Emely Maldonado
AP Lit /Period 3
Mr. Amoroso
Bless Me, Ultimo
By: Rodolfo Anaya
The tactile sense of understanding is experiencing,
I take her hand, me dice…
¿Que deseas saber tú de la vida?
Rudolfo Anaya’s novel Bless Me, Ultima, exploited the Spanish, Mexican and Native American teachings. Amidst it, a child becomes consumed by a world beyond his years. New Mexican culture is established by religion and driven by pure legacy of faith. The Catholicism that New Mexico originated from is guided by the church, where the beauty of its surrounding nature allows it to flourish. Antonio Marez, is a mirror image of the Author, Rudolfo Anaya. Antonio is born within this Chicano Movement, however, he fights a battle of uncertainty as he dwells
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In the Novel, the presence of the river serves as the greater awakening to Antonio’s soul. “Through her I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things” p15, “I knew that if she did not answer my question that that part of life was not yet ready to reveal itself to me”p42, Ultima is the catalyst that propels Antonio on the whirlwind of experiences that fosters his ambivalence. His exposure to Lupito’s death triggered his loss of innocence. Anaya vividly expresses the situation as he states “the second volley of shots from the bridge sounded, they sounded like pigeons swirling to roost on the church top”, he metaphorically uses the birds removal from danger to safety as Antonio’s cue that something terrible had occurred and he has to remove himself from danger immediately. “He fell forward then clawed and crawled out of the holy water of the river onto the bank in front of me. I wanted to reach out and help him, but I was frozen by my fear”p22, after this experience, Antonio repeats the Act of Contrition, which had been taught by his mother as “the last prayer before death”. He resides on his fear for helping Lupito that he questions God, “Did God Listen?” p23. Six year old Antonio is left flustered as his greater awakening is happening however, he is never truly alone. Ultima, the owl, was vigilant towards him throughout the night, its soft hooting served as peace from the chaos in Antonio’s mind. …show more content…
The relationship Antonio had with ultima was more profound than with his own mother. Ultima is a nurturer to Antonio, yet she attends to Antonio’s family. When Antonio’s Uncle Lucas was cursed under evil Tenorio’s daughters’ brujeria, Ultima conducted an intensive cleansing ceremony. Following New Mexico traditions for healers, she uses a variety of herbs from the land to cure various conditions. Antonio assisted Ultima in the mass and throughout it he encountered knowledge of spirituality and Good vs. evil. Throughout the process, Antonio becomes disquieted, he ventures the magic of Ultima being more powerful than that of the priest. However, Ultima reassures that “those who turn away from God will be wishing they had never sold their souls to the devil” p99, this teaches Antonio to remain true to God because with time comes understanding. “Now everyone depended on Ultima’s magic” p99, Ultima, like most human beings, was perceived as a witch instead of a curandero. Her goodness to everyone in el pueblo was affirmed when she cured Uncle Lucas and when she surpassed Tenebrio’s evilness. Anaya deliberately states “they could not understand why the owl had attacked Tentoria, or the power of Ultimo. But she had walked through the door, and so the power of la curandero was good”, at last, Ultima’s goodness was proven to everyone. Ultimo is Antonio’s life Mentor as she advises him to always
The book, “Y no se lo trago la tierra” by Thomas River grasp a point of view of a migrant community, as manifestations of Chicano culture, language, and experience as understood by a first person point of a young male protagonist. The setting of the book takes place of a year during the 1950s and uses a variety of perspectives and voices to follow the boy’s passages into adolescence. As the setting of the book moves from Texas to upper Midwest to the ye...
When Antonio first became homeless, an older man tried to steal one of his belongings, which was a simple hot plate. His first instinct was to attack the man and take back his property. While doing so, Antonio thought, “We have almost nothing, and this man wants to take it from us” (43). In addition, he mentions how, “It felt good to hit this man… For a moment, he felt strong and free; fury was a much better drug than self-pity.” (43). When Antonio discusses about the old man and his crimes, he may be alluding to Longoria and what he did to Antonio’s family. The man who tried to take away part of Antonio’s possessions is referring to Longoria and how he took away Antonio’s family. The act of beating the old man refers Antonio’s eventual act of revenge against Longoria and the satisfaction he experiences afterwards. Both acts demonstrate Antonio’s willingness to sacrifice and harm other in certain scenarios where it is necessary. The significant difference between Longoria and Antonio is the intention behind their actions. Longoria killed hundreds in cold blood for his own selfish desires and beliefs, while Antonio only harmed a total of two people to get revenge and to enforce justice in the only way he could. As mentioned before, Longoria’s actions are evil because he commits them for selfish reasons and without remorse. In contrast, Antonio’s actions are seen as necessary evils. A necessary evil is defined as an act of evil (as perceived by society) that is committed in a certain scenario where it follows a utilitarian approach; an approach in which the action does more good than harm. When Antonio beat up the old man, he was merely protecting his belongings and enforcing the law. More importantly, when Antonio killed Longoria, it was for his wife, his son, and the hundreds of other innocent lives that Longoria had claimed; Antonio did an act of
Years passed and Antonio moved to Los Angeles, but his life was a struggle there because he had nothing left, everything was taken away from him and he wanted to start and build up his life again but it was not easy. Until one day when he was walking through MacArthur Park he notices someone, “The shaved head, the tattoo of the yellow panther. The soldier from San Cristobal right here in MacArthur Park.” For Antonio this was a miracle at first and could not believe that the same person, who once killed his family back from where they lived, is now on the streets of Los Angeles. With time Antonio followed the man and stalked him to know about him and made it his mission to get revenge and kill the man who killed his family. Towards the end of The Tattooed Soldier, Antonio does exactly that and feels accomplished for having done that because Longoria is no longer on the streets. There are two important deaths that happen in this book and they both connect to mark making. The one of Elena is for the reason that she was part of the guerillas trying to go against the government and when they found out who she was, they went after her and killed her for that. So the mark that she was trying to make is what led to her death. For Longoria, it is more of a literal mark because once Antonio saw the tattoo on his arm and his shaved head, he knew right away who Longoria was because that is something he never forgot. Thus it led him to plot out a way
much about many of the local native beliefs. But he has also learned of death, hatred,
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 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.
