Bless Me Ultima Themes

738 Words2 Pages

Bless Me, Ultima Based off the 1972 novel, the film Bless Me, Ultima, tells the story of a young, Chicano boy named Antonio Márez who lives in the eastern plains of New Mexico. In this review, I will be expanding upon two themes that I connected with and felt were most central to the discovery of Antonio’s identity. These themes are the loss of innocence and the struggles of cultural differences within the community. Throughout the film, Antonio (Tony) struggles to figure out for himself the path he wants to pursue in life. The many tragedies that Antonio witness serve a valuable role in guiding him towards maturity and religious understanding, however, at the same time robbing Antonio of his innocence. The first theme that stood out was …show more content…

The first instance where I noticed Antonio face this dilemma was at school when he pulled out a burrito at lunchtime and was laughed at by his white peers who all had sandwiches. Right away I saw the cultural differences taking an effect on Antonio when he casually stood up and made his way outside to eat lunch with the other Chican@ students. I saw this as the students were being segregated because of these cultural differences. In addition, Antonio was forced to speak only English while attending school. In the meantime, he spoke only Spanish at home. Mestizaje was also a contributing factor to Antonio’s identity problems. Mestizaje is defined by dictionary.com as “A person of mixed racial ancestry, especially of mixed European and Native American ancestry.” Since the beginning of the film, Antonio fell victim to mestizaje, not knowing whether he was more like the Márez side of the family, or the Luna side of the family. Since Antonio’s three older brothers took after the Márez side and left to roam the states, it was expected of Antonio to stay and become a priest. Not only did Antonio’s parents see Antonio becoming a priest, so did Antonio’s

Show More
Related

  • Film Analysis Of Gregory Navas's 'My Family/Mi Familia'

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Afterwards, in the 1990s films portraying Latinos would take a somehow new direction, one of the most famous filmmakers would be Gregory Navas, he directed the movie My Family/Mi Familia, a film that portrays the lives of a Mexican-American family and the difficulty that the couple faced in order to establish in the U.S. “by passing as immigrants and all the struggle to integrate their family in another country” (Peña Acuña, 2010). The film let the audience see a potential reality that most immigrants went through when they first moved to the United States and how the system worked differently and the way immigrants had to adapt not only to the system, but also to the language and culture.

    Read More

  • The Tattooed Soldier Sparknotes

    2101 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many Guatemalan immigrants who arrived north to the United States, like Antonio, were fleeing from the danger and persecution of the Guatemalan civil war. Although they hoped to rebuild their lives and possibly better them. The reality was that they would continue to face hardships such as poverty, unequal rights, and discrimination. For example take this excerpt from one of our course readings, “The Reagan and Bush admissions, obsessed with stopping Communism in the region, refused to assist the thousands streaming across the Mexican border to escape that terror” (pg. 131). Even though a very large majority of Guatemalan immigrants that came to the U.S. were a result of the civil war that was caused by the by the United States, our government refused to assist. Antonio is forced out on the street because he does not make enough money as a dish washer to pay his rent. Although this occurs in the novel, it was a harsh reality for many Central American immigrants. With the refusal of assistance from the government, Guatemalan immigrants had to take jobs in coffee shops, dishwashers, field workers, and manual laborers. For example,“Good neighborhoods were defined as white, and whiteness was defined as good, stable, employed, and

    Read More

  • El Norte And My Family Mi Familia Analysis

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    El Norte and My Family, Mi Familia, films directed by Gregory Nava, depict how Latino-Americans migrate from their native countries to the United States, challenges they face through their journeys, and the time they spend in America. Some critics say that El Norte is a stronger film politically in comparison to My Family, Mi Familia because of how El Norte keeps the journey raw and emotional. Through the trials Enrique and Rosa face as they travel from Guatemala to California, the viewer gains sympathy for them and rejoices with them when they reach Los Angeles; however, as the protagonists live in Los Angeles, we as the viewer learn through their failure to assimilate to America’s lifestyle, they will never reach their ultimate goal, the

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is a magical-realism novel about Antonio, a young boy at the mere age of six turning seven, realizing the many cruelties the world has to offer. As he matures, Antonio is conflicted while trying to choose between the career expectations from his two divergent families and attempting to figure out a true religion. Anaya depicts hidden messages to help the reader comprehend a perceptive insight of Antonio’s inner schism through symbolism.

