Tortilla Flat was his first successful novel was published in 1935. It is a comic novel that tells the humorous tale of the adventures of a group of pleasure-loving Mexican-American countrymen (Paisanos) who drink, steal, chase women, make music, and dance until they are eventually undone by a climactic fire. The novel is based on the theme of sharing and how sharing doesn’t help or improve things if we share things with those who do not deserve it.
Characters of Tortilla Flat
Danny is the protagonist of the novel. He is a simple non-chalant carefree man with no interest in materialistic things. He and his friends have no ambitions beyond their present enjoyment. He is poor and homeless but suddenly he gets two houses and an inheritance after his grandfather’s death. However, Danny has no interest in this newly acquired wealth and social status. He invites his friends to share their wealth with them. Pilon is Danny’s friend. He is a debauched person who gets involved in cheating and stealing but continues to convince himself that he is doing so to help others. Pablo is another friend of Danny who shares his house with him. Unlike Pilon, Pablo is not so dominant and has some artistic streak. Jesus Maria Corcoran is another of Danny’s friends who is humanitarian and prefers helping people in need. Unlike Pablo, he doesn’t get involved in stealing and scheming for selfish reasons. Big Joe Portagee is a friend of Pablo who is a known criminal and has been serving jail term. Paolo introduces him to Danny and they become friends. Unlike other friends of Danny, Big Joe follows no moral code. The Pirate is a lonely poor homeless man who likes dogs and keeps five street dogs with him, taking care of them. He lives in squalor on scraps, stashing away the little money he earns every day. He is the only one in the group of Danny’s friends who earns a little. He feeds the household and happily does the kind of physical labor the others always avoid. Tito Ralph is the jailor of Tortilla Flat, a decent and friendly man.
Summary of Tortilla Flat:
In the beginning, the narrator describes the small fishing town of Monterey and a poor countryside Tortilla Flat. Most of the inhabitants of Tortilla Flat belong to a multiracial group of Spanish-Americans called paisanos. These are simple living people who are yet untouched by the commercialism and greed of capitalism. Danny is a pasiano living in Tortilla Flat. He is a poor homeless guy who enjoys his time with his friends drinking and chasing women. Danny’s grandfather owns two houses but Danny prefers living in the forest. During the First World War, Danny and his friends get drunk and suddenly feel a surge of patriotism and enlist themselves but none of them get a chance of action in war. On his return, Danny finds out that his old grandfather has passed away and now he owns the two houses and the wealth of his grandfather. Danny isn’t prepared for this as he feels property means responsibility and he is not ready for that. Confused, he drinks too much and breaks some windows in the street. As a result, he gets jailed for a month.
After coming out of the jail, Danny starts living in one of his grandfather’s houses. Pilom, his old-time friend reaches him and asks for help as he is homeless. Danny allows Pilon to take his other house on rent. However, Pilon does not earn anything and hence, he hardly pays any rent.
Danny and Pilon then find out about their other Pablo and Pilon invites Pablo to live with him so that he may help him in paying the rent to Danny. However, Pablo too earns nothing. Sometimes later, Pablo and Pilon find out Corcoran, another friend of Danny and Pilon and he too starts living in the second house of Danny but none of them earn anything. Pilon is a scheming person who doesn’t flinch away from stealing and cheating and that is how the group makes enough money for their fun and drinking. In addition, Pilon also convinces his friends to rent rooms in the second house. Corcoran does some odd jobs and makes some money but he is too selfless and often spends all his money helping others like, feeding hungry children or helping someone get medical aid.
One night, after drinking too much wine, the group of friends loses consciousness while Pablo's Saint Francis candle burns the entire house to the ground. None of the friends get hurt though but they are sad because all of them are again homeless. Danny allows them to shift into his house but insists that they should stay away from his bed.
