Brief Summary Of Antonio's Ultima

Ultima goes to stay with Antonio Marez, a young boy who lives in the llano with his parents, two sister, and three brothers. This is because

When he lifts his hands into the air, instead of speaking to God to save his brothers, he speaks to the presence of the river. This shows that he will have some religion dilemmas between God and the Golden Carp. In his last dream, Antonio witnesses “Tenorio capture the night spirit of Ultima and murder it, and Ultima died in agony” (244). Soon after this dream, Tenorio kills Ultima’s owl. Antonio then understood that the owl is her living soul.

Antonio is more of a Luna than a Marez. For example, Anaya uses dialogue to show how Antonio is willing to bless a person that will show one day Antonio can be a priest: “I will bless you I cried and made the sign of the cross” (68). Another example, Anaya uses the action indirect characterization to reveal how Antonio is being a scholar and successful like his mother wanted, therefore, leaning him towards the Luna’s side more: “So instead of passing me from first to second, he was passing me from first to third… My Mother would be proud of me” (76). Also, Anaya uses dialogue to express how Antonio is a part Luna, and to be a Luna is to be calm and soothing like the moon phases: “I learned that the phases of the moon ruled not only the planting

Another example of Antonio's sense of development in good and evil is his home. It is means a lot to Antonio, because the people living in it makes him feel protected and provide warmth to him. When Tenorio and his men came to his house to take Ultima away, Antonio’s father "You walk on my land! That is my business" (Anaya 130). This make Antonio feel that he would be protected by the presence of his father., Gabriel. However, Antonio's mother made home very fond and ardent for him. She had always been affectionate towards him and would show him care. Most importantly, Ultima was the one who contributed to the goodness of Antonio's home. She made Antonio feel as though her presence filled the home with love and safety. It was Ultima who calmed Antonio down after he had seen Lupito die. Whenever he had a nightmare, Ultima would always be right beside to comfort Antonio and " could sleep again" (Anaya 34). Ultima's fearlessness against Tenorio and his three daughters made Antonio feel that he would be safe wherever Ultima was. Overall, the

Ultima's Christ like nature is displayed through her abilities, or powers as a curandera to perform miracles. Ultima's powers are shown in the text as being good; although, it is confusing to say whether her powers are coming from Christianity, or witchcraft? To illustrate the issue of this comparison to Christ, Antonio's mother recalls Ultima's powers saying, "I have seen her work miracles. She learned from the flying man from Las Pasturas"(Anaya 85). The incongruity of this statement to that of Christianity is clear cut. According to the Dictionary of Hispanic Biography, Anaya acquired the myth and superstitions from his family who lived in Pastura about a women like Ultima, who could heal (42). From Anaya's experience, syncretism of miracles and elements of superstition in folk Catholicism is apparently true. However, the only one to perform miracles in Christianity is Christ.

To start off, Antonio is always under pressure from certain people that want him to do specific things in hopes of him securing the future of his people. This ties into conflicting cultures, which plays an important role when it comes to Antonio’s early life since his actions are defined by the conflicts between the Luna and the Marez. The Luna are the devoted farmers who worship the earth and the moon, while the Marez are very free-spirited vaqueros who are extremely devoted to their lifestyle and horses. Being a Marez is what causes Antonio’s three older brothers to go into the world and leave there family behind. “It was true, I thought, it is the Marez blood in us that touches us with this urge to wonder. Like the restless, seeking sea” (40). His brothers chose a path that Antonio is struggling to pick and cannot seem to identify with. This is a big deal because Antonio is only in the first grade and he is being pressured into growing up faster than he should be.

A clear theme in Bless Me, Ultima is Antonio’s struggle to find who he is amidst two sides of himself: the Lunas and the vaqueros. He fears for his future, where he believes he will have to decide between the two parts of himself, and inevitably disappoint one half of the people in his life. He fears what his life will be. He fears the river. This all changes when Ultima arrives. She teaches him to love the presence of the river, and to love his life however it may come. She shows him that the river is the lifeblood of the herbs she uses to heal and save, and that he can use his life to help others as well. But her spirit, in the owl, also shows him that life, and the river, can be very dangerous (Anaya, 14).

Characters: Ultima- An old Curandera who comes to spend her last days with Antonio and his family. She is Tony’s mentor and helps him to find the right path for his life.

In the novel a pathetic situation was created when Tenorio kills Ultima’s spiritual owl. Actual life was created when Antonio was stuck in a dilemma to choose what path he was going to take when he grew up.

After Tenorio was defeated when he tried to accuse Ultima of being a witch, he harbors a more intensive hatred for Ultima. Narciso and Tenorio are drinking at the same bar, and they get into a fight. When Tenorio and Narciso are separated he swears that he is going to kill Ultima, and then drives away in his truck. Andrew does not heed Narciso’s urge to go home and warn them, so he takes it upon himself to go through the hazardous blizzard to save Ultima’s life once again. In the middle of the blizzard, Tenorio confronts Narciso with a gun. Narciso is seen claiming: “Ay diablo, you have shot me in cowardly fashion”(Anaya 168). He dies the death of a martyr, taking the shot through his body while trying to protect Ultima. However, the town will never know this because the police rule it as an accident, and “Because Narciso was the town drunk, nobody cared much” (Anaya 177). He was killed in the cold blood of hatred, but no one knows because the fate of a town drunk is beneath them.

Throughout the book Antonio is introduced to many new ideas. The first is the experiences he has with Ultima. Ultima is a healer who learned

Bless Me, Ultima has many recurring motifs that surface during key points in the book, such as Antonio losing his innocence. After his brothers returned he had a dream of them entering a local brothel and in his dream, he pleads for them to not enter this evil place. His brothers ridiculed him for not entering and only his brother Andrew said he will not enter until Antonio has lost his innocence. His mother was also in this dream and she said "You are innocent when you do not know, but you already know too much about the flesh and blood of the Marez men". (Anaya 76) His priest tells him you are only innocent when you do not know, innocence is lost with the arrival of understanding. Antonio has seen 3 deaths, you can begin to say that he is no longer pure of innocence as it has become tainted by those deaths he has witnessed firsthand.

Experiencing death can sometimes be the best event someone can go through. Death is more than just someone stopping from existing, it’s a concept that can be perceived as a new beginning. Being able to take the death of someone and turning their philosophy into consideration can be beautiful. In the novel “Bless Me Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya Antonio gets his faith put to the test when the arrival of Ultima brings him the beginning of the end.

First, and probably most important are the three sources of understanding for Antonio. First, there is Ultima, who serves as a neutral source of understanding and comforter for Antonio. The next source of understanding for Antonio is God. Antonio constantly struggles to understand good and evil through the eyes of the Catholic God. The final source of

An important motif in “Bless Me, Ultima” are Antonio’s dreams. His dreams foreshadow major events and make him question his beliefs, especially revolving around