    Read More

  • Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me Ultima

    1528 Words  | 4 Pages

    The binary opposition of Antonio’s mother and father are one of the major central conflicts. Antonio resides between the Lunas and the Márez tradition, two families that see no common ground. His passage into maturity is one that forces him to decide between his mother and his father, the moon and the sea. During one of Antonio’s dreams he sees his births. This birth shows him the Lunas and the Márez arguing over his future and the presents they bring represent that. The Lunas bring fruit from their farm, they expect Antonio to respect his mother’s side and honor either the land or the heavens by becoming a farmer or priest. The Márez, who expect him to become a cowboy, smash the Lunas offering and present their own emblematic gifts. This profession is represented by his father’s dream of moving to California when becoming a vaquero is no longer a real option (Novoa, 4). Antonio’s dream ends with Ultima solving the problem, and becoming the bridge between the two worlds, something she frequently becomes for Tony. Antonio feels that he must choose one of the traditional pa...

    Read More

  • Cultural, Religious and Language Conflicts in Bless Me, Ultima

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bless Me, Ultima, written by Rudolfo Anaya and published in 1972, has become one of the most widely read as well as critically acclaimed novels in the Chicano literature. It is first in the trilogy of novels by Anaya, with Heart of Aztlan (1976) and Tortuga (1979) following it. This novel can be viewed from many angles as well as layers, as it intertwines issues or themes of psychological maturation, social changes, identity crisis and importantly cultural conflict, all into coherent and interesting story of a young boy and his guide. Antonio Márez y Luna or Antonio is the young protagonist who with the guidance of his curandera (Traditional Native American healer) and mentor, Ultima faces various life situations in a positive manner. The story starts off when Antonio is about to turn seven, and to satiate his curiosity and to guide him, Antonio’s parents request Ultima to join the family. With Ultima’s guidance, Antonio internally as well as externally debates about his’ beliefs regarding culture, religion, personal identity and language, and eventually finds many answers. The themes of cultural, religious and language conflicts is prominently featured in the novel as it reflects the Chicano culture in rural New Mexico during 1940s, along with its confrontation with Catholicism and English language. Thus, the focus will be on how Antonio gets involved in various cultural, religious and language conflicts, starting with the cultural conflict involving his parents, religious conflict between his Catholic and indigenous cultures as well as conflict between English language and Spanish, and how with the aid of Ultima, Antonio finds a common ‘ground’ or balanced perspecti...

    Read More

  • Bless Me Ultima Character Analysis

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    He questions whether he belongs to his mother’s family, the Lunas, who live as farmers, or his father’s family, the Márezes, who freely wander the land. His care for his family demonstrates his maturity in attempting to always do the best he can for everyone. Although his parents each want him to follow their families’ paths, they remain absent from Antonio’s true journey of understanding his own thoughts and beliefs, leaving him “frightened to be alone” (Anaya 7); the lack of parental support through his personal conflict leads him to have trouble knowing how to address his confusion, but it also causes Antonio to develop an independence that most people do not possess. He sees hope for finding answers from the moment he meets Ultima when he “knew she held the secret of [his] destiny” (Anaya 13). She chooses him and sends him to save as she helps lead him on his path.

