Rudolfo Anaya

“Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya Literary Analysis Throughout the context of “Bless Me Ultima,” it is evident that there are many motifs and examples of dichotomy. I believe that Anaya uses the previously mentioned elements of literature in order to provoke his readers’ thinking and help embody a struggle of understanding the world we live in. Motifs in this novel include: family, dreams, religion, education, and the list continues. For examples of dichotomy, the idea of good versus evil is

tSam Ennis Period #4 20 September 2012 “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya Literary Analysis Throughout the context of “Bless Me Ultima,” it is evident that there are many motifs and examples of dichotomy. I believe that Anaya uses the previously mentioned elements of literature in order to provoke his readers’ thinking and help embody a struggle of understanding the world we live in. Motifs in this novel include: family, dreams, religion, education, and the list continues. For examples

and wiser layer in its place. Rudolfo Anaya shows this perfectly in his novel Bless Me, Ultima, with the use of his character Antonio. Anaya uses death as a catalyst to the solution for Antonio’s frustrations on religion. Each death showing significances to the plot and or on Tony because of how it caused him to question his beliefs and the beliefs pressured on him. Death is one of the sole constant in this novel, it begins and ends in death to where one can say Anaya interprets death to pioneer the

religious path in life. The author, Rudolfo Anaya, in Bless me Ultima uses diction with a pessimistic way of connotation to provide a suffocating tone to reveal how religion traps a person from pursuing freedom. Anaya’s suffocating tone is pronounced when he describes Ash Wednesday through the use of dreary diction. Anaya describes, Ash Wednesday as “gray morning or in the dusty afternoon”(Anaya, 201). This choice of words provide stigma of a dimness and suffocation. Anaya could possibly have used this

novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya , he shows symbolism that greatly affects the reader's understanding of the book and pulls them deeper into the story. Bless Me, Ultima is about a curandera named Ultima that comes to stay with Antonio and his family until her death. Ultima guides Antonio through his life while slowly revealing his destiny. This novel shows us how Rudolfo Anaya uses symbolism to help the reader have a deeper understanding of Antonio’s life. Anaya uses Antonio’s first dream

they’re left wondering which path to follow. In the novel “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya, Tony experiences the deaths of Lupito, Narciso, and Florence. His religious ambivalence further increases because as these stars die one by one, he’s left wondering which light he should actually seek. Throughout his life, Tony had been following the “light” of the star that guided him in the

individual 's personality. In Rudolfo Anaya’s bildungsroman, Bless Me, Ultima, the struggle between two families and their extreme differences cause numerous conflicts that are constantly present throughout his novel. In this chicano inspired novel, Antonio Maréz, the six year old protagonist, is perpetually faced with instances of dissimilarity throughout his life that often make it a challenge to stand out instead of fitting in with the rest of the crowd. When Anaya uses literary elements such as

Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima, the author uses Tony’s dreams as a way of displaying various symbols. Three symbols that are used often are weather, water, and the Golden Carp. Weather is used to represent conflict. Water represents cleansing, and rejuvenation. The Golden Carp symbolizes religion and Tony’s beliefs. Because dreams are not an exact mirror of reality, they become the perfect tool for introducing symbolism. The author uses the dream as a way

to choose his destiny since his parents each wants him to follow only the path of Luna or Márez. Due to this, Ultima constantly offers advice to Antonio so that he will be capable to decide his destiny as he becomes a man. Throughout the novel, Rudolfo Anaya uses the juxtaposition between the unique characters observed in the Luna and Márez blood, thus indicating that a child is able to follow both of the parents’

“’It is because good is always stronger than evil. Always remember that, Antonio. The smallest bit of good can stand against all the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant’” (Anaya 98). In the beginning of Bless Me Ultima, Antonio’s inquisitive nature is revealed after his innocence is threatened by the evil committed in the murder of Lupito. He struggles to choose a path of life that pleases both of his parents’ sides of the family. Furthermore, Tony experiences the loneliness