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
“I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river which was the soul of the river, but through her I learned that my sprit shared in the spirit of all things” (15). In the story, Lupito is shot in the river which gives the river a bad essence and the “rivers brown waters would be stained with blood forever and ever” (24). On the contrary, Antonio associates the lake with Florence, because he drowned in it, and he sees Florence as a Christ like figure making the lake pure. However, the golden carp, a very important spiritual figure to Antonio, is neither in the lake or the river but is in a pond in the
The story uses many motifs, symbols and themes. First the motif is Antonio’s dreams. In the beginning of the book his dreams are about what he will become when he grows up; the choice between priest or a vaquero. Later on his dreams change to more important matters, such as family questions and his duty in life. The second motif regards Antonio’s family. He has many family members such
Narciso’s death once again arouses the questions of morality in his mind and he itched to hunt for the answers to those questions.But when he saw the vengeance in Tenorio’s eyes and his aggravation for Ultima he decisively recognizes the rectitude of Ultima and her ways to fight evil.The demonstration of this act occurs in chapter 22 when acknowledging the evil intentions of Tenorio, the distinction between right and wrong dawned on Antonio, “For us Ultima personified goodness, and any risk in defense of goodness was right.She was the only person I had ever seen defeat evil where all else had failed”(Anaya 255).This confirmation displays the fact that eventually, Antonio came to learn that sometimes the source of fighting the evil doesn’t matter but the intentions do.And that one must support righteousness at any stake.Antonio goes through moral development by perceiving the goodness and righteousness of Ultima fighting against
Although he is always trying to understand new beliefs, the Goddess, the Virgin Mary, remains in the most special part of Antonio’s heart. She represents Meeting the Goddess, as Antonio is now seeing her through mature eyes: “I fastened my eyes on the statue of the Virgin until I thought that I was looking at a real person, the mother of God, the last relief of all sinners” (Anaya 47). As he begins to discover the meaning in both his old and new beliefs, he begins to accept his spiritual questions. By understanding the fact that they cannot always be simply answered, he enters his Apotheosis and ascends as he achieves wisdom and self-acceptance.
In the book “Bless Me Ultima”, by Rudolpho Anaya, there were two families represented, the Marez family and the Lunas family. These two families were very different, but were brought together by the marriage of Gabriel Marez and Maria Lunas. Through the eyes of their son Antonio one may see the comparison of the two. The differentiation of these two families is very clearly noticeable, such as in their personalities, the expression of their religion, and their everyday ways of life.
In Rodolfo Anaya's novel, Bless Me, Ultima the author uses different settings in order to develop Antonio's sense of good and evil.
In essence, Antonio shows that he is unsure if he truly believes in his religion because of his acceptance of other beliefs, the new ideas that he learns, and the deaths of Narciso and Lupito. Antonio’s experiences lead him to believe that he is in charge of his destiny and he has the ability to choose what he wants, not what his parents want. In the end, Antonio determines his religious values based on what he believes in, so he tells himself to “[t]ake the Ilano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp and make something new” (247). Antonio’s encounters with religion represent those who follow their religion but are not content with it. All in all, the story suggests that sometimes people want to learn other ideas to discover what fits them best.
Many of Antonio’s dreams foretell future incidents. In the first dream, the night before the arrival of Ultima, Antonio is born and both sides of his family gather together for the arrival of the baby boy. The two families express their hopes and desires for the newborn’s future, but the calm Lunas and the savage Márez fight over the destiny of Antonio. As “curses and threats filled the air, pistols were drawn, and the opposing sides made ready for battle” (Anaya 6), Ultima steps into his dream, her voice full of authority. “Cease she cried…only I will know his destiny” (6). Everyone falls silent when Ultima speaks. Antonio didn’t meet Ultima but this dream foreshadows that Ultima is a powerful and a well respected figure. The fight not only shows the difference between the two families but also hints that there may be problems between them in the future. Right before Antonio’s brothers come back from the war, he has dream about his brothers. They tell Antonio to “stay and sleep while we cross the River of the Carp to build our father’s castle in the hills” (26). The brothers are telling him to stay behind and let them build their father’s castle, which refers to their father’s longing to be restless and build a family else where. This gives a hint that his ...
The novel Tsotsi, by Athol Fugard, is a story of redemption and reconciliation, facing the past, and confronts the core elements of human nature. The character going through this journey, who the novel is named after, is a young man who is part of the lowest level of society in a poor shanty town in South Africa. Tsotsi is a thug, someone who kills for money and suffers no remorse. But he starts changing when circumstance finds him in possession of a baby, which acts as a catalyst in his life. A chain of events leads him to regain memories of his childhood and discover why he is the way he is. The novel sets parameters of being “human” and brings these to the consideration of the reader. The reader’s limits of redemption are challenged as Tsotsi comes from a life lacking what the novel suggests are base human emotions.