The Coyote In The Tortilla Curtain by T. Coraghessan Boyle, the author repeatedly draws parallels between the actual coyote and the figurative coyote. Boyle uses the actual coyote to show how the animal actually is. In this novel the coyote acts as a symbol for many things. Boyle parallels the figurative coyote with Jose Navidad who is portrayed as the bad character in the novel. Boyle also uses the coyote to parallel the illegal immigrants …showed first 75 words of 1106 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1106 total…try to live off of the land. In one of Delaney’s columns he writes that the coyote has adapted. We can see how Candido has adapted to his surroundings just like the coyote has. In all of these cases we see how the coyote resembles some part of the characters. The coyote has proved to be a symbol in this novel because many of the character’s actions have resembled part of the coyote.