Finding One's Self
Throughout Rudolfo Anaya's novel, Bless Me, Ultima, Anaya presents the reader with the complications and difficulty of cultural identity and in the end suggests that a person can draw from several cultural traditions instead of just one in particular. The main character, Antonio, is the guide to Anaya's lesson. Antonio's parents, Ultima, and even his town present him with different situations and ideas that contributes to his identity.
In the first chapter we are introduced to Antonio and his family. Antonio is a young six-year-old boy and lives in his Spanish village. Antonio himself is not a full fledge Latino. His father had been a vaquero all of his life, "...a calling as ancient as the coming of the
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His mother's lifestyle on the other hand, emphasizes strength, efficiency, and family, which manifest them to move to Guadalupe. Even at Antonio's young age his future already conflicts between these two contrasting alternatives.
When Ultima enters his life Antonio seeks her advice and wisdom as guidance towards his confusing identity crisis. Ultima brings great balance to this story by guiding Antonio through life. " And I was happy with Ultima. We walked together in the llano and along the riverbanks to gather herbs and roots for her medicines. She taught me the names of plant and flowers, trees and bushes, of birds and animals; but most important, I learned from her, that there was a beauty in the time of day and the time of night, and that there was peace in the river and the hills. She taught me the mystery of the groaning earth and to feel complete in the fulfillment of its time. My soul grew under her careful guidance" (15). This statement made by Antonio shows how much affect Ultima has on his life. It gives examples, such as, the love for nature, relaxation, and spiritual oneness, which help Antonio identify with his fathers love for the llano.
In the fourth chapter Antonio is once again guided by Ultima. In this chapter Antonio finally realizes that he does not have to choose between his two parents conflicting heritages. Instead, he can incorporate both of them into his life.
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).
Ultima goes to stay with Antonio Marez, a young boy who lives in the llano with his parents, two sister, and three brothers. This is because
Many of Antonio’s dreams foretell future incidents. In the first dream, the night before the arrival of Ultima, Antonio is born and both sides of his family gather together for the arrival of the baby boy. The two families express their hopes and desires for the
beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes, and the gurgling waters of the river sang to the hum of the turning earth.”(1) Antonio’s life spun in different ways that he couldn’t seem to get a grip on, but by the help of Ultima, Antonio was able to make it through his journey of independency. Ultima is more than just a mentor figure to Toni; they have a special connection amongst each other. If Gabriel, Antonio’s father, did decide to leave the llano, Antonio would never have experienced his journey from becoming a boy to a man with the help of this curandera. Moving along in the chapter Uno, things were revealed. Maria and Gabriel differences were starting to become more
Antonio is faced with many different options about religion and himself, which throughout the book is a big factor. Many important people in Antonio’s life want him to grow up and be happy, however they also have high expectations for him and want him to follow a certain path in his life. He must chose if he will follow the path of his mother, the Luna, or the path of his father, the Márez. In Antonio’s dreams he hears his mother and father talking to him. In his dream his mother says, “Mother of God make [Antonio] a priest”(pg. 45) while his father says, “He will make a fine vaquero”(pg. 5). When the mother and father says “make” it shows that they want him to be something and follow their hopes for him. Also his parents are saying to Antonio that he must choose which path to take. Antonio’s
Another example of Antonio's sense of development in good and evil is his home. It is means a lot to Antonio, because the people living in it makes him feel protected and provide warmth to him. When Tenorio and his men came to his house to take Ultima away, Antonio’s father "You walk on my land! That is my business" (Anaya 130). This make Antonio feel that he would be protected by the presence of his father., Gabriel. However, Antonio's mother made home very fond and ardent for him. She had always been affectionate towards him and would show him care. Most importantly, Ultima was the one who contributed to the goodness of Antonio's home. She made Antonio feel as though her presence filled the home with love and safety. It was Ultima who calmed Antonio down after he had seen Lupito die. Whenever he had a nightmare, Ultima would always be right beside to comfort Antonio and " could sleep again" (Anaya 34). Ultima's fearlessness against Tenorio and his three daughters made Antonio feel that he would be safe wherever Ultima was. Overall, the
In the book “Bless Me Ultima,” by Rodolfo Anaya, the role of duality goes very into depth with its many controversial topics. Some of these topics include the contrast between Catholicism and indigenous mysticism, good witchcraft and evil witchcraft, and men and women. Since Antonio must struggle to find his own identity and place he must battle between his family, beliefs, and self. This can be seen between his parents, who’s frequently conflicting views make it difficult for Antonio to accept either of their belief systems, his struggles between the English and Spanish language, and how evil and good affected his innocence.
Ultima is an old curandera, which means healer in spanish, who comes to El Puerto to live with the Marez family after she is left alone in the town of Las Pasturas. When she arrives and turns to greet him, Antonio feels awestruck. According to Antonio, he “felt the power of a whirlwind sweep around me (Anaya 12).” A series of events occur throughout the story which makes Antonio overprotective of La Ultima. For instance, when Antonio and Ultima go to his grandfather’s house to cure his uncle, “Some women bowed their heads, other made the sign of the cross (Anaya 104).” Crossing your forehead in front of someone who is helping your family is a sign of disrespect. I feel that if I were Antonio, I would feel very offended because Ultima is my friend and nobody should be disrespected in front of the people you care for the most. As Antonio grows, he finds himself questioning his religion and comes to accept that everything is not what it seems. For example, Antonio realizes that the people of the town can be very judgemental and will blindly follow anyone because they fear the unknown. Antonio has to deal with is brothers who are led astray by the prostitutes of the town and their unrealistic dreams. After the war ended, his brothers came back, but with different plans for themselves. They leave because they want to be free, but I believe that they chain
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 is attempting his best to make acknowledgment with the contentions by attempting to show signs of improvement comprehension of things furthermore he realizes that he needs to end up more develop. From my perspective it would seem that Antonio likes to pick the world & perspective his mom and her siblings including ultima. I assume that he gets a kick out of the chance to perspective his mom & her siblings on the grounds that he realizes that his mom taught him everything truly. His mother's sibling's for the most part the Uncle Pedro simply because he identifies with him. I then affirm that he would lean toward Ultima's perspective in light of the fact that she's generally been there when he required backing. He realizes that his mom will dependably arrive for him and he feels more sheltered with her not any other individual. Antonio respects
The thoughts we think, ways we speak, express ourselves, voices heard, and means of imagination define our identity but can branch out as they are grown from the influences and nourishment of others. The social roles of each character in the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya propel Tony so he doesn’t need to feel suffocated by choices, but embrace them as elements to life that lead to growth. Death and rebirth being a prevalent theme in the novel that can symbolize more than what is depicted in just the story of Antonio. The concept of rebirth exists not only within certain events but also in the unraveling of each character.
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
Bless Me, Ultima has many recurring motifs that surface during key points in the book, such as Antonio losing his innocence. After his brothers returned he had a dream of them entering a local brothel and in his dream, he pleads for them to not enter this evil place. His brothers ridiculed him for not entering and only his brother Andrew said he will not enter until Antonio has lost his innocence. His mother was also in this dream and she said "You are innocent when you do not know, but you already know too much about the flesh and blood of the Marez men". (Anaya 76) His priest tells him you are only innocent when you do not know, innocence is lost with the arrival of understanding. Antonio has seen 3 deaths, you can begin to say that he is no longer pure of innocence as it has become tainted by those deaths he has witnessed firsthand.
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
An important motif in “Bless Me, Ultima” are Antonio’s dreams. His dreams foreshadow major events and make him question his beliefs, especially revolving around