Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

Puritans and reformers of seventeenth century England have been given a bad name for their part in history. This is primarily because they were working against the grain and trying to create change in world that saw change as a threat. The time period was turbulent and there was bound to be resistance in a world that was dominated by Catholics and those that had reformed to abide by their King’s law. The puritans of the time were considered extreme and rubbed people the wrong way because they wanted a world that abided by their morals and ethical codes. For this, they took the blame for the misery that many suffered during this age, but as we see in Fire from Heaven, this is not a fair assessment. The Puritans of this time wanted to improve the lives of the people and society as a whole through morality and purity.

The idea of universal love is one that is prevalent in the media. With the news filled with grim stories and horror many people are calling to the idea of loving everyone. Tensions are high concerning race relations, gender discrimination, and sexual orientation. Many in the general public are calling for humanity to embrace humanity. Many in the general public are asking “why we can’t just love one another”? Stephen T. Asma tackles this idea of love in his article published in the New York Times. Asma discusses two different ideas about universal love before offering his own take on the subject. Just as Asma states, universal love is a myth and closer personal relationships should be favored.

While his brothers are at war, a man named Lupito returned from that same war and Antonio witnesses his insanity drive other men’s hands to kill him. This sparked a turmoil inside of Antonio to question the world, forgiveness, and the grace of his God. As the story goes on Antonio sees more and more deaths like that of Narciso by the hands of Tenorio, it brought about wondering of hell and the sins that condemn a man to go there. Antonio’s classmate tells him about a golden carp who chose to protect his people by swimming with him. The golden carp is symbolic of morality and being one with god, but it contradicts his religion and beliefs. Antonio feels that it is wrong to believe the story because he thinks that he is abandoning his God by even believing in the golden carp because his religion calls for only one god and it is a sin to worship any other

​Antonio’s questions about good vs evil begin when he first foreshadows that his innocence and peace would be shattered and everything in his life would change forever. He foresees a new period of difficulty and conflict that parallels his transition away from childish innocence and towards becoming a “man of learning.” “But the innocence which our isolation sheltered could not last forever, and the affairs of the town began to reach across our bridge and enter my life.” (15). The beginning of his transition comes when Jason’s father, Chavez comes to the

Blood becomes the river. The human race dies and only the “she-goats and the he-goats” (109) remain. The lake “cracked with laughter of madness” and the “ghosts stood and walked upon the shore”.(109) Who dares dream such gruesome images? Antonio Marez. He questions God, he communicates with the dead, the dead ask him for blessings. Just who is this Tony? Tony is only a seven year boy who lives in small town of El Puerto. But he is no ordinary boy, he is the hero of Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima. The novel guides you through Tony’s life. From childhood to adulthood. It tells you about the experiences Tony has in life. The difficult tasks he has to overcome. Tony being only seven years old has to go through a lot.

Antonio experienced. Throughout the story, Antonio was forced to transform from a boy to a man after the severity of tensions of opposites in his life caused him to question everything he had ever known. Antonio reflected upon battles of opinions in his own household, religious differences, and stepping outside of his cultural upbringing for the first time. When Antonio witnessed an extreme amount of death, the sight of the golden carp, and the magical healing powers of Ultima he began to question his Catholic roots and potential participation in the priesthood. When God failed to respond to Antonio 's consistent questioning, he was no longer

Antonio for his young age deals with all sorts of emotional spiritual draining situations. Religious expectations are looked upon Antonio just like myself or anyone else you question what kind of God lets certain things happen? Is he listening? “The golden carp had seen me” is one of many sources that proves to him the almighty is watching foreshadowing forgiveness. The doubt farthers more into depth “I could have reached out and touched the holy fish” alluding to Christianity, manifestoing Antonio’s internal struggles. Rivers are the flow of life; cleansing purification. Throughout centuries water plays a big role in a religious symbol. Water brings life. Christ turns water into wine at Cana (John 2:1-11), the entrance of a spiritual rebirth into the kingdom of heaven. Blood stained in the winter white snow; the river of the llano where Antonio lost his innocence witnessing a murder scene but more so a suicide. “Again the owl sang; Ultima’s spirit bathed me with its strong resolution.” Ultima guides Antonio through a world above and beyond she’s the foundation to Antonio’s experiences. “You will learn much, you will see much” Once a human being witness or experiences something even the smallest thing it will have some sort of impact on fleshing an imprint. With this you will learn what reality is really like what we don’t understand what we feel is

The main character Antonio goes through a rough time growing up while learning about himself, his family, and his destiny. The novel Bless Me, Ultima was written by Rudolfo Anaya. In this novel a young boy, Antonio, is searching to find himself during the toughest times of adolescents. Luckily he has Ultima there to guide him. While Antonio is going through hard times, Ultima helps him by teaching him her spiritual ways, his destiny and what she wants him to become.

agonizing indisputable fact that our lives must end, the way good days ends with peaceful sleep.

