Bless Me Ultima Conflicts

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.

Ultima’s role as demonstrates how Chicano culture is a mixture of multiple, conflicting influences. When Spanish Catholics arrived, they claimed curanderismo is a form of witchcraft. Thus, they killed those that practiced the act. But their interaction brought about a mixed culture where curanderismo existed in harmony with Catholicism. Anaya shows this religious blend by describing Antonio’s mother as a devout Catholic who also respects the Ultima’s powers. While as, Mora also portrays the mysterious woman with a deep faith as she, “lights candles before/her sacred status” (104).

Bright white light of the New Mexico sun bathes and protects the small town of Guadalupe. Like his parents and older brothers before him, young Antonio struggles to find his true inner self as his parents push two family names on him. In Anaya Rudolfo’s novel Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio is ultimately a mixture between a Marez and a Luna, as seen through the juxtaposition between the symbols of the moon and the sea, as well as God and the Golden Carp.

To find one's identity can be a struggle for many; however author Rudolfo Anaya takes on that struggle to explain what it means to find yourself in his Mexican-American literature, Bless Me, Ultima. Rudolfo Anaya uses the theme of Identity and enlightenment and many other themes through the young protagonist Antonio Marez. Anaya is able to illustrate the journey and hardships of finding out who you are through the eyes of a child. Using the personal development of character and plot, he is able to build connection with the reader and story of the main character's coming of age. The novel is also based on the Anaya's actual childhood. At the same time, the novel shows many elements of fantasy and magic, with the myth of the Golden Carp, the

experiences, result in the loss of innocence. Even though it was tough going through all these events, Antonio receives strength that will assist him extremely throughout his life, with fights and revelations. His incidents have developed the brawny, grown man he will soon be. Transformations are always needed for us to be fully grown, even though it can be hard and

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).

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

In the story where Ultima visits, Antonio feels that he will become a priest. He is to follow his family's rules of becoming a priest. They are strict Catholic and his mother practices her religion very strictly. Antonio not only witnesses, but becomes a part of, Ultima's cure for Uncle Lucas. Uncle Lucas is dying, and the Priest's past attempts to save him had failed. When this occurs Antonio starts to not believe in his religion. Then, the family turns to Ultima as a last resort. It is like he has taken some of the burden of the pain off Uncle Lucas, helping him overcome his illness. Ultima's cure ends up saving Lucas' life, and Antonio becomes a part of it. “Your son lives!” says the old man. (103) The Priest failed where Ultima did not, this really upsets Antonio: "The power of the doctors and the power of the church had failed to cure my uncle. Now, everyone depended on Ultima's magic. At this point, Antonio begins to doubt his destiny of becoming a priest. Later on, Antonio learns the story about the golden carp from another boy his own age. Antonio sees the golden carp, which means he is one of the magical people in the town. Not everyone can see the golden carp; the golden carp is considered a pagan god.

In the book “Bless Me Ultima,” by Rodolfo Anaya, the role of duality goes very into depth with its many controversial topics. Some of these topics include the contrast between Catholicism and indigenous mysticism, good witchcraft and evil witchcraft, and men and women. Since Antonio must struggle to find his own identity and place he must battle between his family, beliefs, and self. This can be seen between his parents, who’s frequently conflicting views make it difficult for Antonio to accept either of their belief systems, his struggles between the English and Spanish language, and how evil and good affected his innocence.

A “Bildungsroman” is defined as a piece of literature that focuses on the mental, moral, and psychological growth of a protagonist in transition from childhood to adulthood. Ideologies adopted into a Bildungsroman are ones that shows the coming of age like the shortcoming of loved ones, meet with challenges that the adult world presents to the younger generation, and having mentors or guides who teach the ways of life through valuable lessons. In Rudolfo Anaya’s coming of age novel, “Bless Me, Ultima”, the Bildungsroman concepts and ideas about maturity from childhood blossom as the novel's protagonist, Antonio Marez, lives his Hispanic, Catholic life at the age of eight, through countless experiences that molds his coming of age. Elements that substantially influences Antonio's coming of age includes confrontations with death, disappointment in realizing soul crushing realities, and encounters with emotions and despair that would be met in the adult world. Antonio, through, these structural elements, shapes his shift from a child to a man by emphasizing why certain events occur in his life.

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

Characters: Ultima- An old Curandera who comes to spend her last days with Antonio and his family. She is Tony’s mentor and helps him to find the right path for his life.

In “Bless Me Ultima” Antonio son of Maria Luna who is a religious woman and wants Tony to become a priest when he grows up and Gabriel Márez a former vaquero (Cowboy) who’s dream is to move to California with his family and work the farms. Since Tony is the only son in the house since his other three brothers Leon, Andrew and Eugene

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.

Religion is a cultural event that occurs in the life of the Lunas. Antonio’s mother brings that aspect with her when she marries with a man that has Marez blood. The presence of religion stays with Antonio throughout the course of the novel. It can easily be said that religion defines an enormous portion of who he is from the point of birth. He makes his best efforts to stay away from horrible experiences and put his thoughts out of anything that may make him doubts and God and heaven. But even for him it reaches to a point that he can’t bear with much more. But religion remains present even at home. While Antonio’s three older brothers, Andrew, Leon and Eugenio are away at war, Antonio and his family pray for them all the time and even when they have returned. They do this on a day to day basis to keep the presence of religion alive.