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Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

1185 Words5 Pages

In Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima", the young Antonio Márez goes through hardships during World War II. His journey of self-discovery and inner peace comes to light in the end. Antonio’s journey symbolizes his development of morals and spirituality, in his self-discovery journey. With having a difficult time finding his true self, with the guidance of his mysterious mentor, the Curandera Ultima, his spiritual awakening starts to grow. He finally dares to challenge the strict morals, and traditions of his community. While crossing the path to find his purpose and following his fate with understanding and acceptance, he also begins to embrace religion, culture, and background. Antonio's journey and experiences in Bless Me, Ultima has shaped …show more content…

Lupito’s death traumatized and marked the beginning of Antonio’s journey to self-discovery, which shows how big of an impact it had on Antonio’s life. This led him to question his Catholic faith and the Creator for the first time. After losing his innocence, seeing a person die before him. Antonio was lost in thoughts wondering where Lupito’s soul would reside, and if God would ever forgive him, even after committing a mortal sin. "I was learning that everything made sense" (120). Antonio initiates his spirituality and self-discovery journey after he begins confronting reality with questions, instead of blindly following his parents withhold thinking. While exploring and questioning, attempting to find his inner peace, being raised in a religious Catholic home with parents of different backgrounds makes it difficult as he navigates through his discovery …show more content…

He thinks that rather than accepting things as they are without doubt, the only way to truly know anything is to think critically and ask questions. Antonio pushes the limits of what is deemed feasible and plausible to upend the current status quo and free himself from the confines of conventional thinking. The importance Antonio places on individual accountability and self-sufficiency is another component of his worldview. He feels that people should develop their own inner strength and moral compass, rather than depending on others for direction and approval. "Ultima had said that my destiny awaited me, and I walked with the knowledge that my people and my family would have to understand and accept the destiny I made for myself." 124. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. This shows how he is striving to carve his own path and continue to be determined, even if that causes his family disapproval. The determination he has instead of obediently following other people's instructions, he encourages people to think independently and oversee their own lives, making their own

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Bless Me, Ultima In the story Bless Me, Ultima, by, Rudolfo Anaya, Anaya uses imagery and symbolism to tells us readers that making your own choices as you grow up can be very hard. In the book, Anaya adds a series of Antonio’s dreams while he sleeps to give us a better understanding of how Antonio thinks and feels. In Antonio’s dream on pages 5 and Anaya writes about Antonio’s birth he, writes about how his parents had different dreams for him and how each side of the family supported each.

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Alexa Colunga Ms. Tijerina English 3 1301 10/26/2014 As a sayings goes, the book is better than the movie. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya is a story based on a young boy becoming aware of his internal conflicts. In the filmthere were particular things that were different from the book like the dialogue and events; however, the similarities between the story and film were the fact that it followed all the death events that surrounded Antonio.

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When Narciso died, Ultima showed Antonio the harsh reality that comes with every human life. "Do not worry about Tenorio's threats, he has no manly strength to carry them out. He murdered Narciso because he ambushed him in cold blood, but he will not find me easy to ambush-" (189). Antonio understood her words and learned to avoid Tenorio no matter the struggle he went through. He never went against her words because he her words had powerful meaning behind them was pure truth.

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For example, since, Cico brought to light the origins of the golden carp and the burden that all men sin, Antonio was left to ponder the differences between the golden carp and God. He says “I walked away from that haven which held the pond and the swimming waters of the golden carp, feeling a weight in my heart. I was sadder by what I had learned. I had seen beauty, but the beauty had burdened me with responsibility” (Anaya 119). Antonio feels a sense of responsibility come upon him after learning the origins of the golden carp.

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For example, when Antonio questions his religion and his own God, he feels as though he has to do it alone. Rather than the priest help him answer his questions, his own father answers the questions Antonio has. Antonio’s father says, “Understanding comes with life as a man grows he me sees life and eath, he is happy and sad, he works, plays, meets people-- sometimes it takes a lifetime to acquire understanding”(248). His family is there for Antonio in his time for need in any problem he may be facing because that’s the only thing he

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Antonio watches as a priest defiles and altar by pouring pigeon blood on it, Cico defiles the river by spearing the golden carp, and Tenorio murders Ultima by killing her “night-spirit.’ Antonio must learn to accept that violence brings change, and in fact, that change is a kind of violence. This supports the novel’s argument that the transition into adulthood requires a person to develop the kind of faith that can accept doubt, contradiction, and loss in the absence of absolute answers. Ultima reiterates the novel’s concern with violence as a part of change when, before Antonio leaves, she advises him that he must learn to accept change and make it a part of his strength. Antonio begins to understand the spiritual value that Ultima places on harmony.

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Lead In: A child will usually grow up hidden away from adult problems, and then learn the way of the world as he or she get older. However, in the novel Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio Marez, a child who has grown up with the weight of the world on his shoulders, while striving to fulfil his parents’ expectations and also struggling with the loss of many people around him, has learned to mature faster to deal with the problems he has endured in a short life time. For Antonio, his development begins not with his birth or with his first days of school, but with the arrival of Ultima, the curandera who moves in with his family because of old age. It is with Ultima’s arrival that Antonio is first exposed to the magic of the world and

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