The Tortilla Curtain follows Delaney Mossbacher’s transformation from a self-proclaimed “liberal humanist” to a man consumed by racist anger. Under the influence of the anti-immigrant sentiment of his friends and neighbors, Delaney’s descent into paranoia shows how prejudice and xenophobia breed hostility. Throughout the novel, Delaney’s fear of losing his comfortable middle-class life transforms into an ugly hatred, illustrating the tendency of the white upper-middle class to jealously guard their power and status, even at the risk of losing their humanity. 

Despite Delaney’s claim to progressive ideals, he exhibits racial implicit biases from the beginning that lead to prejudice. Knowing nothing about Cándido besides the fact that he is Latino, Delaney comes to a host of negative conclusions about the man, assuming that he is camping in the canyon, “dumping his trash behind rocks, polluting the stream and ruining it for everyone else” (11). Even when he reminds himself that Cándido is not necessarily a criminal “just because he spoke Spanish” (11), he does not really believe it, scoffing, “Yeah, sure. And Delaney was the King of Siam” (12). Delaney spends the first half of the novel trying to repress his racism. However, as the novel progresses, he stops trying to check himself and leans into his prejudice.