Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Tortilla Curtain, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Anger, Hatred, and Bigotry
The Natural World
Fate, Luck, and Egotism
Belonging and the American Dream
Violence Against Women
Summary
Analysis
“They ain’t human. A human being wouldn’t live like they do. A human being couldn’t stand it to be so dirty and miserable.”
The novel opens with this quotation from Chapter 18 of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. In the novel, the words are spoken about “Okies,” or people from Oklahoma. The quotation speaks to the powerful way in which Delaney Mossbacher’s resentment of Cándido Rincón will cause him to dehumanize Mexicans as an entire group.
Themes
