Magical Realism In Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

Bless Me Ultima fits the description of "magical realism" because the story talks a lot about a curandera named Ultima. As we all know, a curandera is a healer. Rudolfo Anaya portrays Ultima as this old lady who has magical and spiritual powers. She seems to bring life to things around her.

Furthermore, his dreams influence his belief of religion. In one of his dreams it shows God as unforgiving and punishing. God tells Antonio that “vengeance is mine” (173). Towards the end of the dream, the Golden Carp appears as “ such beautiful brilliance that he became a new sun in the heavens” (176). The Golden Carp seems much more positive than the Catholic God because of how the different God was described as in his dream. Antonio believes more of the Golden Carp rather than God because God punished people while the Golden Carp “swallows everything good and evil…and…becomes…a new sun to shine its good light upon the earth” (176). In the first dream, it mentions of another power, describing it as the presence of the river. Antonio asks to save his brothers but “…sparks flew when [he] spoke. It is the presence of the river” (26). This foretells that there is another great

This sets up the initial conflict for Antonio, he wants to believe in his mother's God, but at the same time he finds conviction and truth in what Samuel is telling him about the golden carp god. Furthermore, while Antonio is supposed to be praying to God he says, "There wasn't time to discover Him, like I could do when I sat on the creek bank and watched the golden carp swim in the sun-filtered waters" (233). I think this shows that Antonio feels a deeper connection to nature and the golden carp than he does to God and traditional values. He is more like Ultima, than like either one of his parents. The golden carp offer Antonio a way of thinking that is free and unstructured, unlike that of Catholicism.

Magical realism is a type of writing where two views of reality come together. There are numerous of ways magical realism is expressed in Latin American writing. A very common one amongst stories is open-ended conclusion in which we the readers just have to accept it. Usually magical realism is used as a metaphor for something more meaningful. One story that conveys a lot of magical realism is The Third Bank of The River by João Guimarães Rosa. The story is about the narrator's dad who was quite the quiet man, who one day bought a boat fit for one. He entered the river and never spoke a word to another soul again. The son is the only one who stays at the house in case of the father's return. He leaves food out for him so that he will survive, until one day he makes an offer to his father, and ends up fleeing in terror.

“Bless me, Ultima” and “Flight” both suggest that magical realism/fantasy influences the main characters ability to find their identity. While Antonio, from the book “Bless me, Ultima” uses Antonio’s dreams to show how Antonio’s premonitions of his association with Ultima and her influence on him as a teacher, on the other hand, Zits, from the book “Flight” has the use of time travel to help the Zits discover himself through embodying a variety of people throughout different points in history. These people help zits discover himself through the many different themes they all shine down on Zits. Magical realism enhances the themes of the novels by providing a lesson for the main character after each occurrence.

Antonio starts feeling and questioning his beliefs when his family becomes hopeful that his first communion will cure. The carp seems to make more sense to Antonio, but he is not ready to

The golden carp symbolizes the pagan religion which ties into christianity. At the river, Cico is talking to Antonio and exclaims, “When the gods had turned the people into carp, the one kind god who loved the people

An example of magical realism in the story is that of the Golden Carp. While many people would not consider it real, the concept is similar to the idea of god. The Golden Carp is something that Antonio considers magical and fascinating but is reluctant to believe in. At the bottom of page 113 Antonio says, “The Golden Carp came. Cico pointed and I turned to where the stream came out of the dark grotto of overhanging tree branches. At first I thought I must be dreaming.” (Anaya, Page #113). Even though he was enthusiastic to view the Golden Carp, once he saw it he had a hard time accepting its physical existence.

Florence wasn’t all that religious but he went to church anyways just to hang with his friends. Animal, I thought. Were the fish of the golden carp happier than we were? Was the golden carp a better God? (Pg. 197). This was Tony and Antonio talking about god and how he wasn’t reliable that it wasn’t bad to have knowledge outside of religion. Florence is just a small kid and he believes that isn’t looking over him. He does not believe in God because he lost his parents at an early age so he thinks that God is to blame for all of his misfortunes. Florence was found at the river where the carp swam floating motionless he had drowned. My attention was centered on the northern blue skies. There two hawks circled as they rode the warm air currents of the afternoon. They glided earthward in the wide, concentric circles. (Pg. 241). These hawks could symbolize the freedom, that maybe Florence was finally free from his torment that he has while he was alive. Florence was also a child when he died so he was pure of heart he did not commit mortal

	In Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima, the author uses Tony's dreams as a way of displaying various symbols. Three symbols that are used often are weather, water, and the Golden Carp. Weather is used to represent conflict. Water represents cleansing, and rejuvenation. The Golden Carp symbolizes religion and Tony's beliefs. Because dreams are a not an exact mirror of reality, they become the perfect tool for introducing symbolism. The author uses the dream as a way to access the recurring themes of the book.