    Read More

  • “Bordertown”

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the film “Bordertown”, the protagonist, Johnny Ramirez ultimately finds solace, happiness and satisfaction in the aftermath of his own failure. If one were to believe the notion that we are all at a fixed station in both life and society, then the Mexican protagonist’s ambitions and their disastrous outcomes would only serve to bolster this opinion. This is, however, what the film “Bordertown” attempts to convey to its audience. As Johnny Ramirez ambitiously sets out, attempting to acquire material success, in the world outside of his neighborhood, he finds only offers of wickedness and corruption. His final retreat back into his barrio is where he finds goodness and love. This film, then, suggests that not only should Ramirez not have bothered in his undertaking, but that any venture outside of one’s own “station” or “place” would put that person out of his or her natural element. The results of this can be dangerous or disastrous. The film’s message is clear: Stay where you belong.

    Read More

  • Bless Me Ultima

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Bless Me Ultima Analysis

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya is a coming of age story about a young boy named Antonio Marez. The novel takes place in New Mexico where Antonio tries to fulfill his parent’s expectations while struggling with religion. Through Antonio, Anaya defies the some of the principles in religion and expresses her interpretation on the system of beliefs. Antonio’s religious confusion suggests that man should be able to choose his own religion and destiny. In the Bless me, Ultima, Antonio experiences conflict in his religious beliefs because of the deaths he witnesses, the new ideas that he learns, and his open-minded mentality.

    Read More

  • Antonio's Dreams in Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel, Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, a boy goes through many more experiences than any child in the hot summer days in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. He witnesses the deaths of his close friends and family. This boy expresses his emotions and grief through his dreams, only to wake up with fear and confusion in his mind. Antonio’s life is filled with dreams that foreshadow future incidents, as well as influences Antonio’s beliefs of religion and ideas of innocence.

    Read More

  • Myth, Religion, and Violence in Pan’s Labyrinth and Bless Me, Ultima: A Comparative Analysis

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    His mother, Maria, introduces him to Catholicism by sending him to catechism and church. Maria dreams that he will assume a role in her family and become a farmer and even a priest to lead her people. However, his father, Gabriel, expects him to become a vaquero and hopes this free spirited persona will travel with him to California. Ultima is Antonio’s most influential role model. She is a medicine woman who guides and teaches him tolerance and the importance of making his own decisions.

    Read More

  • Spotless Mind Themes

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, produced in 2004 and directed by Michel Gondry, is the type of film that challenges one to think about the relationships in his or her own life. If, one day at random, a best friend, significant other, or family member suddenly didn’t remember their relationship with someone, to what extreme would that forgotten person go to hold on to a memory before it slips away from them as well? The film explores this idea when Clementine erases her boyfriend Joel from her memory; he isn’t supposed to know this and in turn does the procedure himself. These issues are addressed through Pudovkin’s editing principles of leitmotif, simultaneity, and parallelism, which convey to the audience the importance of relationships

    Read More

  • Ethnicity in Mexico

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    Originally racial designators, the terms mestizo and Indian have lost almost all of their previous racial connotation and are now used entirely to designate cultural groups. Historically, the term mestizo described someone with mixed European and indigenous heritage. Mestizos occupied a middle social stratum between whites and pure-blooded indigenous people (see Socieconomic Structures, ch. 1). Whites themselves were divided into criollo (those born in the New World) and peninsular (those born in Spain) subgroups. In contemporary usage, however, the word mestizo refers to anyone who has adopted Mexican Hispanic culture. Seen in this cultural context, both those with a solely European background and those with a mixed European-indigenous background are automatically referred to as

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Gloria Anzaldua's Borderlands/La Frontera

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    The eternal endeavor of obtaining a realistic sense of selfhood is depicted for all struggling women of color in Gloria Anzaldua’s “Borderlands/La Frontera” (1987). Anzaldua illustrates the oppressing realities of her world – one that sets limitations for the minority. Albeit the obvious restraints against the white majority (the physical borderland between the U.S. and Mexico), there is a constant and overwhelming emotional battle against the psychological “borderlands” instilled in Anzaldua as she desperately seeks recognition as an openly queer Mestiza woman. With being a Mestiza comes a lot of cultural stereotypes that more than often try to define ones’ role in the world – especially if you are those whom have privilege above the “others”.

    Read More

More about Bless Me Ultima Themes

Open Document