many other internal problems, Foxconn, one of the worlds largest phone manufacturers, will replace a lot of human workers with robots.
Below is the link if you are interested in reading it:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57549450-92/foxconn-reportedly-installing-robots-to-replace-workers/
"That's not the point. Times have changed, my friend. Radically. Do you have any idea what these people are costing us, and not just in terms of crime; but in real tax dollars for social services? No? Well, you ought to. You must have seen that thing in the Times a couple weeks ago, about the San Diego study?"
ReplyDeleteDoesn't this sound so much like something you would hear today? I chose this quote because of the ignorance. I won't go on to start a debate but when I read this my eyes widened and my jaw dropped slightly. I guess it shouldn't surprise me, not that this is a true event in the story, but it is in every day society for many. So many people say the craziest things about immigrants in our country and blame all our economy issues on the 'newer' ones. It is interesting to see Delaney struggling with these thoughts on immigrants in his head and I really enjoyed reading that. It made it more relatable for me.
"He wanted to tell Jack that he was wrong, that everyone deserved a chance in life..."
I couldn't agree more, but the second part of that statement is a bit controversial for me. I don't think everyone deserves a chance to live IF they assimilate because every culture should not have to merge to one. I don't agree with what he says here, but I do like that he wanted to tell Jack he was wrong, and he should have!
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ReplyDelete"What good was he? He'd taken America from her father so they could have a better life...and now he couldn't put food in her mouth. Worse: she was going to earn his keep."
ReplyDelete"He did the little things for her--out of love and consideration, sure, but also in acknowledgment of the fact that she was the chief breadwinner here, the one who went off to the office while he stayed home. Which was alright by him. He had non of those juvenile macho hang-ups about role reversal and who wore the pants and all that..."
I can see the difference of bringing up and ideals with both cultures. The Mexican man believes that his duty as a man is to provide the money, while the American man does not see his manhood threatened by his wife's ability to bring more income.
"Well, it was a shock--like seeing that gabacho with the long hair in Venice, begging on the streets. America felt all the hope crumple in her. And then the gringa--Mary--was digging around inside her clothes as if she were scratching fleas..."
America feels discouraged at the fact that a white woman in America is unemployed. How could this be, she thinks, that a white woman is struggling in her own country. Now what hope does she have. Another thing that I'd like to point out is that skin color does not make one more superior. In this instant the are both in the same boat, the iron curtain is dropped between both cultures.
"If we'd wanted a gated community we would have moved to Hidden Hills or Westlake, but we didn't. We wanted an open community, freedom to come and go--and not jut for those of us privileged enough to be able to live here, but for anyone--any citizen--rich or poor..it goes against my grain to live in a community that closes its streets to somebody just because they don't have as fancy a car as mine or as big a house."
This shows that not everyone who is successful believes that they are superior. This man differs in Delaney's way of thinking and was very insightful and backed up his beliefs. I foreshadow that this is the beginning of Delaney's change of attitude towards immigrants.
"HE'D HAD HEADACHES BEFORE- HIS WHOLE LIFE was a headache, his whole stinking worthless pinche vida- but never like this."
ReplyDeleteThis stuck out to me because he was in a terrible predicament being hit by a car and not being able to go to the hospital. Instead, he had to try and tough it out in the desert, on a blanket, under the sun with no food or comfort. His comparison with his life and his accident really showed the situation he was in.
"That was the most humiliating night of her life. She was herded along with a hundred other people toward a line of Border Patrol jeeps and she stood there naked and bleeding, every eye on her, until some one gave her a blanket to cover herself. Twenty minutes later she was back on the other side of the fence."
This part really stuck out because it showed the struggle of what she went through to cross the border. This was not her first attempt and yet she went across the border again.