Bless Me Ultima Research Paper

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.

Many people in the town love Ultima. They praise her and can’t thank her enough when she cures one of their loved ones. While many love and praise her, a select few in the town believe that Ultima is a witch and of ten accuse Ultima of it. One of these is Tenorio Trementina, the father of the three Trementina sisters who put a curse on Lucas, Antonio’s uncle. Even Antonio, who loves Ultima very much, once doubted if Ultima was really a witch or just a curandera. Some of Antonio’s classmates have also called Ultima a witch. Tenorio often besieges Ultima. Despite all this, Ultima is still very strong and remains strong until the day of her death. Ultima is also very brave strong. She is not threatened when Tenorio threatens to kill Ultima or when people make the sign of the cross to see if she really is a witch.

In addition, Tony’s mother Maria was a staunch catholic who desperately wanted her youngest son to become a priest to a small community of farmers. Her roots were in farming and living off the land (having a mutually benefiting relationship-being connected to the land). She prayed during times of family toil constantly. Tony has a dream after his brothers beckon him into a whorehouse to sleep with the women at “Rosie’s House.” He refuses the offer and affirms that he will preserve his innocence in order to become a priest in the holy catholic faith. His brothers mock him. They try to tell him that in being a man and the son of a vaquero his need for bodily pleasure will become stronger. Here is where I believe Tony accepts the destiny that his mother supplies for him as a man of god, but again his faith in this religion fails. He feels that his catechism will protect him from being corrupted and that god will reveal himself during this ceremonial rite-but nothing happens. He thought that when he partakes in this ceremony all will be revealed to him, but it is not.

Ultima's Christ like nature is displayed through her abilities, or powers as a curandera to perform miracles. Ultima's powers are shown in the text as being good; although, it is confusing to say whether her powers are coming from Christianity, or witchcraft? To illustrate the issue of this comparison to Christ, Antonio's mother recalls Ultima's powers saying, "I have seen her work miracles. She learned from the flying man from Las Pasturas"(Anaya 85). The incongruity of this statement to that of Christianity is clear cut. According to the Dictionary of Hispanic Biography, Anaya acquired the myth and superstitions from his family who lived in Pastura about a women like Ultima, who could heal (42). From Anaya's experience, syncretism of miracles and elements of superstition in folk Catholicism is apparently true. However, the only one to perform miracles in Christianity is Christ.

Rudolfo Anaya introduces Antonio by showing that he is young and is adventurous. At a young age Antonio was exposed to a very traumatic situation that not a lot of boys his age experience. Antonio witness the death of a man that lived in his town. “I wanted to reach out and help him, but I was frozen by my fear. He looked up at me and his face was bathed in water and flowing, hot

Due to what he was taught he wondered whether Lupito would truly end up with the results that

Throughout the book Antonio is introduced to many new ideas. The first is the experiences he has with Ultima. Ultima is a healer who learned

(SIP-A) Najmah, when she travels with another family after the death of her mother and baby brother, often uses the stars to physically and mentally guide her. (STEWE-1) When she devises a plan to escape from the family that has protected her, she lies "awake the rest of the night thinking about [her] plan, staring at the stars, and praying for guidance" (131). After she learns about the possibility that her father and brother could be alive, she spends the night praying, completely contrary to the sleep that quickly overtook four pages before. (STEWE-2) After Najmah reaches the camp, she sleeps for “two more nights under the stars” (146). During this time, she talks about how she “must keep her distance” (151) from the family she is traveling with, as she devises a plan that involves leaving them and finding her lost family. (SIP-B) When these stars come in, the readers are provided with a deeper meaning, given through small clues from the author. (STEWE-1) As Najmah stares up at the sky, scheming on what to do, she doesn't pray to Allah, or at least she doesn't say that she is, she prays to the stars. She also clearly states that she “has no intention of staying in Torkhum” (131). but she also knows that she “cannot travel alone to Peshawar” (131). Since she cannot tell the people she is staying with and trusts, Najmah looks for guidance somewhere else. The stars are provided

He still goes back to the idea of his preordained future in priesthood, as destined by his mother. As a child first witnessing the horrors of life, his mind instinctively goes to his mother. As if seeking validation, if he were to fulfill his mother’s hopes in becoming a priest, he would be gratified and he would be innocent again. This brings about an obvious turmoil within him and his perceived responsibilities within priesthood. Anaya also uses symbolism to show the stark contrast between blood and the river. The idea that Lupito’s blood was spilled as a result of his sinful actions is now tainting and defiling the purity and sanctity of water could be paralleled to Antonio’s innocence defiled and diluted by the horrors he had just witnessed. Arguably, Lupito’s death is an unjustified persecution of an ill man. His actions—actions that he was not completely conscious of—stemmed from the horrors of war which brings about the question of justice. Why would God let this man—a man not fully conscious of his actions—be held responsible, punished, and persecuted when he had done nothing wrong?

(MIP-1) Throughout the story, the stars have a meaning to Najmah on the surface. (SIP-A) Wisdom about the stars are passed down from her father to Najmah throughout her life, giving them a memorable meaning. (STEWE-1) Najmah’s name has the literal meaning of star. Najmah explains, “Baba-Jan loves the stars so much that he named me Najmah, which means ’Star’” (Staples 11). Her father gave her this name, therefore on the surface, stars are a connection that Najmah has in relation to family. When Najmah sees the stars, they give her comfort. She knows that they are a constant. They will always be there and will always be associated with her father, due to the fact that Najmah and her father have so much history and memories formed by the stars. (STEWE-2) Baba-jan has taught Najmah how to use the stars for guidance. Baba-jan promises, “As long as you know the stars,you will never be lost,” (Staples 10). This quote can be interpreted in different ways. The literal meaning of the stars in this particular sentence is being, a sense of direction in case Najmah gets lost. They are also a reminder that she can always find her way back home. In addition to this, they have a deeper symbolic meaning using the fact that Najmah’s name means star. When the author has Baba-jan telling Najmah to be sure to know the stars so she will never be lost, it is being implied by the author to the reader

On page 102, paragraph 3, the scene in which the star defeats the dark is explained. “Suddenly there was a great burst of light through the Darkness. The light spread out and where it touched the Darkness the Darkness disappeared.”

Once upon a time, long ago in the Heavens, there was the Sky Kingdom. Those in the Sky Kingdom could talk, and their job was to play their role in the sky. Stella and Stelling and all the other thousands of stars would have to light of the sky as dots. The sun’s job was to shine very brightly in the sky during what he called daylight. The entire Sky Kingdom consisted of lots of celestial bodies. Billions of them in fact.

Tony liked to daydream about space rocks. To understand him, it would take a mystic type of human being. He suffered from a mental disorder called schizophrenia. Taking medications for his disability often helped. Having to sit on the porch step all the time in front of the house made him feel kind of empty on the inside. All so his mom could peep at him through the screen door to make sure he stayed near the house.

It was early evening and Pedro was lying on the deck trying to sleep, but his mind was whirling in excitement at the thought that this would be his final hours for a grand spans of time in sight of land. He lay very still listening to Peralonso explain to Chachu, the boatswain, the meaning of all the stars that filled the sky above them. "First you find the dipper, then you locate the pole star. At night we sail only by the stars and the needle."

Since the beginning of recorded civilization, stars played a huge role in religion and proved vital to routing. The invention of the telescope, the discovery of the “laws of motion” and gravity in the 17th century prompted the