Summary Of ' Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

Tony is very smart but also quite poor. His family didn't have enough money to send him to school but since he was smart and the nuns had faith in him they were able to provide him with a scholarship: “His family could not afford to send him to school. But the nuns believed in him because he was smart and a good boy.” (McKay 44). This shows how tony was viewed as a person before everything with the LRA happened. Tony also had a dream to become a priest when he was older. He never openly said it but it was very obvious to others; “ He has never actually said to his friends, but everyone knew that tony really wanted to become a priest.” (McKay 45). This shows that Tony wanted to go to school to repay god and how much of a good kid we was and how he didn't deserve to have to become a rebel soldier.

Comment: The narrator’s use of hyperbole in this quote indicates the resounding impact of Ultima in Antonio’s life. He implies that she will play a large role in his development into a man, and that through Ultima’s guidance Tony will shift his paradigm

"I realized that the owl had been with me throughout the night. It had watched over all that had happened on the bridge. Suddenly the terrible, dark fear that had possessed me was gone." (Anaya, 23)

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

Along these lines, Lupito’s death was a suicide. He wanted to escape the liability of the sin he committed. Antonio questions the ultimate of Lupito’s soul. “Did God listen? Would he hear? Had he seen my father on the bridge? And where was Lupito’s soul swinging to, or was it washing down the river to the fertile valley of my uncles’ farms?” (Anaya 23). Antonio knew it is a sin to commit suicide, but he did not physically commit that sin himself, so what will God do? Before dying, Lupito asked Antonio to bless him. Antonio knew only a priest can bless him, but he wasn’t sure if he had that power. At that moment he questions the justice of Lupito’s actions and God’s punishment. Lupito was shot in the leg. He bled out into the river and his blood will forever be there, flowing to other places, scarring other places. On that Occasion, Antonio a future priest, witnessed death. Antonio was no longer pure. Losing the purity meant he

Narciso and Antonio do not have many direct encounters in the novel, yet Narciso has a profound effect on Antonio’s religious maturation. Narciso, who is considered the town drunk, is present in many important conflicts as a mediator figure. He goes to great lengths to help his friends, which is shown when he attempts to convince the townsmen not to rashly kill Lupito after he had shot the sheriff. Once Lupito is killed Antonio worries about the fate of the men on the bridge who shot him, including his own father. Antonio wonders "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

Tony is told of this third choice many times. For example, Gabriel told his son that

     After reading the book, Bless Me Ultima, I realized the integral importance of religion and need for religion and answers to life’s questions. At first, while reading this book, I thought it was just about relationships and the meaning in them but as the plot progressed I realized the book, is more than that, it questions the structures that decide the rules, morals and values that society is composed of. There were three types of religion that I identified in the book that young Anthony chose to pursue. The first was the paganistic rituals of Ultima. Ultima came into the life of Tony at a very young age and had great influence n the child. Ultima saved the life of Lucas through Tony’s

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.

Antonio not only witnesses Narciso 's death, but he has to show just how responsible he is, due to the fact that Narciso pleaded to be saved by him. As everyone knew, Tony was leaning to become a priest when he grows up. Seeing as how Narciso knew this, he asked Tony to save him and for him to confess before he dies. Instead of being honored by this,Tony is now baffled and begins to question his faith in God. Before Narciso takes his last breath he uttered “Muchacho... I need confession... I am dying...Then pray for me...you are pure of heart-” “Thank you, father I will sin no more.” (Anaya 178)

He knows that any place in which the death of someone occurs is evil due to the fact that killing is evil. Moreover, when Tony sees Lupito get killed, it is Ultima who calms him, and whenever he has a nightmare, Ultima is there to comfort Antonio and "[he] could sleep again" (48). Ultima's fearlessness against any evil made Antonio feel as though he would be safe wherever Ultima is. Since Ultima is always at his house, she made his home feel safe.

Only a few books dare to discuss the confusion surrounded by a religious awakening. In Bless Me Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, Premio Quinto Sol national Chicano literary award recipient, challenges standard religion and brings in different ideas through the perspective of a young and confused boy. Due to the new ideas that he is introduced to, the events that occurs especially deaths, and his eagerness for knowledge all leads Antonio to question his religious beliefs. At the end of his struggle to understand, the boy reaches the peace of mind he was seeking.

As Ultima is dying she tells Tony, “Always have the strength to live. Love life, and if despair enters your heart, look for me in the evenings ... I shall be with you” (Ayana 22). Ultima holds this lesson to a higher level of importance because it is the last lesson that teaches Tony. Not only does she tell Tony to love life, but she also tells him that she will always be with him and if he needs her comfort she will be there.

With Tony walking through his life with no sense of direction, he tried to find answers from

“In the dark mist of my dreams I saw my brothers. The three dark figures silently beckoned me to follow them. They led me over the goat path, across the bridge, to the house of the sinful women. We walked across the well-worn path in silence. The door to Rosie’s house opened and…” (Anaya 70) This excerpt from the novel Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, is one of the numerous dreams the protagonist Antonio Márez experiences. The story is set during World War II in Guadalupe, Mexico, a town rich with Mexican culture and overflowing with legends. Antonio attempts to discover his religion and family roots as he struggles to cope with school. When he witnesses four tragic deaths, Anaya vividly depicts the shattering of his innocence. Even