The Tortilla Curtain

The novel's setting affects the characters in numerous ways, depending upon where they live. The most difficult border to breach was the one that separates the United States from Mexico. From there, we have borders that separate people by income.... borders that include fences and gates to separate themselves from their not so afluent neighbors. Physical structures eventually come to reflect the borders of the mind..... theways in which people are unable to see their Mexican neighbors as human beings.

Another border can be found in the road separating the upper canyon (Arroyo Blanco Estates), and the lower canyon, where Candidó and América make their camp. This road once again serves as a border that separates two types of people. Those with high status live above the road, those without live below it. Many of the conflicts in the novel are a direct response to characters cross that border. Candidó, for example, is hit by Delaney's car when he moves across the road. Delaney's car, on the other hand, is stolen when he hikes below the road.