Bless Me, Ultima, And Ultima

In the novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, one of the main characters, Ultima is accused many times of being a witch. Ultima is a curandera who uses herbs and medicines to cure people. She goes to live with Antonio Marez, a young boy who lives in the llano with his parents and two sisters due to the fact that she cannot live by herself and had nowhere to stay. Although many people think she is a witch, her use of herbs, medicines, and scapulars show that she is merely just a curandera. With her use of chants and having her spirit in her owl, many are led to believe that she is really a witch.

“Bless Me Ultima, is a critically acclaimed novel of all time”(NEA); however, it is also one of the most banned books in American literature. People enjoy the book a lot, but there are also some people who want the book to be banned for good. For example, in 1992 Bless Me Ultima, was banned at Porterville high school for “many profane and obscene references, vulgar Spanish words, and glorifies witchcraft and death"(banned library). Bless Me Ultima, is a story of a boy named Antonio who lives in a village of Las Pasturas with his mother, father, two sisters, and a curandera named Ultima who cures the sick and evil, but people see her as a witch. Antonio sees a lot of death and learns about life in Bless Me Ultima.Ultima shows Antonio many

Throughout Rudolfo Anaya’s book, “Bless Me Ultima”, the main character Antonio has several vivid, detailed and sometimes graphic dreams. In one of these dreams (on pages 243-244), Antonio bears witness to blood, violence, and death. In this dream, Anaya uses imagery, symbolism, similes, and specific diction to indicate that Antonio is losing faith in his religion and god. Notes: Need to adjust the words used towards the end.

First, and probably most important are the three sources of understanding for Antonio. First, there is Ultima, who serves as a neutral source of understanding and comforter for Antonio. The next source of understanding for Antonio is God. Antonio constantly struggles to understand good and evil through the eyes of the Catholic God. The final source of

First anaya uses symbolism to communicate her point of how Antonio is having a hard time deciding whether or not to be a Luna or a Marez. In Antonio's dream it's described as a situation where he is stuck picking a side a little after birth. “ This one will be a luna the old man said , he will be a farmer and keep our customs and traditions…. Gabriel , they shouted, you have a fine son he will make a fine vaquero!” (Anaya,5). This symbol communicates how Antonio has to choose what side of his family he will portray. The luna and marez name represents what Antonio will become. The luna name symbolizes the farmer and priest lifestyle, however the marez name symbolizes the vaquero free lifestyle.

As Antonio’s mentor, Ultima bestows upon Antonio her wisdom and gradually “his soul grew under [Ultima’s] careful guidance” (Anaya 15). For example, Antonio was born into the fate of being either a Luna priest or a Marez cowboy but with the assistance of Ultima, he begins to open up his mind to other possibilities. Inspired by Ultima saying, “Without the waters of the moon to replenish the oceans there would be no oceans. And the same salt waters of the oceans are drawn by the sun into the heavens, and in turn become again the waters of the moon. Without the sun there would be no water formed to slake the dark earth’s thirst. The waters are one. . . . You have been seeing only parts . . . and not looking beyond into the great cycle that binds us all”, Antonio thinks he doesn’t have to “just be Marez, or Luna , but perhaps both” ( Anaya 247). While Ultima was a friendly and caring teacher, Paikea’s teacher Koro is everything but that. A stoic, unfriendly man, Koro refuses to teach Paikea anything about her ancestors, but Paikea finds a way to learn it regardless. When the boys would be taught in the chieftain school, Paikea would watch and try to reenact what she saw. Unfortunately for her, Koro doesn’t see any use in her, as shown in the quote, “She’s of no use to me” and once he catches her, he punishes her (Ihimaera).

Ultima is the towns “curandera” who is staying with the family and everyone in town thinks she is a bad witch. Antonio seems to adapt to Ultima quite quickly soon after she arrives and starts learning her way. He is seen looking up to her as if she were a mother figure and, at some point, as if she was the Virgin de Guadalupe. Antonio often finds comfort in Ultima and confides in her regarding his faith. Antonio then witnesses Ultima save his uncle when the evil twitches had done some bad witchcraft on him that nearly led him to death. Antonio then begins to see that the God he was raised to believe in is not the only one in power. Ultima comes in to place and teaches Antonio that he doesn’t have to pick one belief, rather he can identify with a little bit of both. Before Ultima’s death in the book, Antonio asks Ultima for her blessing and she is more than happy to do so because she did everything she could have to prepare him mentally to find the real

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

We wake up to the chirping of the birds and the annoying sound of our alarm clocks reminding us of the responsibilities that come about as the sun rises.After all the morning’s withdrawals, crankiness, and breakfast we make our way outside to face take care of our responsibilities and whatever else our days consist of. Very common routine,but most people don't stop to notice and at times adore the morning sky .There is no animal

They have familiarized with plants and herbs. Besides, they feel the power that nature possesses. Ultima is feared by many because she is mysterious to everyone. Ultima has a special connection to Antonio because she served as his midwife. Antonio witnesses numerous tragic events that make him understand his history and future. The mysterious woman in Mora’s poem spends her days grinding and mixing herbs and although a mystery to the townspeople, they still come to her “hoping/to be touched by her ointments” (104).

How do we transform from a little, young child to a big, grown adult? What problems do we face? Who helps us decide our future? In Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio Márez must forward on the way to his own moral self-sufficiency. Antonio is put into the center of many distressing events which cause him to grow up faster, and lose his innocence. Antonio has many questions about spirits, god and beliefs. To get his answers, he must undergo a transformation.

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).

Antonio’s mother, Maria Marez, represents the drive towards farming, the priesthood, and education in Antonio’s characterization. Maria is a very religious woman and she ensures that Antonio shares the same customs and beliefs, Antonio describes her faith by stating, “A community of farmers ruled over by a priest,

The moon, wind, and ocean shape and sculpt the earth. The moon gives the tides, and lights the earth at night. The wind molds the landscape of the earth, carrying dust, seed, and storm. The ocean erodes the earth, making sand where dirt and water meet. These different forces of nature make the earth what it is. In the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Maria and Gabriel make Antonio who he is, playing essential roles in his development as a person. Maria and Gabriel give Antonio inner conflicts that are resolved by Ultima and Gabriel.

Bless Me, Ultima is a story about the maturation of a young Mexican-American boy, Antonio M’arez, struggling with many questions about his destiny, life and death, and good and evil. Ultima who comes to live with Antonio becomes his caretaker and his teacher. Antonio learns there are powers in the world that differ from his beliefs in the Catholic faith. Ultima teaches Antonio “that the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart”. Ultima shows Antonio how to experience the magic of life with his heart and not with his eyes. For the first time, he sees the river not as something to be feared but as a source of life, “I had been afraid of the awful