Summary Of Bless Me Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

hesis: In the novel Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya illustrates how Antonio Marez endures to find his own identity in a cultural society that is extremely influential. Antonio was raised in a cultural society where religion is an obligation. Objective cultural values contradict his beliefs and the way he will place himself in this society.

According to Kenneth Turan on Los Angeles Times, “magic realism informs young Antonio Marez's sense of how strange and unfathomable the world can seem” (Los Angeles Times). Ultima was seen as a woman of wisdom by Antonio because she had a lot of knowledge and experience of life. Ultima possessed wisdom no other had ever because of her powers as a curandera and rivalries with those who thought of her as evil. Antonio learned the powers of herbs through Ultima. The fact that whenever Antonio tells the story of Ultima he feels as if she is alive again is truly powerful. This shows the impact she had on his life and the fascinating events they encountered together. It was obvious that Antonio was maturing because he was learning how to not fear tragedies, “It is because good is always stronger than evil. Always remember that, Antonio. The smallest bit of good can stand against all the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant. There is no need to fear men like Tenorio”

In the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, the main character Antonio Marez tells the story of his coming of age with his curandera and mentor Ultima. Rudolfo Anaya weaves a story from the child’s point of view of good and evil, of myth and reality, and of life and death. Throughout the novel, Antonio struggles with his identity, his faith in God, his family and destiny.

Differences in others aid to the stimulation of ideas and opinions that expresses an individual 's personality. In Rudolfo Anaya’s bildungsroman, Bless Me, Ultima, the struggle between two families and their extreme differences cause numerous conflicts that are constantly present throughout his novel. In this chicano inspired novel, Antonio Maréz, the six year old protagonist, is perpetually faced with instances of dissimilarity throughout his life that often make it a challenge to stand out instead of fitting in with the rest of the crowd. When Anaya uses literary elements such as setting his novel as a bildungsroman, symbolism and and imagery it helps intensify the reader 's understanding of the novel. Contrasts between good and evil, right and wrong and even teachings within the Marézes own family are a main cause in increasing Antonios level of maturity.

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

However, other readers may feel that it should not be read throughout schools due to the fact that it contains “witchcraft, Spanish vulgar, and non-Christian beliefs.” The novel does contain things that will have someone guessing their views on their Christian beliefs due to the fact that Antonio denounces his predestination and creates his own course throughout life. Furthermore, parents may feel that Ultima, Antonio’s curandera is a witch and does do witchcraft, and they do not want to expose their children to evil. A journalist, Andy Rau shares her opinion, “Some people objected to the book’s vernacular or the issues regarding witchcraft” (Rau). Rau shared the concern as others do with the fact that Ultima could be seen as an evil figure throughout the novel.

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).

I think Antonio’s brothers made a big influence on Antonio. When Antonio’s brothers left for war, I think Antonio realises how strong and powerful his brothers were. Antonio probably realised that they were strong men and that they had to lose their innocence to become as powerful as they were. Although, Antonio’s brothers maybe regretted the war, Antonio still got influenced by other characters in the story that it is okay to grow up and lose a part of your innocence.

“‘Why are you so thoughtful, Antonio?’ Ultima asked” (Anaya, 33). Ultima understands how Antonio evaluates situations well beyond his years. “It was during one of these moods of thought” (Anaya 187). Antonio sets asides portions of his day just for thinking about emotions, religion, and the world around him.

At the same dream, Antonio saw Tenorio “...captured the night-spirit of Ultima and murdered it...” (244). As we know that all of the people in his dream have recently died, we infer about Ultima’s death at the death with this dream. To conclude, Antonio’s dreams are very vivid about the other character’s destinies as he has a very close relations with

2. As he tells the story, how does Antonio make sense of the conflict he encounters? Does he seem to prefer the world and viewpoint of his mother and her brothers, his father, and the vaqueros, Ultima or some other influence? Which of these influences seem dominant in his eyes? Antonio is trapped into a conflict between being what for his parents either being a vaquero or a priest but because of

This characteristic exemplifies how the person reacts to things, even so how they look at things visually and mentally. For example, if one was to go into a church, a very peaceful and hushed environment, with no sense of knowing from what is right and what is wrong, he or she will create some nonsense that will interfere others with personal time with god. This is something that Antonio knows how to prevent since he has the mentality that gives him the ability to know from the right things to the wrong. Not knowing from what is right and what is wrong can and will leave someone doing something that will altercate with another individual. It has now been shown, Antonio has the knowledge to know from what is right and what is wrong, a characteristic that is needed in order to reduce bad altercations with

Bless Me, Ultima develop these conflicts very early on and the conflicts begin to grow until the very end. The book says Antonio is having problems about who he is and what he will become. Antonio struggle to believe in God and wonders if the golden carp is real or not. Antonio wonders which parent to follow. He also goes through his culture being challenged.

Antonio, from Bless Me, Ultima, lives stuck in a world of in-betweens, a world of borders. He must navigate this world and find his place within it, all while trying to please his parents. Tony’s surroundings and cultural background lead to this in between world and force him to pick a side before he has even began to grow up. In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima, Antonio is constantly searching for answers about his future and the world around him; he finds these answers through his family, environment, religion, and family friend, Ultima.

Antonio is a conscientiousness, analytical, curious and responsible young boy from New Mexico who has two parents from varying cultures, the llanos and vaqueros. The llanos are down to characterized as down to earth people who enjoy farming and religion while the vaqueros crave wilderness and freedom. The following influence develops a conflict because Antonio wants to incorporate the ideals from these two cultures, but his mom wants him to become a priest. During the book, Antonio questions God and his powers, but consistently keeps his faith on his religious heritage. A perfect astrological sign for Antonio is Virgo. A major Virgo characteristic is analyzing and determining logical resolutions for different conflicts. For example, Antonio