The Tortilla Curtain Part || Vocab Ch. 7 - 8

Chapter 7: 
Apparition - Divide Calculate 
Penurious - Don't want to spend money
Frenetic - Widely excited or active 
Diminutive - Extremely small in size, tiny 
Innundate - To flood, to overflow 

Chapter 8:
Recrimination - An accusation 
Voyeur - Obsessive 
Blithely - Care free, nonchalant 
Venal - Open to bribery 
Myopia - Lack of long range perspective 

Tortilla Curtain Part 2 Questions Ch. 4-6

Chapter 4:
1. From the past events, how do you feel about Delaney? Why?
2. If you were in America's position, what would you do if you were pregnant without a stable home?
3. Why does Candido stop looking for a job?

Chapter 5:
1. How many times has Delaney been married?
2. What is strange about Kyra and Delaney's concern about the dog in the car?

Chapter 6:
1. Why does Delaney accuse the man of stealing? (Race, Gender)
2. How successful is Kyra for being a real estate agent?

The Tortilla Curtain PART 2 Chapters 1-3 Summaries

Chapter 1

          The Tortilla Curtain part two opens out with Delaney going to the Acura dealership to get a new car. He is able to get a car that looks like his stolen car; Kenny Grissom, the Acura salesman, tells him that Mexicans are the ones that always steal cars, Delaney dislikes Kenny Grissom because his personality. He then drives his new car to an Indian restaurant and meets up with Kyra for lunch. They discuss plans to build a new, taller fence for their backyard. As they're discussing this Delaney has the urge to tell Kyra that losing his car has mad him upset and resent Latinos. As they were leaving the restaurant Kyra notices a dog that has been mistreated then she goes onto confront everyone in the restaurant asking about the car; after a while she leaves forgetting about the dog in the green jeep and goes on with her day by working at the office. Meanwhile, Delaney tries to create a "mouse trap" for Latinos and anyone that tries to steal his car. After closing at the office Kyra checks up on the fencing going on at her house and notices Candido's injuries and realizing that he's the man that Delaney hit with his car.

Chapter 2 

          

          Candido is extremely proud of himself for being able to get a job at a reconstruction place although the pay is extremely low he imagines the future him and America can have if he saves up his money. As Candido's and America's lives were looking up, they soon realized that someone tipped the immigration off and officers were looking for them. Candido and America got away from the officers and now lived at Topanga creek. Candido realizes that wherever they are living, he can't give America the life that they dreamed of. He is reminded of that every time he looks at her because he sees that she is week and pregnant. 

Chapter 3 

          Delaney and Kyra continue to discuss the issue of the gang of Mexicans; Kyra informed Delaney that she showed Mike Bender the problem and convinced him to use his connections to get the gang out of the area. Delaney at first stunned by the news soon excepts it and gives it heavy thoughts. Delaney and his friends soon exchange stories and crimes about the hispanics, and brain storm a way to prevent the crimes from happening. He soon discovers that they tell him this because they want to build a wall around Arroyo Blanco. He puts deep thought into building the wall and wonders what would happened if all the Mexican immigrants would survive with that wall up. As Kyra, Jordan, and Delaney continue on with their day Delaney notices a horrific sight on Kyra's face; he turns around and finds a coyote back in their year after Osbert. The coyote grabs the dog and runs across the fence so fast that the little dog's life cannot be spared. 

Background Info Chapter 8

The Coyote - Recurrent motif throughout the novel, at the same time one of the strongest symbols of 
immigrant

Construction of "The Walls" - A physical barrier keeping people and cultures apart 
(Stonewall & gate installed in order to protect community against immigrant and criminals)

Opossum - Candido's dinner, believes it taste like wet rat

"Pilgrim at Topanga Creek" - monthly column for a nature magazine called Wide Open Spaces

Arroyo Blanco Community Center - White stucco building with an orange tile roof and features a kitchen, a wet bar, a stage, a P.A. system, and seating for two hundred people 

Chapter 4,5,6 Tortilla Curtains Question

Chapter 4:

1. Why does America return mad?

2.Who was Candido married to before America? What relationship does his ex-wife and America have?

3. What does Candido hear, after drinking water in the stream?

4..What are America's experience at the labor exchange?

5.Who is Candelario Perez?

Chapter 5:

1.What does Delaney admit to Kyra?

2.What sense does Kyra uses, to analyze the houses she sell?

Chapter 6:

1.Why does America snap at Candido?

2.How much money does America make for working six hours?

  

Vocabulary; Chapters 5, 6, & 7.

Chapter 5:

p. 63 rancid: rotten; strong scent

p. 68 consummate: ultimate; best

p. 69 nuance: slight difference 

p. 71 haggard: worn; weak

p. 72 auspicious: encouraging; favorable 

                                                      Chapter 6:

p. 81 irremissible: required; necessary 

p. 84 insinuating: provoking doubt 

p. 85 tepid: lukewarm 

p. 86 perpetual: continue; lasting 

p. 94 truncated: shorten


Chapter 7: 

p. 99 detonation: explosion 

p. 100 erroneously: wrongly; defectively 

p. 105 perverse: mean; troublesome 

p. 105 obliterated: eliminated 

p. 105 vacillation: irresolution 

Tortilla Curtain Chapters 1 & 2 Questions

Chapter 1

1. If you were in Delaney's position would you have handled the situation in the same way?
2. What are the pros and cons of his decision?
3. Do you think he will get caught?


Phuong Ha
1. No, I would have gotten Candido help instead of giving him money because the feeling of guilt would haunt me. 

2. The pros of his decision is that he got rid of the problem just by handing over money to Candido because he did not ask for anything else; also, Delaney was not sued because handing over money was a simple action to take considering the fact that Candido could not sue him because he was afraid of getting deported. The cons are that he would not have known if Candido got any help and would have to live with that guilt; also, karma would get him back for the action he has taken as result of the accident. 

3. Yes, I think he will get caught because since he is injured he brings even more attention to himself. 

Chapter 2

1. Put yourself in Candido's shoes, would you have gone to the doctor?
2. Why did America seek work?
3. Why does Candido not approve of her working?

Phuong Ha
1. No, I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have gone because if people had found out I was an immigrant, I would have to suffer being injured along with getting deported because there was a low chance I was going to get any help at all. 

2. To help Candido since he was injured; but also to help him succeed in living the life they had planned to live together. 

3. Candido wants to feel like he can provide for America and doesn't want America to be suffering the way he does trying to find a job.