Bless Me Ultima Tony Fate

Context: Tony participates in Communion, expecting God to answer all of his questions. However, there is only silence in his head, and he is dejected.

After he is ridiculed for eating a different lunch than others, he contemplates, “the pain and sadness seemed to spread to my soul, and I felt for the first time what the grown-ups call, la tristesa de la vida” (Anaya 59). Tony is no longer a child under the protection of his mother and goes to school to become a “man of learning.” He becomes lonely because his classmates do not understand his culture and vice versa. As Antonio goes through the process of coming-of-age, he experiences the pain, suffering, loneliness, and misunderstanding that comes with

He grew up without a father, it was because of this loss that he often wondered what it would be like to have one. The fact that his own brother was hanging around the wrong people and falling deeper, and deeper into the world that demolishes any chances of a decent future for young people. A world full of violence, drugs, and imprisonment. Tony undoubtedly influenced Wes for the worst. This is obvious when the author writes, “To Wes, Tony was a “certified gangsta.”

Furthermore, his dreams influence his belief of religion. In one of his dreams it shows God as unforgiving and punishing. God tells Antonio that “vengeance is mine” (173). Towards the end of the dream, the Golden Carp appears as “ such beautiful brilliance that he became a new sun in the heavens” (176). The Golden Carp seems much more positive than the Catholic God because of how the different God was described as in his dream. Antonio believes more of the Golden Carp rather than God because God punished people while the Golden Carp “swallows everything good and evil…and…becomes…a new sun to shine its good light upon the earth” (176). In the first dream, it mentions of another power, describing it as the presence of the river. Antonio asks to save his brothers but “…sparks flew when [he] spoke. It is the presence of the river” (26). This foretells that there is another great

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

What do you want to be when you grow up? A question that is always asked to a young child or young adult. You never truly know until you grow up and experience life for yourself. You live your life in search of what you like or don’t like; what you believe in or don’t believe in. Growing up and finding your way is something all children experience, but what if your way of life is already planned out for you? What if you have no decision over your future? This life burden is evident throughout the novel Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, the main character Antonio Marez did not have the ability to search for what he wanted to do in life. Antonio

​ There was someone other than Tony who also was close to Ultima, Narciso a local town drunk. He was always looking out for Ultima and defending her from Tenorio who wanted to kill her. On the night of his death there was a snowstorm taking place and he was just trying to get to Ultima to warn her about Tenorio,who wanted to go out and kill her for the death of his daughters, Narciso didn 't know but Antonio was following him on his journey to get to Ultima. Narciso tried to get Andrew to go tell Ultima because he believed he could get to her faster but he wasn 't leaving Rosie’s house. “Confess me—” (Anaya 170) Narciso asking him to do this challenged Tony and God and the fact that he is being asked to do more than he is actually capable of is present once again. He as a kid and not a priest makes him not “allowed” to confess other people but he did so regardless, once again having him question God’s capabilities. “you’re only a kid—I’m just sorry.” (Anaya 178) The fact of a good person dying without justifiable reason is questioned by Tony, and why wasn 't justice brought for Tenorio’s actions; Andrew not listening to Narciso was also questioned by Antonio, due to the fact that

As Antonio is going through life, Ultima uses her wisdom to guide him through his

As the story unfolds, Antonio is struggling with his own mind for an answer to the sinful nature of man and the forgiveness of his God. Under the guidance of Ultima, he learns that he must decide for himself the moral basis of life and live by it so as not to drown in the world of sin he lives in. The theme is expressed when Antonio excitedly enters the church for his first communion, thinking it will bring him an understanding of that that has been troubling his mind, ”A thousand questions pushed through my mind, but the voice within me did not answer. There was only silence.” When he feels nothing at the end of the communion and wonders why his God would not answer his questions, he begins to learn that he cannot rely on his church or his priest to provide him with what he needs to define morality. He learns that moral independence is important and as he fulfilled Ultima’s dying wish, he then understood and forged his own moral independence. Another theme is that culture and blood have a great influence of one’s identity. It can be easily seen that his family’s religious ways and the pride they carry in their blood is greatly troubling Antonio on his road to finding his moral

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.

Cleansing and rejuvenation are themes that are suggested by the author, and symbolized through the use of water. In one of his dreams, Tony refers to the waters of the river, " I must lift the muddy waters of the river in blessing to our new home!" (Anaya 26) The cleansing qualities of the river show Tony's desire to put the tragic happenings of his life behind him, and begin anew. His desire is to be washed clean from the haunting memories if Lupito's death. Another reference to water is the waters of baptism. In Tony's dream his parents argue about what water he was baptized in. "Oh please tell me which is the water that runs through my veins." (Anaya120) The waters of baptism represent cleansing, but in the dream his parents argue over whether he was baptized with the holy water of the moon, or the salt water from the oceans. This represents his parent's pulling him in two opposite directions. Later in this dream Ultima explains to both of Tony's parents that in reality both of their waters are the same. This shows that Tony is rejuvenated by the idea that he dose not have to choose between one parent or another, but can take the best of both of them. Because of the water Tony is able to

Everyone, except of Ultima told him to be a priest and a scholar because that’s what he was born to be. The reader begins to see Tony not seeking joy and fulfillment on his journey to become a priest as he does not hear from God and as he does not want to sin to grow up. Tony was raised with a plan set for his life, therefore his destiny was not natural like a flower. Ultima shows a contrast to this belief as she never tells him what to be, but let’s him explore what is right for him. Ultima tells Tony how a man’s destiny must be natural with essential necessities with no outside influences because that’s how the most satisfaction is gained. Ultima also hints that the only way for a successful and true destiny is for the flower to unfold so it can be pollinated to make other flowers blossom similar to how Tony’s destiny should influence others to be great. Tony spent the novel with Ultima, seeking God through his Catholic beliefs, and the symbol of the Golden Carp. Tony saw different beliefs, but was left to choose which one was right for him. He saw Ultima’s magic as a symbol of goodness, but knew it was rejected from everyone, He saw God as a strict

Antonio learns about the golden carp from Cico, a friend of his. According to Cico, the golden carp was once a god who loved the people of Antonio's town, Guadalupe. The people were not allowed to fish for the brown carp that lived in the river that flowed around the town. These fish were sacred to the gods. However, because of a drought and no food, the people had to eat the carp to survive. This angered the gods. They wanted to punish all the people by death but "they relented from killing the people. Instead, they turned the people into carp and made them live forever in the waters of the river-". The god who loved the people wished to become a carp like them to protect them from the dangers of the river. The gods agreed and "because he was a god they made him very big and colored him the color gold". Antonio cannot believe there is a new god and seeks answers from Ultima. Ultima is pleased that he has learned so much, but says she cannot tell him what to believe for he must decide for himself. The Golden Carp represents all the questions Tony has about religion and morality. Tony’s confusion is due to conflicting forces in both these aspects of life. When Cico first introduces the Carp to Tony, he is forced to make a tough decision, “Do you believe the Golden Carp is a god?” which he skillfully evades until he has the information he wants to make his decision. After the emergence of the Carp, Tony begins to question his

This is especially true for Tony in BMU as he is torn on a myriad of levels. Is he Marez or Luna? Is he a future Catholic priest or vaquero? Tony verbalizes the quandary he is in when he asks, "What life will I choose" (Anaya 41)? Through Tony's dreams, the depth of the ambivalent dilemma is elucidated.

one of the Trementino sisters, Ultima was able to heal him, yet God couldn’t. “In my mind I