The Role Of Death In Bless Me Ultima

God versus Golden Carp: Another dichotomy that is important is God versus Golden Carp. Antonio begins to doubt the God he worships and starts to maybe believe the God of the Golden Carp when the priest and the doctors could not heal but the Ultima could. I also believe he starts to believe more in the golden carp when he has communion but still feels empty inside where it is said that god will fill the

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.

The final source of understanding for Antonio is God. He is expected to understand God, because his mother dreams for him to become a priest. He is also expected to believe in God because his mother is Catholic and that is what is expected of Antonio. "I hoped that in a few years the taking of the first holy communion would bring me understand"(77). Antonio is basically going through the motions that are expected of him. He is not genuinely excited to be taking his communion; it is just something that he feels he needs to do. He thinks that if he takes his first communion maybe he will have some answers for why there is good and evil going on around him. He says, "I want to know. I want to know the mysteries of

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 men and masculinity, language and culture, Catholicism and indigenous mysticism, and good and evil. 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 and their conflicting bias beliefs in which Antonio is stuck in the middle, his struggles between the English and Spanish language, and how evil and good affected his innocence.

In the book, Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio witnesses four deaths when all is said and done,

In the book Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, a family friend of Antonio’s named is killed. This followed by a dream concerning vengeance and repentance. Anaya uses Biblical allusions, symbolism, and slight allusions to Pagan beliefs to show Antonio beginning to understand the consequences of each action, and the power of forgiveness, and how each aof these actions plays a role in who a person is.

Tony being brought up to the idea that God is everything and that he was supposed to be a priest, who was the one closest to God was all being questioned since Ultima’s spirit being present in Lupito’s death rather than God himself.

Narciso and Antonio do not have many direct encounters in the novel, yet Narciso has a profound effect on Antonio’s religious maturation. Narciso, who is considered the town drunk, is present in many important conflicts as a mediator figure. He goes to great lengths to help his friends, which is shown when he attempts to convince the townsmen not to rashly kill Lupito after he had shot the sheriff. Once Lupito is killed Antonio worries about the fate of the men on the bridge who shot him, including his own father. Antonio wonders "Did God listen? Would he hear? Had he seen my father on the bridge? And where was Lupito 's soul winging to, or was it washing down the

In contrast to Ultima, Tenorio is often regarded as evil without the need for much thought. After murdering Narciso, Tenorio did not receive a kind penalty for his actions. The townspeople simply dismissed Narciso’s death because he “was the town drunk” so he “had died during one of his drinks” (Anaya 177). Due to this character, Antonio realized that life is not always fair. From Antonio’s perspective, Tenorio did not deserve forgiveness for killing Narciso. Antonio became biased for obvious reasons; however, he overlooked the justification for Tenorio’s forgiveness. Like Narciso, the deaths of Tenorio’s daughters were left unpunished. Tenorio was also described as “an evil man” by Antonio’s mother before his character was properly introduced (Anaya 89). Despite labeling him that, an explanation for why he is evil is never provided by her. Tenorio was called evil, but for what reasons? Is it just simply because he is in a family of witches? While his actions can register as wicked, his intentions for revenge against Ultima are regarded as good. Ultima was responsible for why “Tenorio’s daughter died” because of “Ultima’s

At Antonio’s birth, the Luna and Marez fought over which heritage he would inherit, but Ultima resolves the conflict by saying, “I pulled this baby into the light of life… only I will know his destiny” (6). So, when Ultima dies at the conclusion of the novel, the knowledge of Antonio’s destiny dies with her. Antonio then has the freedom to create his own future free from the pressure of choosing to be either a Luna or a Marez. Ultima’s death, while resolving his identity conflict, also forces Antonio to grow up and become more self-reliant. Before her death, Antonio depended on her for advice because his parents are biased with his identity struggle. Without her guidance, Antonio is forced to be more independent. Ultima seems to recognize this as she blesses Antonio before she dies saying, “I bless you in the name of all that is good and strong and beautiful, Antonio. Always have the strength to live. Love life, and if despair enters your heart, look for me in the evenings when the wind is gentle and the owls sing in the hills. I shall be with you—” (261). Ultima reassures Antonio that she will be with him because, without her, he has no one else to depend on for guidance. When Ultima dies, it concludes Antonio’s faith and heritage conflict because it gives him the independence to seek out his destiny as both a

Lupito has just killed the town sheriff, and all the men are out for his blood. They are searching the bridge and the bushes looking for him when Narciso comes down and tries to calm everyone down. He shouts at the the group of men: “Let us act like men! That is not an animal down there, that is a man. Lupito. You all know Lupito. You know that the war has made him sick-,”

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

The point of having familial and inner tension within Antonio and Maggie was so that they’re able to use that tension and develop as a result from it. For Antonio both of his familial tension caused by his parents, and his inner tension, caused by death as well as religion, resulted in Antonio maturing as a character. Antonio being forced to either be a priest or a vaquero led to overall confusion to what or who he will be but through this confusion he made the decision upon himself that he will choose his own path and destiny. Antonio decided to make and follow his own dreams, he stood up for himself. Although it may be unclear what exactly Antonio ends up becoming, the reader can assume that Antonio became a writer due to his love of learning.

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.

Jalapeno bagels is about a boy named Pablo whom cannot decide what to take to school for International Day. He wants to bring something from his parents’ baker. He wants something that represent his heritage but he cannot decide what to bring. His mother who is Mexican baked pan dulce and change bars. His father who is Jewish baked bagels and challah. Both of the bake good were good but while helping his parents with the bakery on Sunday morning, Pablo made a decision on what to bring. He decided to bring jalapeno bagels because they are a mixture both of his parents and just like him too. The multicultural representations in the story line is Mexican and Jewish. The pictures that were drawn in the book, the family has the same color of skin even though the parents are different cultures and the main character is mixed. There were no different skin colors.