Bless Me, Ultima, By Rudolf Anaya

To begin, Lupito's death was the first eye-opening for Antonio. "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 river to the fertile valley of my uncle's farms? A priest could have saved Lupito. Oh why did my mother dream for me to be a priest! How would I ever wash away the stain of blood from the sweet waters of my river!" (23) This is the first time Antonio questions God's presence and wonders about sin, death, and hell. This is also a traumatic moment Antonio experienced because he saw what men are capable of, murder. In short, Lupito's death impacted Antonio's life.

The leisurely read of Bless Me, Ultima isn’t always high on hand to hand actions; however, it is abundant with internal conflicts on the main character, Antonio. Through the high points and low points of his life, Antonio struggles to find an answer for his life. Antonio’s internal conflict about his fate, leads to him questioning his religion and who the people around him actually are, as people. But when Ultima joins them at the house, Antonio has a person who he can relate with to talk out his misfortunes. Antonio’s quest for his fate and religion is a painstaking journey that extends until the last few pages of the novel.

“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

Universal among all journeys to destiny, tragic events test the perseverance and resolve of the one on his or her journey to destiny. In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio

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

Hardship in childhood can cause children to be wise beyond their years. A child 's experiences are what shape their future, making them evolve both mentally and spiritually. In Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio’s system of beliefs is greatly influenced by the perception of God that is instilled in him mainly by his mother. His understanding of God is forced to evolve as Antonio goes through many experiences throughout the course of the novel, including the tragedies that befall Narciso, Florence, and Ultima and his exposure to these characters. God is a being that is characterized by his punishment of those who sin and his protection of those who do not. As the events in this novel unfold, Antonio sees on many occasions how the God that he believes in does not perform the roles that he believed he did.

Bless Me, Ultima is a novel created by author Rudolfo Anaya that tells a story about a young boy named Antonio who grows up to learn deep cultural values and develops a special bond with a character that possesses mysterious magical powers. The story takes place in New Mexico during World War II in a setting of grassy plain and green valley. It was a summer when Antonio in his early years of seven first met Ultima who came to stay with him and his family. Antonio was just like any other ambitious boy who was full of questions and had an insatiable hunger for knowledge, but Ultima on the other hand was an older woman who possessed a puzzling spiritual history that would teach and change Antonio

Personal ideologies provide an aspiration for a fools paradise. That endeavor contrived a blindness that makes their perfect world, someone else’s ordeal. Individuals might convoke others for guidance to an explicit ambit to discover their own dogma. However, humanity has a type of ignorance in a sense that compels them to force their own beliefs onto others. Distinct mentalities collide due to their own belief of being “right” which in turn causes further separation between religions, nations and even families. In the book “Bless Me Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya, the predominance of Antonio’s parents impulses him to have an

The novel is presented as a coming-of-age story in which the protagonist grows and develops as he experiences the tragedies of life. Other important themes of the novel is the question of sin and morality and the loss of innocence. At the beginning of the novel, Antonio is only six years old and very much a child in terms of understanding and innocence. Throughout the course of the novel, however, Antonio is exposed to events that force him to lose his innocence such as the death of Lupito by the river, Narciso’s murder by Tenorio, Florence’s accidental drowning, and Ultima’s death. Antonio must learn to balance this loss of innocence in order to become mature and follow his own path in life. Eventually, he is able to overcome his anxieties and realizes that a life of faith and a life of action are mutually incompatible. Because this loss of innocence is a crucial element of the novel and Antonio’s development as a character, the novel would not be as connecting if he were older. Antonio’s older brothers are already beyond this age of self-awareness, and it is important that Antonio is both self-aware and susceptible to change as an

In the society we are brought up in today focuses on being your own person, following your own path and making your own choices but how much of that is hindered by those who brought us into this world? Parents have a tendency to be extremely involved in every step of our lives as they have the right to do so but is it in their jurisdiction to control who we are and who we want to become? In the novel Bless Me Ultima by the author Rudolfo Anaya the debate of how much jurisdiction a parent has over their children is brought up within the reader. In the novel which is told from the perspective of the character Antonio, Antonio’s parents known as Maria and Gabriel have set their eyes on what they want their children

When we think of childhood we think of blissful, exhilarating moments, like being pushed on a swing higher and higher feeling as if you could stretch your hand and grasp the clouds, as you experience the cooling air of a hot summer day on your blushed face, as you yelped to be pushed further into the clouds. We do not think of the anguish and questions that the sight of death brings. But that’s exactly what happens to six year old Antonio Marez in the novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. When young Antonio witnesses the death of a local War Veteran, a family friend, and a classmate, it leaves him with transforming effects, prompting him to question death, sin, morality, and in the end leading him to be ambivalent towards his Catholic beliefs. Through every mortifying act that he witnesses, he has the guidance of Ultima, an elderly “curandera,” healer, who uses her wisdom to lead Antonio to answer his own questions.

Experiencing death can sometimes be the best event someone can go through. Death is more than just someone stopping from existing, it’s a concept that can be perceived as a new beginning. Being able to take the death of someone and turning their philosophy into consideration can be beautiful. In the novel “Bless Me Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya Antonio gets his faith put to the test when the arrival of Ultima brings him the beginning of the end.

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.

Death engenders ambivalence while questions lead to a tenuous connection with God. Death can galvanize the mind to a point of questioning that is so dangerous, it can rob from your innocence. This is true for children such as Antonio from the novel ​Bless Me Ultima ​by Rudolfo Anaya. As a child, Antonio was spoon fed a false sense of reality in which he would be a priest but death cleared his vision to the real world. In which good people die and God isn 't just or almighty. Anaya expertly crafted the novel in a way that the death of characters such as Lupito, Narciso, and Florence foreshadow that ambivalence in Antonio. Death at the time of birth and tranquility breeds indecision.

The thought provoking novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, portrays that closure and meaning for life can be discovered even after death. After dying, Eddie the protagonist goes to heaven where he meets five people, whose own lives are ultimately affected by his decisions. Whether those five people were family or complete strangers, each life is shown to be inter-connected with Eddie 's, as they explain to him his journey and life’s purpose. The novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom, demonstrates that whether intended or not, actions do have consequences and these, can lead to feelings of sacrifice, regret and forgiveness.