Sympathetic Soldier

Ultima heals Lucas, Antonio’s uncle, even though she is called evil by the menacing Tenorio. She is a strong woman and does not take harsh words to heart. “I am a curandera,” Ultima said softly, “and I have come to lift a curse. It is your daughters who do evil that are the brujas--” “You lie, vieja!” he shouted.

To begin, Lupito's death was the first eye-opening for Antonio. "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 river to the fertile valley of my uncle's farms? A priest could have saved Lupito. Oh why did my mother dream for me to be a priest! How would I ever wash away the stain of blood from the sweet waters of my river!" (23) This is the first time Antonio questions God's presence and wonders about sin, death, and hell. This is also a traumatic moment Antonio experienced because he saw what men are capable of, murder. In short, Lupito's death impacted Antonio's life.

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

Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, set in the late 1900’s, tells a story of Oscar Wao, an overweight Dominican “ghetto nerd”, his mother and rebellious sister who live together in Paterson, New Jersey. Throughout the novel Diaz incorporates many different stories about each character that show acts of resistance. One of the most prominent stories of resistance in the novel is through Oscar’s mom; Beli, who is prompted by great tragedy, known as the Trujillo curse, to love atomically and thus follows a dangerous path. Beli’s family history plays a large role in her choices that eventually compel her into a different life than what her adopted mother, La Inca, had wanted for her.

He still goes back to the idea of his preordained future in priesthood, as destined by his mother. As a child first witnessing the horrors of life, his mind instinctively goes to his mother. As if seeking validation, if he were to fulfill his mother’s hopes in becoming a priest, he would be gratified and he would be innocent again. This brings about an obvious turmoil within him and his perceived responsibilities within priesthood. Anaya also uses symbolism to show the stark contrast between blood and the river. The idea that Lupito’s blood was spilled as a result of his sinful actions is now tainting and defiling the purity and sanctity of water could be paralleled to Antonio’s innocence defiled and diluted by the horrors he had just witnessed. Arguably, Lupito’s death is an unjustified persecution of an ill man. His actions—actions that he was not completely conscious of—stemmed from the horrors of war which brings about the question of justice. Why would God let this man—a man not fully conscious of his actions—be held responsible, punished, and persecuted when he had done nothing wrong?

It all started on the bridge one Saturday night, Antonio’s father and other townsmen were searching for Lupito the man who killed the sheriff. Terrifying experiences during war caused Lupito to have post traumatic stress disorder, it made him act without sense. Antonio was curious, he followed his father and the others but it all went downhill. Several men wanted Lupito dead for what he had done. Lupito fired his gun to draw their fire but he wasn't aiming directly at them. Then the men fired at Lupito and Antonio saw it all. Through all the blood, Lupito muttered to Antonio, “ Bless Me”. The bridge where it all occurred signifies the beginning of the road of the loss of Antonio’s innocence. Antonio was only six years old when he witnessed Lupito’s death. The mind of a six year old shouldn't be consumed with the tragedy of death. Lupito took the situation has an

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

“Peace is not something you wish for, it’s something you make. Something you do. Something you are. And something you give away.” stated Robert Fulghum. We, as Elk County Catholic students, can construct peace of mind for all troopers who fight for our freedom. Smiling Soldier Project is looking to support the men and women over seas that are fighting for our freedom by providing encouragement, gifts, volunteers from our community, as well as school and county support to provide helping hands.

Antonio’s parents were very kind and supported him by providing useful ideas for his future. Ultima also predicted that Antonio will be “man of learning.” She guided him in his efforts to understand

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

Antonio experiences an internal struggle after witnessing his brother, Andrew, at Rosie’s Brothel. To understand the root of this conflict, we must remember Antonio’s dream in Chapter 9. In this dream, all of his brothers enter Rosie’s despite Antonio warning them that entering would be a sin. He begged his Andrew not to enter, and Andrew agreed to wait with him until he lost his innocence. When he sees Andrew in Rosie’s, he begins to question if he has lost his innocence on account of the deal they made in his dream. He recalls all of the evil he has seen, like Lupito’s murder, the three witches that cursed his uncle, and even the town coming to hang Ultima. He claims that he carries all of the evil inside of him. He claims that the Holy Sacraments

Felix, too, tries to block out his thoughts and feelings about Antonio, but while he is sitting in a movie theater, his thoughts are so much with Antonio that he keeps imagining Antonio’s face on the movie screen while he, Felix, is punching him out. Both boys are unable to stop thinking about protecting the other because their relationship is so important to them. Here, again Piri uses the boys to testify to the value of friendship.

John here, today we’re going to discuss soldiers. War was a difficult time for all of us, but now that it’s over, should soldiers be compensated for their years of service with a pension? Sickness and injury were common during the Great War. Between October 1914 and May 1915 at the No 1 Canadian General Hospital, there were 458 cases of influenza and 992 of gonorrhoea amongst officers and men. Some injury was not exactly ‘physical’, thousands of Canadian and non-Canadian soldiers alike suffer from ‘Shell-shock’. Doctors describe shellshock as “nervous or mental shock.” Veterans are still being treated for shell-shock today, years after the end of the Great War. Currently, Veterans are not receiving steady pensions, or medical benefits. It is also very hard for veterans to find

Samuel once said, “Surviving is the only Glory of war”.War is something that can’t be stopped, but it’s something that can be avoided. Kosovo is a place where there were many wars. The article

Juan’s emotions change from showing off his body to feeling exposed during the process of stripping. After a few seconds of hesitation, he decides to keep his white underwear on and Juan is totally homophobic to begin with. In Law of Desire, Antonio also wants to be an actor. At the beginning the film, Antonio does not want to kiss Pablo because he has never kiss a man before, but quickly he adjusts and learns to embrace his own passion. He insists that Pablo to address himself using a girl’s name when writing Antonio letters, but the letters are for his family, and he has accepted the fact that he loves Pablo.