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T. Coraghessan Boyle: The Tortilla Curtain
in America working he was never really happy, even if he for a short period made money. He was working up in the north – where there was snow – and he was always freezing. He was not use to cold weather, and he did not like it. When he went to Los Angeles, where he could earn more money, his luck got even worse. After a tip to La Migra, Cбndido ends up running away, along with two other illegal immigrants. The other two – young boys – ends up being killed on the highway as they were following Cбndidos lead. Cбndido could never “forgive himself for what happened” (173). After that he goes back to Mexico. But despite the bad things he experienced in America he still wants to go there again, chasing the American dream. When he goes there a second time, with Amйrica, he is faced with even more bad luck, both for him and his wife. But even though he is faced with the unfortunate incident after another, both on the part of himself and his wife, the dream keeps his hope up. In Mexico he lived a much better life, even though he and Amйrica did not have any of the gringos luxury. Amйrica was not exposed with the danger that she was in America, they did not have to run from La Migra, they had friends, and they did not have to live an unworthy life as they do in America. When Cбndido’s mother is laying on her deathbed Cбndido says to her: “Mamб, I want you to take me with you, I don’t want to stay here without you, I want to die and go to the angels too” (21). His mother answers him: “go to the devil” (21). This can be looked at as his mother is telling him that he should go back to Los Angeles (the city of angels) since that seems to be the only way he can achieve happiness again, even though it is obvious what she thinks of America and Los Angeles, and probably thinks that it would be best if he settled down in Tepoztlбn. But Cбndido is willing to risk many things by going back to Los Angeles, this time with his beautiful young wife. Since they live in the canyons among other illegal immigrants, most of them single or having left their wives back home and trying to send home money, he exposes her for great danger of being raped, and she is. That would probably never have happened back in Tepoztlбn, but it happens as a result of Cбndidoґs selfish decision to bring Amйrica with him. If he had been less selfish he would have returned with Amйrica when he was seeing that things did not go as he had planed, that time either. The only thing keeping them there is the hope that the American dream will come true and save them, but all it does is giving them false hope and [next page]