Is a person anything more than a summation of the people around them? If so, can anyone truly call their lives their own? In the novel, Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya many questions like this are brought to the reader as they plunge into the story of a young boy named Antonio and the beginning of his journey to find his way.Two major influences on this journey are his parents Maria and Gabriel. Despite being married they have completely different views of the world, one who finds happiness in freedom and the other in stability. The parents’ influence doesn 't stop at Antonio however, it only continues to get involved with his brothers. Conversely Theresa and Deborah the daughters of Maria and Gabriel who are relatively ignored by the parents throughout the whole book. The identities and relationship of the family is formed through this dynamic.

Antonio has a deeper understanding of Pagan religious beliefs than the religion he practices. Antonio sees the Golden Carp for the first time with Cico. Seeing the Carp he understands why he feels more related to Spiritualism than Catholicism. “I knew I had witnessed a miraculous thing, the appearance of a pagan god… And I thought, the power of God failed where Ultima 's worked: and then a sudden illumination of beauty and understanding flashed through my mind. This is what I had expected God to do at my first holy communion!” (114). Antonio is surprised to find that seeing the Golden Carp has enlightened him more than his religion has. Antonio understands why he feels connected to Ultima. She doesn 't force him into being a catholic like his parents. Ultima is spiritual and believes in the ways of the land rather than God. Antonio believes in Ultima’s powers more than he believes in the power of the church. Ultima and Antonio are sitting the small room where Lucas lays half dead from the magic of the brujas. Antonio believes that Ultima can cure him when no one else can. “The

One way the author reflects the hopes, fears and expectations of the culture in the book was through Antonio’s dreams. Antonio’s dream reflected several of his most difficult cultural challenges including his parents conflicting aspirations and the towns conflicting religious beliefs.

Antonio was a person that believed in his god so much, about to become the future priest, he expected his god to help Horse and guide him in the right path. This changed Antonio because he felt betrayed in god thinking god will help everyone, losing faith in his god. Since Antonio didn’t have the strong belief for god anymore, he didn’t want to be forced to become a priest by his mother. He then overcomes this stage of his life by the given blessings of Ultima. Another situation is when his friend Samuel introduces “The Golden Carp” in which he considers “his god”. This Golden Carp is a big golden fish that has mythical powers. It supposedly has the power to change faith in humanity and all kinds. Antonio doesn’t understand anything at this point in his life because the god he put some much trust and faith into isn’t as much as support in his life. This scars Antonio, making him go intellectually

The golden carp represents Antonio’s introduction to a new religion which causes him to question his faith and the fairness of gods. Right before Antonio is introduced to the golden carp, “[He] had been thinking how the medicine of the doctors and of the priest had failed. In [his] mind [he] could not understand how the power of God could fail. But it had.” (Anaya 106). This shows that Antonio is already questioning the faith of his religion, and introducing him to a new god will only make him even more doubtful. The establishment of multiple faiths causes him to learn more about the world and he matures. Antonio later reflects on the two different religions and realizes a similarity. He says that when “We drove past Rosie’s house and I thought about the sins of the town and how the golden carp would punish the sinners. He would drown them in clear, blue water. Then we passed the church and I thought about God’s punishment for sinners. He casts them in the burning pit of hell where they burn for eternity.” Antonio sees that both religions punish people for disobeying the divine law. He not only questions the fairness Christianity, but also the fairness of the golden carp. This shows him that no religion is perfect and that there is always a punishment. Upon realizing this revelation, Antonio’s loses innocence because he sees that life isn’t

Samsara is a film that takes you on a visual tour of countless extravagant places in the world. Samsara is an extremely unique film, because it showcases a plethora of different cultures, people, and landscapes, and seasons. Ron Fricke the director of the film wants us to be aware of all the things that are going around us. Fricke wants to emphasize avoiding all political correctness and views. I think that is the overall theme of this film is to show the viewers that we do not need the hustle bustle of everyday life to function. Instead we can focus on the wonderful things that are around us. We can connect through meditation but meditation does not have to be positive or optimistic. We can find way to connect and meditate through anything that has meaning to us in our