At Danny’s house, the four friends continue their debauchery, drinking and partying. They would often sit around a round table and the narrator compares to the Knights of the Round Table. None of the four men are earning anything substantial while they have their spending. One day, they find another man living in squalor on scraps and make friends with him. The man calls himself the Pirate. He earns a little by chopping wood and selling it in the market. The Pirate is often accompanied by five dogs whom he calls his friends and protectors. Pilon notices that while the Pirate makes money, he hardly spends any and deduces that the Pirate must have saved a lot of money. He starts following the Pirate in the hope of finding where he hides his money so that he can steal but fails. One day, the Pirate tells them about one of his dogs who was sick. He prayed to Saint Francis to cure the animal. Saint Francis came through, and the dog lived—only to be struck and killed by a truck later. Nonetheless, the Pirate feels a debt to Saint Francis and saves his money to buy a candle in his honor. The group becomes compassionate towards the Pirate and invites him to live with them at Danny’s house. Pilon continues to try to sneak in and steal his money. However, he soon gets another idea of making money with the help of one of his friends Big Joe who has just been released from jail. Big Joe Portagee informs him about a hidden fortune in the jungle that supposedly makes the ground glow on Saint Andrew’s Eve. Pilon and Big Joe decide to find the hidden treasure and steal it. On Saint Andrew’s Eve, they get heavily drunk and visit the jungle and spot a place on the ground from where a blue light appears emanating. The next day, they visit the place and dig it up only to find an old surveying map of no use.
Meanwhile, the Pirate begins trusting Danny and decides to retrieve the buried stash of money he saved and hands it to Danny for safekeeping. Danny stores it under his pillow. When Big Joe and Pilon return to the house, they come to know about the money saved by Pirate. Big Joe decides to steal that money but when he tries to do so, all four friends confront him and beat him until he gets unconscious. The group then counts the money and Pilon announces that it is enough money for the Pirate to buy the golden Saint Francis Candle. The group then visits the Church and the Pirate purchases the candle from Father Ramon, who tells his congregation about the Pirate and his tribute to the Saint. At the same time, the Pirate’s dogs rush into the Church and create a ruckus and as a result, the Pirate and others are thrown out of the Church.
The friends return to Danny’s house and they continue their lives of revelry and debauchery but the monotony of the paisano way of life and the weight of property ownership begins to wear on Danny. He begins feeling trapped and feels that his life in the forest is much easier and freer, so he leaves the house and runs away to the forest. As a vagabond, he steals from everyone including his friends, and continues an incessant spree of petty crimes. Husbands all over town call for vengeance for what he has done to their wives, and the police swear that he will be arrested on sight for his vandalism and fighting. After spending a month in the jungle, Danny decides to return. He is greeted well by his friends, however, Danny is still unsure if he wishes to lead a paisano’s normal life.
His friends then decide to throw a party to cheer him up but they have no money. When Pilon asks for help from Tito Ralph, he suggests that they should work hard to earn and save money for the party. The group then decides that they will work hard at the squid yard to earn and save enough to arrange for the party. Tito Ralph and Big Joe to accompany them at work. Everyone works hard and the news of these indolent men getting to work to earn money makes rounds throughout Tortilla Flat. At last, they have enough money to throw a nice party to which everyone is invited.
Danny is highly thrilled by knowing that his friends worked to arrange the party. At the party, he drinks too much alcohol and flirts with many girls. He then engages in light-hearted fights with others that escalate. He takes up a broken leg of a wooden table and challenges the whole world to fight against him but nobody accepts his challenge. He then leaves the house with a wooden piece to fight against his enemies outside. He continues walking in a drunken state straight off the edge of a cliff and into a gulch.
After his death, his friends decide to attend his funeral but they are broke again with no money and decent clothes. Thus, they are forced to watch the service from outside the cemetery. After the funeral, everyone gets emotional and they decide to throw another party as a tribute to their friend Danny. They return to his house and drink wine. While everyone is too drunk, the fireplace releases a spark that inevitably engulfs the entire house in flames. The friends all escape intact and do nothing to stop the fire. They stand by and watch, realizing their journey together is ending. As the house burns, each man walks off in a different direction, on his own.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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