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Bless Me Ultima Identity Essay

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To find one's identity can be a struggle for many; however author Rudolfo Anaya takes on that struggle to explain what it means to find yourself in his Mexican-American literature, Bless Me, Ultima. Rudolfo Anaya uses the theme of Identity and enlightenment and many other themes through the young protagonist Antonio Marez. Anaya is able to illustrate the journey and hardships of finding out who you are through the eyes of a child. Using the personal development of character and plot, he is able to build connection with the reader and story of the main character's coming of age. The novel is also based on the Anaya's actual childhood. At the same time, the novel shows many elements of fantasy and magic, with the myth of the Golden Carp, the …show more content…

The novel is presented as a coming-of-age story in which the protagonist grows and develops as he experiences the tragedies of life. Other important themes of the novel is the question of sin and morality and the loss of innocence. At the beginning of the novel, Antonio is only six years old and very much a child in terms of understanding and innocence. Throughout the course of the novel, however, Antonio is exposed to events that force him to lose his innocence such as the death of Lupito by the river, Narciso’s murder by Tenorio, Florence’s accidental drowning, and Ultima’s death. Antonio must learn to balance this loss of innocence in order to become mature and follow his own path in life. Eventually, he is able to overcome his anxieties and realizes that a life of faith and a life of action are mutually incompatible. Because this loss of innocence is a crucial element of the novel and Antonio’s development as a character, the novel would not be as connecting if he were older. Antonio’s older brothers are already beyond this age of self-awareness, and it is important that Antonio is both self-aware and susceptible to change as an

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