This Spring Break, you read T.C. Boyle's The Tortilla Curtain, a fictional look at the issues raised by illegal immigration. In the novel, Candido and America, a pair of Mexican illegal immigrants seeking a better life, security, and personal dignity, find themselves thwarted by the Mossbachers, intent on keeping the same for themselves. The novel culminates in a scene exposing both the best and worst of humanity in a world where laws and culture have been forsaken, and it asks us to examine both the noble and ignoble consequences of pursuing the American Dream.
Los Angeles, where the novel takes place, may seem like a different world from Milwaukee, but the issue of illegal immigration has affected our own USM community as well. A recent graduate of USM was herself threatened with deportation in 2009 for being in the country illegally. You can read about the story here: http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/29567089.html.
When the story hits closer to home, the issues are not as crystal clear. What does our study of the American Dream say should take priority? With whom do your sympathies lie, and why? Who is more deserving of a better fortune? Is Boyle fair to both sides of the issue? How does he structure the novel to draw parallels between the ill-fated couples? Does Boyle believe in the America Dream?
I look forward to hearing your answers when we return from break.
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