1. “We were all right in America, sure, but
it was crazy to think you could detach yourself from the rest of the world, the
world of starvation and loss and the steady relentless degradation of the
environment.” (Location 622).
This sentence refers to Americans tendency to shut their eyes to
the things going on in the rest of the world, yet Delaney tries to keep his
altruistic nature intact, despite the moral failings of his neighbors.
2. “The ones coming in through the Tortilla
Curtain down there, those are the ones that are killing us.” (Location 1807).
This quote from Jack is referring to the illegal immigrants that
come here and are straining the resources of America, in his opinion.
3. “This was what mattered. Principles. Right and
wrong, an issue as clear-cut as the on/off switch on the TV.” (Location 2660).
This sentence is a bit of foreshadowing by Boyle, because the
issue of immigration and basic human rights is not so clear-cut.
4. “She had a passion for hiking, for solitary
rambles, for getting close enough to feel the massive shifting heartbeat of the
world.” (Location 2045).
I simply felt the idea of the world having its own heartbeat
that we could hear, or feel, or somehow sense, was beautiful to me.
5. “He stood rooted to the spot for what seemed
like hours after she’d ducked into the car, backed out of the lot and vanished,
and only then did he open his hand on the two quarters and the dime that clung
there as if they’d been seared into the flesh.” (Location 3540).
The idea of begging for money being so shameful that it caused
physical pain was intriguing to me.
6. “The coyotes keep coming, breeding up to fill
in the gaps, moving in where the living is easy. They are cunning, versatile,
hungry and unstoppable.” (Location 3767).
Boyle is clearly using coyotes as a metaphor for illegal
immigrants, albeit in a very negative fashion here.
7. “It was like that day out on the Cherrystones’
lawn, the same look of contempt and corrosive hate, but this time Delaney
didn’t flinch, didn’t feel guilt or pity or even the slightest tug of common
humanity.” (Location 4980)
Delaney is changing, and not for the better. This quote
illustrates that he is literally losing his sense of humanity and common
decency.
8. “He was starting from scratch, like a
shipwrecked sailor, everything they had— clothes, blankets, food, a pair of
dented pots and a wooden spoon— consumed in the blaze.” (Location 5179).
I thought this metaphor was very powerful and accurate, although
Candido and America had been like “shipwrecked sailors” the whole time.
9. “Was it wrong, was it a sin, was it morally
indefensible to take from a dog? Where in the catechism did it say that?”
(Location 5237).
Candido’s brief moral dilemma was heartbreaking. The thought of
anyone ever having to make a rationalization such as this is terrible.
10. “But when he saw the white face surge up out of the black swirl
of the current and the white hand grasping at the tiles, he reached down and
took hold of it.” (Location 6108).
Although I hated that this was the way Boyle chose to end the
book, the moral of the story is undeniable: be a good person and always do what
you think is right, no matter how bad things may be for you.
Synthesis
One of the major underlying themes of the book is resentment. “The ones coming in
through the Tortilla Curtain down there, those are the ones that are killing
us,” (Location 1807). This quote from Delaney’s neighbor Jack illustrates a
resentment bordering on hatred that he feels toward Mexicans. Although it seems
Jack is being
hyperbolic in saying that they are “…killing us,” he seems to
mean it quite literally. While Jack is a relatively one dimensional character
that is filled with resentment from the start, Delaney and his wife, Kyra start
out as relatively likeable, liberal-minded people that care about the
environment, with a clear sense of right and wrong. “We were all right in
America, sure, but it was crazy to think you could detach yourself from the
rest of the world, the world of starvation and loss and the steady relentless degradation
of the environment,” (Location 622). This is an example of the way Delaney
thought in the beginning of the book, with empathy and compassion. Kyra,
although somewhat harder and more distant than Delaney, was portrayed similarly
in the beginning of the book. “She had a passion for hiking, for solitary
rambles, for getting close enough to feel the massive shifting heartbeat of the
world,” (Location 2045). This quote shows a softer side of Kyra, the kind wife
and mother with a penchant for hikes. Later in the book, when Kyra witnesses a
dog locked in a car with windows up, she is filled with righteous indignation.
As this is all happening, Delaney thinks to himself, “This was what mattered.
Principles. Right and wrong, an issue as clear-cut as the on/off switch on the
TV,” (Location 2660). Although this quote is a bit of foreshadowing of how
blurred the moral lines will become for him, it still is a good example of the
fact that he is still a good person with benevolent intentions. Another major
theme in the book is transformation, especially for the white characters. “The
coyotes keep coming, breeding up to fill in the gaps, moving in where the
living is easy. They are cunning, versatile, hungry and unstoppable,” (Location
3767). This is a passage from Delaney’s newsletter, and it seems to be a thinly
veiled metaphor for the Mexicans that he is beginning to despise. Whether he
knows it or not at this point, the narrow-minded attitudes and beliefs of his
friends and neighbors have begun to plant the seeds of resentment and set his
seemingly inevitable transformation in motion. This transformation is clearly
visible when he confronts the Mexican in the baseball cap. “It was like that
day out on the Cherrystones’ lawn, the same look of contempt and corrosive
hate, but this time Delaney didn’t flinch, didn’t feel guilt or pity or even
the slightest tug of common humanity,” (Location 4980). The worst part of this
is that Delaney is completely aware of the change within himself, and he
relishes it, wallows in it like a pig in slop. Despite the fact that the reader
knows that the Mexican in the baseball cap is a horrible person, a rapist and a
thief, Delaney is not aware of this, he is simply giving in to the hatred
growing inside of him. Candido’s transformation was different. He had a great
deal of animosity and resentment toward the rich gringos he would see,
in their fancy cars and clothes. Even their pets had more than he did. “Was it
wrong, was it a sin, was it morally indefensible to take from a dog? Where in
the catechism did it say that?” (Location 5237). This heart-wrenching quote
illustrates just how resentful Candido was, that he was even jealous of a dog.
Despite the resentment and indignation within Candido, his transformation was
positive, as magnanimous as Delaney’s was malevolent. Delaney had hunted
Candido and America down like dogs, with murderous intent. “But when he saw the
white face surge up out of the black swirl of the current and the white hand
grasping at the tiles, he reached down and took hold of it,” (Location 6108).
In that moment of life or death, despite the potential danger he was putting
himself and his little family in, Candido chose to help his enemy. He chose
lend a helping hand to the man that had hurt him when he needed it he most. He
chose, in spite of all of his bad luck, to be a good man.
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