Summary Of Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

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 the novel a pathetic situation was created when Tenorio kills Ultima’s spiritual owl. Actual life was created when Antonio was stuck in a dilemma to choose what path he was going to take when he grew up.

When he lifts his hands into the air, instead of speaking to God to save his brothers, he speaks to the presence of the river. This shows that he will have some religion dilemmas between God and the Golden Carp. In his last dream, Antonio witnesses “Tenorio capture the night spirit of Ultima and murder it, and Ultima died in agony” (244). Soon after this dream, Tenorio kills Ultima’s owl. Antonio then understood that the owl is her living soul.

When tenorio wishes Ultima and Antonio death he mentions something that catches Antonio off guard the novel states, “It was when he said that the owl was the spirit of Ultima that everything I had ever known about Ultima and her bird seemed to make sense. The owl was a protective spirit...The owl was her soul!” (Anaya,255). The symbolization of the owl demonstrates how Anaya uses the tradition of Catholicism to show that Antonio becomes more independent, because he chooses to accept the fact that he thinks Ultima has a greater

Topic of Choice: Cite and Analyze three specific characters or events which lead Tony 's’ revelations that would later foster his religious ambivalence

Death is abstruse but can make one savvy. The way one thinks may be shifted by an incident, bringing them to a point where they feel uncertain about what they believe in. All the purity and sin that comes with this life is what brings them to become equivocal and controversial as to what is right and wrong. Thoughts of doubt may not be cleared up, but it will allow one to find a path they pertain to. A novel, Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya relates to this concept in the sense that the main character Antonio Márez is conflicted due to the deaths he encounters which alters his beliefs.

After Tenorio was defeated when he tried to accuse Ultima of being a witch, he harbors a more intensive hatred for Ultima. Narciso and Tenorio are drinking at the same bar, and they get into a fight. When Tenorio and Narciso are separated he swears that he is going to kill Ultima, and then drives away in his truck. Andrew does not heed Narciso’s urge to go home and warn them, so he takes it upon himself to go through the hazardous blizzard to save Ultima’s life once again. In the middle of the blizzard, Tenorio confronts Narciso with a gun. Narciso is seen claiming: “Ay diablo, you have shot me in cowardly fashion”(Anaya 168). He dies the death of a martyr, taking the shot through his body while trying to protect Ultima. However, the town will never know this because the police rule it as an accident, and “Because Narciso was the town drunk, nobody cared much” (Anaya 177). He was killed in the cold blood of hatred, but no one knows because the fate of a town drunk is beneath them.

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).

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

Miguel de Unamuno once said, “Faith which does not doubt is dead faith.” This quote embodies a key element that is explored in the novel Bless Me, Ultima written by Rudolfo Anaya. While reading the Chicano novel Bless Me, Ultima, the reader may begin to question Tony’s reliance on this faith. Tony spends most of the novel questioning God’s reasoning. He also takes a very keen interest in the complexities of the world that surrounds him. While this novel does revolve around the theme of soul-searching, Tony takes the idea of self-discovery to a new level for someone of his age. Tony questions his faith, the concept of justice, and according to Ultima, he shows promising signs of becoming a “man of learning”. In the novel Bless Me, Ultima Tony embodies the foundations of a flourishing philosopher.

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

Characters: Ultima- An old Curandera who comes to spend her last days with Antonio and his family. She is Tony’s mentor and helps him to find the right path for his life.

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

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

As all other measures had been taken, Lucas’ brother, Pedro, had asked Ultima to help. Ultima had agreed to help, but before Ultima would attend to Uncle Lucas, she has a confrontation with Tenorio. Within the story, the reader comes to understand that Ultima blames the curse placed on Lucas on the daughters of Tenorio. “I have come to lift a curse. It is your daughters who do evil, that are brujas.” (Bless Me, Ultima pg.39). This upsets Tenorio, and creates an argument between the two. Ultima goes on giving Tenorio an ultimatum if he does not try to convince his daughters to lift the curse on Lucas. After Ultima, threatens the daughters with an ultimatum, Tenorio goes on to call Ultima a “bruja”.