Bless Me Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

Developing one’s own ideas amidst tradition and self-discovery presents a challenge in Mexican culture. In the novel Bless me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio, the protagonist, grapples with personal beliefs while growing up in his traditional New Mexican household. When Ultima, a curandera, moves in with his family, she becomes instrumental in guiding Antonio through childhood trials and complex adult concepts, leading him to maturity. Anaya expresses the difficulty of approaching maturity through the conflicting ideas of magical realism and religion. Christian belief is strict because of it’s practices in reward and punishment. For example, when Antonio remembers the story that Cico tells him about how the Golden Carp came to be, and how

If God was witness to my beholding of the golden carp, then I sinned! I cashed my hands and was about to pray to the heavens when the waters of the pond exploded” (Anaya 114). This shows that Antonio sinned against the Christian God, yet, didn’t care for the consequences of worshiping the golden carp. Antonio expected more from God and sought out the reassurance that the golden carp gave him, from God. As Antonio moves away from Christianity he begins to dispute the capability of God, therefore, demonstrating that he is able to compare the conflicting ideas. 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. Antonio analyzes the differences between how the golden carp and God burden