Everyone, except of Ultima told him to be a priest and a scholar because that’s what he was born to be. The reader begins to see Tony not seeking joy and fulfillment on his journey to become a priest as he does not hear from God and as he does not want to sin to grow up. Tony was raised with a plan set for his life, therefore his destiny was not natural like a flower. Ultima shows a contrast to this belief as she never tells him what to be, but let’s him explore what is right for him. Ultima tells Tony how a man’s destiny must be natural with essential necessities with no outside influences because that’s how the most satisfaction is gained. Ultima also hints that the only way for a successful and true destiny is for the flower to unfold so it can be pollinated to make other flowers blossom similar to how Tony’s destiny should influence others to be great. Tony spent the novel with Ultima, seeking God through his Catholic beliefs, and the symbol of the Golden Carp. Tony saw different beliefs, but was left to choose which one was right for him. He saw Ultima’s magic as a symbol of goodness, but knew it was rejected from everyone, He saw God as a strict

Antonio learns about the golden carp from Cico, a friend of his. According to Cico, the golden carp was once a god who loved the people of Antonio's town, Guadalupe. The people were not allowed to fish for the brown carp that lived in the river that flowed around the town. These fish were sacred to the gods. However, because of a drought and no food, the people had to eat the carp to survive. This angered the gods. They wanted to punish all the people by death but "they relented from killing the people. Instead, they turned the people into carp and made them live forever in the waters of the river-". The god who loved the people wished to become a carp like them to protect them from the dangers of the river. The gods agreed and "because he was a god they made him very big and colored him the color gold". Antonio cannot believe there is a new god and seeks answers from Ultima. Ultima is pleased that he has learned so much, but says she cannot tell him what to believe for he must decide for himself. The Golden Carp represents all the questions Tony has about religion and morality. Tony’s confusion is due to conflicting forces in both these aspects of life. When Cico first introduces the Carp to Tony, he is forced to make a tough decision, “Do you believe the Golden Carp is a god?” which he skillfully evades until he has the information he wants to make his decision. After the emergence of the Carp, Tony begins to question his

Bless Me, Ultima is a Chicano novel written by Rudolfo Anaya in 1972, which includes a magical realism plot. Chicano literature is especially significant in this novel because it helps create a cultural identity for the main character and his community. The novel talks about a petite boy named Antonio; throughout the book Antonio makes his best efforts to try and find the path to which he belongs, he wants to find answers about who he is and wants to learn a lot more about his religion which included getting his questions answered about god. The novel talks about the importance in Chicano literature and what impacts it has on the characters. Although Bless Me, Ultima focuses on Chicano literature and the magical

Often when we are reading a novel or book, regardless whether it is fiction or nonfiction, we crave a story in which the author has created a world where there is not only a convincing storyline, but there is also some truth to words on the page. The book Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya represents this exact structure. While other books use a young kid as an excuse for misinterpreting information, Bless Me, Ultima only uses it to it’s advantage. For example, the book uses character deaths, God, and diversity, to create a story where the meaning of the book is to show the negativity and unfaithfulness of the world.

Imagine, every morning you wake up to the sound of the rooster singing. Not to the normal crow a rooster makes, but to a beautiful sonata that wakes your soul up from a deep slumber. It may not sound too realistic in our real word, but to a writer, this can bring special emphases to the story’s meaning. This literary practice is called magical realism. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines magical realism, or magic realism as they put it; 1) painting in a meticulously realistic style of imaginary or fantastic scenes or images; and 2) a literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction. It is the second definition that author Laura Esquivel, incorporates magical realism into her book, Like Water for Chocolate. Many of the themes and emotions in the book are emphasized with the use of Magical realism.