âThe Unaware Contradicting City Dwelling Nature Enthusiastâ
With the ever increasing human population, combined with mankindâs thirst for more, the natural environment quickly gets pushed aside like a forgotten toy. With every story, the perspective is told by the winners, driving the narrative of how and why specific actions transpired. As described by Adichie, the One Story narrative can create ignorances within people. Exampling the story of colonial America being a much different story if told from the Native Americanâs perspective. This difference in perspectives is apparent within Tortilla Curtain showing the many catalysts which initiate human expansion. This expansion occurs for many reasons within human societies, ranging from different push and pull factors, with this expansion something else must contract. Usually this contraction doesnât come easily or willingly and in the case of the constricting of nature, it will fight back. Within âTortilla Curtainâ we see the forces of man and nature butted up against one another with varying consequence, Delaney our main character in within himself portrays this same dilemma, being an invasive species nature buff who lives a controlled life. Our human footprint is a dynamic feature, but can we both expand and coexist?
Whenever a species is introduced into a new habitat it may find a natural balance within its new environment or it will become a disturbance to that balance. This aggressive expansion is what characterizes invasive species, allowing them to take control within a community. Most examples of these species exhibit similar traits allowing them to survive in an alien environment. The ability to grow quickly is vital since it will lessen the time they are vulnerable during life, the ability to multiply quickly gives you an advantage in numbers. Within a new environment requires using new foods and conditions that need to be acclimated to. All these characteristics are important but the most important may be the ability to associate with the greatest of invasive species, humans. Unlike most invasive species, humans seek out new environments as if it were destiny, and unlike most invasive species, humans bring their own conquering tactics. Many of the traits needed to be a successful invasive species donât apply to humans. This is mainly due to humans being able to flip the perspective script into their favor. Instead of having to change to different climates and conditions, humans instead make their own climates, i.e housing. Instead of eating off the new food humans cultivate the land to make whatever necessary food. This ability to change the environment around them leads to their ravenousness expansion throughout the world. Within âTortilla Curtainâ we see both Delaney and Candido use this technique of changing their environment to be able to survive. Delaney, though âopposedâ to having a gate, doesn't realize that there are several gates already existing within his life. His movement into the outskirts up against nature was a way to barrier from the more evident Mexican immigration. As well, unacknowledged barriers were the backyard fence, luxurious Audi, etc, all barriers set up in order to keep him apart from others.
Along the expansions front opposing forces start to emerge. As nature starts to give way to metropolis the plants and animals donât go quietly. As within the book, Delaney wants to be a part of both worlds, he wants walk among nature while disregarding his own disruptive footprints. Living on the front lines between man and nature, Delaney is conscious of otherâs battles against nature but unaware of his own advancements. This lack of perspective and consciousness can be seen within many aspects of human nature and this lack of awareness becomes a lubricant to the expansion of people within different domains. Delaneyâs move into the nature is seen to be motivated by several factors, his âloveâ for the natural world in which he wants to associate with. There is also the push of the increasing immigration within the city, mainly Latino, this ingress is seen negatively and something to escape. At the same time we see Candido, the other protagonist, pushed mainly by economic reasons. The desire for safety and economical can be argued as the strongest motivators seen within the expansion of people.
Since it seems to not come easy to humans, how is it that some animals can live balanced within their community and environment, what makes this work and is it a product of them or their environment? Looking at the population of coyotes and rabbits it wouldnât be a fair comparison to humans and nature. If the coyote could, they would eat as many rabbits as possible, disrupting their balance with nature. The difference between humans and the coyotes is humans have the choice to eat what and how much they like, this lack of consciousness by the coyote implies that a balance is constructed by outside forces and not by the participants. An issue within humans is the fact that we are becoming increasingly good at controlling our outside forces and tipping the scales always in our favor, this lack of outside force requires humans to be aware of consequences within their environment. If asked, Delaney would probably think he was a conscious, self-aware part of the âbalancedâ world, though we see an internal struggle to the contrary. Just as Delaney damns the encroachment of immigrants within the canyon, he fails to understand his own trespassing even after the Coyote politely reminds him by eating his dog. Delaney, lacks the awareness of his own actions within his environment, throwing off the balance between him and nature.
Being balanced within Nature requires a self awareness of your actions and consequences. Though, in an âInceptionâ sort of way, you also need to be self aware of that awareness because that can fog your lens in which you are looking at yourself. Delaney thinks that he is on the right side of the fence, wall or circumstance but in reality he is just as out of place as Candido, the immigrant Mexican living in a canyon. Though, just as Delaney and Candido are similarly encroachers, Candido is at least aware that he doesnât belong, and Delaneyâs ignorance is the true crime between the two. This example of ignorance is what in the end wonât allow for the coexistence of Humankind and Nature.
Works Cited
Boyle, T. Coraghessan. The Tortilla Curtain. New York: Viking, 1995. Print.
