Article
The Tortilla Curtain and California's Nativist Heritage
Text and Performance Quarterly
(2013)
Abstract
T. C. Boyle’s epic California novel The Tortilla Curtain appeared in 1995, in the aftermath of the Proposition 187 controversy that roiled the state, but the issues Boyle raised*immigration, nativism, and racial conflict in California*remain no less relevant today. Indeed, as this essay explains, California’s discomfiture over immigration dates back to the Gold Rush era of the 1850s and has been a constant feature of state politics and culture ever since. Matthew Spangler’s brilliant adaptation of Boyle’s novel for the stage succeeds in dramatizing the issue for today’s audiences.
Disciplines
Publication Date
April, 2013
Publisher Statement
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Citation Information
Glen Gendzel. "The Tortilla Curtain and California's Nativist Heritage" Text and Performance Quarterly Vol. 33 Iss. 2 (2013) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/glen_gendzel/26/