Curtain in the Context of Gender Roles
Introduction
The Tortilla Curtain is a book that relates to two families from different socio-cultural upbringing who are brought together by circumstances. One family represents the affluent natives while the other family is the illegal Mexican immigrants. One of the recurring themes is the role of men and women as set by society. From 1990 to the end of 2000, the population of Mexican immigrants rose by a factor of 5% (Knapp et al. 1). Gender is a construct of social and cultural factors leading to various behavioral norms that can shift in the process of immigration. Gender representations in The Tortilla Curtain result from the trends in the 1990s period by immigrants and middle-class citizens as a result of education levels and opportunities in America.
Discussion
The role of men and women are developed through internalizations of everyday life. Through these internalizations, children develop from a young age, the role of men and women in society (Knapp et al. 1). As such, children define the expectations of their roles which, in turn, leads to the development of important future expectations that give them their identity. The rise of the middle-class, especially in America, redefined and set some of the roles of men and women in society. In the period of the late 20th century, men developed and associated their masculinity as a factor of power based on the number of dependants (Söderlund). In this way, men dominated the dependants and the extent of dominance attributed to their masculinity.
This is a fact that is opposite to the situation that men should play on the ground which is presented by Delaney and Candido in the Tortilla Curtain which has some deep negative psychological effect. Candido is the husband to America and portrays the role of the man in the society as expected from the socio-cultural norms. Candido is seen to be worried about America being harassed by men. This worry is driven by the strong belief of his role as a husband to America which is protection and having utter control. This is a fact that Candido relays when he says that he feels that he has lost control of his wife (Boyle 31). If he fails in this role, Candido fears that he will have humiliated himself. Despite this valid fear, Candido is a violent man who beast her wife, America. This portrays the lack of acknowledgment by Candido on the effect of violence on women and instead, measures it against his expectations. The same scenario is seen for Delaney. The property belonging to Das Ros is applied vulgar graffiti that diminishes the dignity of a woman. Kyra is afraid to walk to the property at night and asks her husband, Delaney to accompany her. This is met by resistance from Delaney who does not seem to validate Kyra’s fears.
The lack of acknowledgment of the extent of violence on women in the examples shows the mismatch of the gender roles of both men and women in the period. This lack of validation of the feminine fears is driven by the fact that men exercise their masculinity by placing their responsibilities at a higher level with a fear of being shamed by society.
This validation is true when Delaney and Candido meet through an accident. Delaney hits Candido and he is seriously injured (Boyle 23). As a result, he is unable to meet his obligations of feeding his family. His wife, America, takes up a job. This fact leads to Candido developing depression as he believes his masculinity as defined by society is unworthy. This is because he is the one to provide for the family while the woman stays and looks after the family. This is a contrast to Delaney whose wife is the breadwinner through her real estate career. Delaney is learned as compared to Candido. So much so, that he writes the local magazine on nature. Candido, on the other hand, is an illegal immigrant that is struggling to live the American dream (Boyle 42). However, a major challenge has been adjustment to the societal norms that they meet (Abramitzky and Boustan 1) with the main characteristic being acquisition of odd jobs and minimum wage as a result of the low education levels. In a society plagued by low education levels, women are disadvantaged from social, economic, and political (Weaver-Hightower, 2003). This is a situation that is highly synonymous with illegal immigrants. However, with limited opportunities for them in their home countries, migration to other countries becomes a necessity.
This is a trend that was particularly high in the 1990s. From the early to mid-1990s, there was an increased trend of illegal and legal migrants to the US from the Hispanic origin (Pew Research). During this period, there were about 1.1 million migrants to the US per year (Pew Research). This increased trend also means that there was a higher increase in the risk of illegal immigrants especially women, being subjected to violence. This is a fact that is seen in America. America is almost raped by a group of men at the border, she is molested by Jim Shirley, and Jose Navidad rapes her. This has the effect of destroying her self-esteem leading to post-traumatic stress disorder and contracting a sexually transmitted disease which leads her to give birth to a blind child. Despite this, her husband is also violent to her and is mainly focused on not being deported.
Conclusion
Therefore, femininity and masculinity as represented in the Tortilla Curtain result from the trends in the 1990s period by immigrants and middle-class citizens as a result of education levels and opportunities in America. The education levels reveal the key difference between Delaney and Candido accepting to take reversed roles with their wives as breadwinners in their homes. The education levels of illegal immigrants are low which disadvantages them greatly leading to high immigration to higher opportunity areas. In the process, they are highly vulnerable without proper documentation which makes women highly vulnerable to abuse as seen through America. From an even point, both Candido and Delaney are focused on the effect of various gender role validations as a fact that causes inconvenience to them without considering the effect on their most vulnerable wives.
Personal Reflection
Several ways have emerged from this writing assignment that has improved my writing skills. To begin with, I have developed better cohesion of my ideas through use of a stepwise process in developing the work. I began with developing an outline that was followed by a draft and a final copy. The process has enabled me to develop a stepwise way creating a copy of work that has a unified theme reflected through. Additionally, I have been able to develop a better understanding of the idea development process. This idea development process is aided by use of a thesis statement that is supported by topic sentences in each paragraph.
Another area that has been of great benefit is the use of proofreading. Every time I wrote a paragraph, I had to re-read it to have good grammatical and idea flow with the next. This also helped to use vocabulary that is specific to the assignment. As such, I have developed skills to apply the appropriate language and vocabulary in developing an academic-level essay. The assignment is also helpful in the development of appropriate skills in doing research. In developing the assignment, I had to consult the library database and learn various tools available for easy research. Also, I was able to identify sources that were appropriate to academic-level essays in the process. At the writing center, I was also able to learn the art of being specific. This enabled me to convey a range of ideas within a shorter essay than in previous instances. All-in-all, through this exercise, I have been able to improve my writing skills. I can improve my future writing skills by exercising these skills to be an expert.
Works Cited
Abramitzky Ran., Boustan Leah. Immigration in American Economic History. Journal of Economic Literature. 55(4): 1311–1345. doi: 10.1257/jel.20151189 Boyle, T. C. The Tortilla Curtain. Penguin Books. 1995.
Knapp, Jenna, Muller Brianna, Quiros Alicia. Women, Men, and the Changing Role of Gender in Immigration. Institute for Latino Studies University of Notre Dame; 2009. 3(3): 1-14
Pew Research. Rise, Peak, and Decline: Trends in U.S. Immigration 1992 – 2004. 2003. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2005/09/27/rise-peak-and-decline-trends-in-us-immigration-1992-2004/
Söderlund, Emma-Sofie. A Trajectory Towards Racism: Vraisemblance and Masculinity in T. C. Boyle’s The Tortilla Curtain. Stockholm University, Department of English. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.diva-portal.se/smash/get/diva2:782898/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Weaver-Hightower, Marcus. The “Boy Turn” in Research on Gender and Education. Review of Educational Research. 2003, 73(4): 471-498