Someone’s destiny may be known from the moment he or she is born; however, how that person will reach his or her’s destiny is unknown. The way someone can achieve their dream can be vastly different or very similar to another. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya follows Antonio Marez’s coming of age. He experiences loss of innocence, curiosity, and is torn about what his destiny is: be a Luna, a person of the earth, or a Marez, a person of the llano who is free. Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera is a film that tells the story of Paikea Apirana, a girl who is interested in becoming leader of her clan, but is rejected by her grandfather due to her being a girl. Paikea manages to prove herself to be the true leader through to her risks and hardships. …show more content…
Tenorio, the antagonist of Bless Me, Ultima, threatens to kill Ultima several times during the novel. While Antonio is working on the farm, he gets ambushed by Tenorio and is left in the bushes after trying to stop him. Tenorio then leaves to kill Ultima. Antonio is determined to warn and save Ultima and runs ten miles back to his home to where she is. While running, Antonio thinks about his future and Ultima and how she “personified goodness” (Anaya 255). He later realizes that he understands the feeling of trying to save someone. Antonio says, “I ran to save Ultima and I ran to to preserve those moments when beauty mingled with sadness and flowed through my soul like a stream of time” (Anaya 257). Antonio shows that he is willing to die for Ultima as she is the benevolence that can stop evil. Ultima unfortunately dies, but Antonio is at peace with her death as it is not in vain. Antonio’s sacrifice is the final event that he goes through that teaches him that he doesn’t have to be a Luna or a Marez. While Antonio runs ten miles to warn Ultima and is willing to die to do so, Paikea risks her life trying to save the her clan and beached whales. An entire pod of whales ends up beached in Paikea’s home town. The people try to get them back into the ocean but to no avail. Paikea believes that this is her fault as the ancients heard her call and came to help. In order to save them, Paikea gets on top of the largest whale, the one that supposedly belongs to the legendary Paikea, and urges it to get back in the ocean. Eventually, the entire pod manages to get back into the ocean with Paikea still riding the largest one. She tells her people not to worry, as she “wasn’t scared to die” (Ihimaera). Like Antonio, Paikea is willing to make a huge sacrifice to protect her people. Although they both make sacrifices in which they were willing to die, Antonio’s actions did not put himself at
Bless Me, Ultima is a novel created by author Rudolfo Anaya that tells a story about a young boy named Antonio who grows up to learn deep cultural values and develops a special bond with a character that possesses mysterious magical powers. The story takes place in New Mexico during World War II in a setting of grassy plain and green valley. It was a summer when Antonio in his early years of seven first met Ultima who came to stay with him and his family. Antonio was just like any other ambitious boy who was full of questions and had an insatiable hunger for knowledge, but Ultima on the other hand was an older woman who possessed a puzzling spiritual history that would teach and change Antonio
Many people in the town love Ultima. They praise her and can’t thank her enough when she cures one of their loved ones. While many love and praise her, a select few in the town believe that Ultima is a witch and of ten accuse Ultima of it. One of these is Tenorio Trementina, the father of the three Trementina sisters who put a curse on Lucas, Antonio’s uncle. Even Antonio, who loves Ultima very much, once doubted if Ultima was really a witch or just a curandera. Some of Antonio’s classmates have also called Ultima a witch. Tenorio often besieges Ultima. Despite all this, Ultima is still very strong and remains strong until the day of her death. Ultima is also very brave strong. She is not threatened when Tenorio threatens to kill Ultima or when people make the sign of the cross to see if she really is a witch.
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.
In the novel, “Bless Me, Ultima,” by Ruldolnb Anaya, the use of tone in chapter “catorce” shows how Antonio’s peers act. Antonio’s peers acted childish and immature. Antonio just wants his friends to be respectful.
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
Revenge is often a prominent element present in numerous plots. Characters like Heathcliff or Chillingworth have sought retribution in the strongest ways against those who have wronged them. In Rudolfo Anaya’s novel Bless Me Ultima the concept of revenge also plays a hefty role. Through the eyes of Antonio, a young boy who starts making inquiries about the world, the audience can make a connection between the forces of good and evil. In order to show that life is more complicated than the two categories, Anaya uses the contrasts of the characters Ultima and Tenorio in a battle of revenge to show that the line between good and evil does not always exist.
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).
He kills Narciso in cold blood. He is a true coward and he hides behind others instead of facing those who he seeks to fight.
Only a few books dare to discuss the confusion surrounded by a religious awakening. In Bless Me Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, Premio Quinto Sol national Chicano literary award recipient, challenges standard religion and brings in different ideas through the perspective of a young and confused boy. Due to the new ideas that he is introduced to, the events that occurs especially deaths, and his eagerness for knowledge all leads Antonio to question his religious beliefs. At the end of his struggle to understand, the boy reaches the peace of mind he was seeking.
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
The Movie “Whale Rider” directed by Niki Caro and the story “Life In The Age of The Mimis” by Domingo Martinez have very similar themes in the way they both have something to do with rebelling for the better. Do you believe that traditions can be broken? Well in the film “Whale Rider” by Niki Caro that's exactly what happens. There is a girl named pai who frequently breaks the tribes traditions. Utamataly throughout the story it shows that sometimes tradition can be broken for the better.
Good Morning Year 8, I am Niki Caro and I have been asked to come in and talk about my movie “Whale Rider”. Whale Rider is a culturally significant movie showing the power of one 12-year-old girl, Pai. Pai lives in a patriarchal society meaning only the first-born male is allowed to become chief. This tradition is broken when the next chief in line dies at birth but his twin sister Pai survives. Pai believes in her self and try’s to persuade her traditional grandfather into becoming chief.
Through Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima, the reader notices many themes. One central, and very important theme is the repetition of the number three. For example, there are three sources of understand for Antonio, three deaths that Antonio witnesses, and Antonio's three prophetic dreams. These all play crucial roles in both Antonio's life and serving to further the plot.
Good morning/afternoon Mr Tabueto and students. Today I will talk about the strength of Paikea, the young female protagonist of the movie “Whale Rider”. I am going to start at the end film where Paikea, or Pai as she is known, has just saved her ancestral tribe. As the tribal war canoe is being pushed out to the seas, Pai says in voice-over: “I am not a prophet but I know our people will keep going forward with ALL of our strength.”
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