Magical Realism In Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

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

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

In the book “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya there are many occurrences of magical realism. The story is focused around one boy named Antonio. throughout the book Antonio sees and learns different things that will change him forever. He learns that there is evil everywhere in the world. Antonio also meets new people who will mold him into who he is at the end of the book. By the end of the book Antonio loses his innocence and understands how the world really is. Antonio grows up because he experiences life changing events.

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

“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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Two other literary elements that Rudolfo Anaya includes in “Bless Me, Ultima” are magical realism and archetypes. Magical realism can be described as something that is not necessarily real but is believable and could be considered a miracle. Archetypes are typical examples of a person, place or thing. Anaya includes many examples of both not only to make the story grasp the reader more, but to guide the reader to interpret the story through their own lenses.

Cleansing and rejuvenation are themes that are suggested by the author, and symbolized through the use of water. In one of his dreams, Tony refers to the waters of the river, " I must lift the muddy waters of the river in blessing to our new home!" (Anaya 26) The cleansing qualities of the river show Tony's desire to put the tragic happenings of his life behind him, and begin anew. His desire is to be washed clean from the haunting memories if Lupito's death. Another reference to water is the waters of baptism. In Tony's dream his parents argue about what water he was baptized in. "Oh please tell me which is the water that runs through my veins." (Anaya120) The waters of baptism represent cleansing, but in the dream his parents argue over whether he was baptized with the holy water of the moon, or the salt water from the oceans. This represents his parent's pulling him in two opposite directions. Later in this dream Ultima explains to both of Tony's parents that in reality both of their waters are the same. This shows that Tony is rejuvenated by the idea that he dose not have to choose between one parent or another, but can take the best of both of them. Because of the water Tony is able to

The eccentric. The marvelous. These are just a few words used to describe the genre of ‘magic realism’, which is also known as ‘magical realism’ (the usage of the term, as well as its history, has been debated from the beginning, but shall be bypassed as it is an entirely different topic from what is to be discussed in this commentary). Although Oxford Dictionaries defines it as “a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy”, others have also interpreted the genre in various other ways. However, the genre itself has a set of elements and characteristics that make them its own, which helps differentiate it from fantasy, as written pieces in magic realism are sometimes mistaken to