After the assigned readings and class discussions, I realized that Muslim law is very strict. Muslims must try to live according to God’s book, the Koran, and by the rules Mohammed taught them.
Every Muslim should pray five times a day: at dawn, noon, afternoon, evening, and night. He needs to pray facing Mecca. On Friday at noon, Muslims go to a Muslim temple to pray. After praying, they hear a sermon. There is no priest or minister, only a leader called the Iman. The mosque is built so that when the people pray they will face towards Mecca. Before they pray, the people must wash themselves. God is the greatest king of all, and no one should stand before Him with a dirty face.
Muslims are expected to give some of their money every year to help the poor Muslims. Once in their lifetime, if they can, every Muslim must go to the holy city in Mecca on a pilgrimage. Every Muslim who is physically and economically able to do so is required during his lifetime to make at least one pilgrimage (hajj)to the holy city.
Once a year, during the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast. For one whole month, from very early morning until the sun goes down, he does not eat or drink anything. Their fasting is very strict. They are not allowed to eat, drink, smoke, and engage in sex or violence before sunrise until after sunset for that whole month. Muslims aren’t even allowed to think about these things. I agree that this type of fasting can teach a person self -awareness and to be more sympathetic towards others who are less fortunate. Going hungry and thirsty for this amount of time allows Muslims to realize how grateful they are to have food and water.
Muslims also must never worship anything or anyone but God (Allah). Allah is the personal name of the One true God for Muslims. Nothing else can be called Allah. By having no gender or plural form, the name Allah shows its own uniqueness when compared with the word god, which can be made plural – gods, or feminine – goddesses. To a Muslim, Allah is the Almighty, Creator, Preserver, and Sustainer of the universe, and nothing is comparable to Him. In order to be a Muslim, to surrender oneself to God, it is necessary to believe in the oneness of God, in the sense of His being the only Creator, Preserver, Nourisher, etc.
Antonio Márez, the main character of Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, begins the Departure element of Joseph Campbell’s Hero Cycle when he initiates his journey to adulthood. 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 at 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
As Rudolfo Anaya places social change, cultural conflict, religion, ethnic identity formation and many other themes together into a coherent and believable story about a young boy called Antonio in Bless Me Ultima. Anaya’s themes in the book are interoperated through rhetorical strategies of contrasting situations to people and as well using them metaphorically. Through Antonio’s experience in the Adulthood, he becomes sensitive to his dangerous physical surroundings outing him a hold in situations where he hold knowledge sooner causing him to question his life and destiny in the world. Anaya uses metaphors and binary opposition to emphasize Antonio’s life situations and the reactions or his thoughts.
Anaya uses extremely vivid imagery to show us that Antonio’s way of dealing with his conflicts is through his dreams were he settles the conflict between the Catholic God and the Golden Crap. “I held my bloodied hands out to touch [my brother’s foreheads],'; Antonio tries to save his brothers from hell because they had sinned at Rosies the “house of sinful women.'; With the words “Bloodied Hands,'; Anaya shows that Antonio is trying to sort out the conflict of Narciso’s death, while Narciso was trying to warn Ultima about Tenorio.
“In the dark mist of my dreams I saw my brothers. The three dark figures silently beckoned me to follow them. They led me over the goat path, across the bridge, to the house of the sinful women. We walked across the well-worn path in silence. The door to Rosie’s house opened and…” (Anaya 70) This excerpt from the novel Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, is one of the numerous dreams the protagonist Antonio Márez experiences. The story is set during World War II in Guadalupe, Mexico, a town rich with Mexican culture and overflowing with legends. Antonio attempts to discover his religion and family roots as he struggles to cope with school. When he witnesses four tragic deaths, Anaya vividly depicts the shattering of his innocence. Even with worry enveloping him, six-year-old Antonio manages to sleep with the calming hoots of Ultima’s owl. And he has magical dreams. Antonio’s dreams add to his characterization by providing readers with an insight into his mind, explaining his internal disharmony, and foreshadowing future events.
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
As I became more involved with campus life, I couldn’t find a way to immerse myself in preparing for a career in law. While I knew why I wanted a law degree, I couldn’t conceptualize what I wanted to do with it. Prior to college life, my familiarity with the legal system was by way of internships with judges and lawyers. Clearly, that traditional route perked my interest but not my passion. Living with the athletes affirmed my interest in their culture. I began to immerse myself in subjects surro...
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.
Antonio, the young boy, wants answers to the questions that have been nagging at him since he was introduced to religious ideology. He does not understand why Ultima, a close elderly friend and a healer, can save his dying uncle from the curses of evil while the priest from El Puerto with his holy water and the power of God can not lift the curse from him. He wonders whether God really exists or if the “Cico's” story of the golden carp is true. Bless Me, Ultima, is a compelling story that deals with Antonio's family, beliefs, and dreams.
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.
“Nobody heard him, the dead man, / but still he lay moaning:” This is how many people go on through life. Many are dying inside but you would never know. It is possible for people to create masks to hide their emotions. Sometimes these masks are so deceptive that even close friends or family members cannot see through then until it is too late. In Stevie Smith’s poem, “Not Waving but Drowning” the writer effectively highlights how someone’s cry for help can be mistaken for joy. It is important for people to at least have someone who cares about them and knows them well enough to see when something is going wrong in their lives. This can often be the lifeline that saves one from drowning.
In the Islamic faith there are five pillars that they must follow to their best ability. The Salaht, the Hajj, they must give to the poor, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and repetition of the creed, "There is no God but Allah; Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." These pillars are more like obligations in the Islamic religion.
The worship of Allah is principal in a Muslim’s mind at all time. There are also five formal acts of worship which help strengthen a the faith and obedience of a Muslim. They are frequently called the “Five Pillars of Islam”. The Five Pillars of Islam are the framework and guidelines of the Muslim life. They are the testimony of faith, prayer, supporting the needy, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the once in a lifetime trip to Makkah for those who are able to do so. These Five Pillars are the thing Muslim’s do to please God and to keep themselves well and happy in this lifetime and for the future ones to come. It was Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, who was reported to have said, “Islam is based upon five pillars”.
Religion is an important factor in many lives in today’s society. A particular western religion that is taken very seriously by many is known as Islam. Essentially, Islam means “submission”, or in other words a person is to abide by God and peace will follow. In order to comprehend the Islamic religion, it is consequential to view the major themes associated with this religion. By going through the central themes of Islam it could help others comprehend what is involved with this specific religion.
... completion to the writings of the three holy books of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Islam is a religion that has brought peace, enlightenment, and unity to the faithful. I feel that this book could guide Muslims and non-Muslims in forming clear views on specific Islamic religious issues.
What is Microeconomics? This question was left unanswered when I initially enrolled in this course. Microeconomics is the social science that studies the implications of individual human actions, specifically about how those decisions affect the utilization and distribution of scarce resources. Microeconomics shows how and why different goods have different values, how individuals create more efficient or more productive decisions, and how individuals best coordinate and cooperate with one another. Microeconomics does not try to explain what should happen in a market, but instead only explains what to expect if certain conditions change. For instance, If the price of the new iPhone 8 is higher than the previous model will the consumer buy it? There are several elements that will play into getting an answer for this question, but gives you a general idea of what microeconomics entails.