The Priorities of the Wealthy

By the second page of T.C. Boyle's compelling novel, The Tortilla Curtain, the reader is already becoming aware of a sad, disheartening reality: what the mindset of far too many Americans is when it comes to material possessions versus the value of a human life- but not just any human life, a Mexican life. The main character's immediate reaction to the frightening, possibly deadly, car accident he just had- hitting a man who'd jumped out into the road- is one of brutally cold materialism. Delaney admits to himself and the reader that his reactions were first "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" (4). Instead of transporting the man to a hospital, Delaney drives to his Acura dealer following the accident, seeking a repair on his just recently-pristine headlight. As he calls his wife and explains what happened, his reasoning for giving the man a mere $20 and no other form of help is a shameful, yet to him undeniable, "I told you- he was Mexican" (15). This type of cold, detached justification for an act bordering on inhuman, is sadly very similar to that of many other Americans.

The Grapes of Wrath quote in the front of the book just about sums it up, before the reader even understands how pertinent it will be to the story to come: "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." (Steinbeck). Is this the actual mindset of most Americans? All of those people who support stricter border control and the deportation of illegal immigrants and closed borders and English as our only language and so on and so forth... is it possible that this is the way they view all of those Mexicans living in our country, striving for a better future?