ipl-logo

Rite Of Passage In Bless Me Ultima

1417 Words6 Pages

Growing up is a journey and overcoming society’s principles and beliefs are a part of it. These actions mark a rite of passage for some people leaving them to explore their own culture and views. The journey of growing up is like climbing a mountain, it 's not about what is at top, it 's about how the top is reached, the climb. People can either chose their journey or let others chose is for them. For example, parents enrolling their son into a war, such as World War II, without hearing his feelings towards everything. World War II was the largest armed conflict in history. Germany, under the command of Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland and tried taking over other parts of Europe. While that was happening Japan tried taking over China. Many …show more content…

In the novel, “Bless Me Ultima”, written by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio lives in New Mexico with his family and Ultima, where he tries to chose his journey in life while being influenced by many different cultures and …show more content…

Throughout “Bless Me Ultima ”, Antonio undergoes many internal conflicts that make him less innocent and less trusting towards others. The novel first starts off with the conflicting cultures of his parents, the Luna and Marez, the Luna is his mother’s side and the Marez is his father’s. The Luna are devout farmers who worship the earth and the moon, hence the name “Luna”. While the Marez are cowboys who 's just spend their days on their horses back and are devoted to the sun. All of Antonio 's brothers are already cowboys and committed to the Marez side of the family so Antonio is expected to join the Luna side and become a priest. Antonio does not not want make a decision between the two and feels pressure to pick one over the other. Eventually he learns that the two cultures can live in unison and he does not have to pick one path to follow, he can make his own path. Another internal struggle conveyed throughout the story is which religion to believe in; paganism or catholicism. Antonio always had his mind set on his one destiny of becoming a priest but this belief system is second guessed when he helps Ultima cure his uncle Lucas from a deathly sickness when the priest couldn 't. Many times in the novel, supernatural or paganistic objects help more than the God above. For example, when Narciso dies, God does not help him live, he let 's the evil Tenorio live instead. Antonio, confused with what religion to pick turns to paganism and the natural belief system.

Show More
Related

Antonio's Use Of Foreshadowing In Bless Me Ultima

783 Words | 4 Pages

In Bless me Ultima, Antonio struggles to choose what path in life he wants to take. Antonio’s parents come from very different families and both think Antonio should follow the lifestyle of their family’s side. Antonio’s mother wants her son to follow in the footsteps of the Lunas and become a servant of God, a priest. On the other hand, his father dreams of him and his son venturing to California and starting a new life full of adventure. His parents’ constant disagreement about Antonio’s destiny causes an internal conflict that wreaks havoc on him throughout the book.

Read More

How Did Cortes Build The Aztec Religion

888 Words | 4 Pages

The Spaniards converted the indigenous population through the use of force to gain wealth, power, and land for Spain. One argument portrayed in history was the fact that the Aztecs chose to convert due to similarities between the Christian religion and the Nahua religion of the aztecs. For example, both religions refer to a female figure, the Virgin Mary and in the Aztec faith Tonantzin (“our mother”-goddess of fertility of life). Perhaps, the idea of Baptism-purifying one’s soul was appealing to the aztec people. The aztecs also practiced confession if they had committed a sin, but if the sin continuously was performed they were often not forgiven.

Read More

Examples Of Conflict In Bless Me Ultima

530 Words | 3 Pages

While there are numerous examples of conflict throughout Bless Me, Ultima, the most prominent examples are the “Man vs. Self” conflicts Antonio faces. One such conflict—a multifaceted struggle that ultimately becomes one of the most prominent in the novel—concerns his religious beliefs. Antonio’s mother is a devout Catholic and raises her children to be followers of the religion as well, but Antonio struggles with the concept of the all-powerful God and the fact that such a God would punish good people while forgiving those whom Antonio deemed “evil,” and at one point thinks that perhaps God does not help him because He is “too busy in heaven to worry or care about” Antonio and his friends and family (187). Antonio also doubts that God truly is all-powerful, as He couldn’t alleviate the Téllez family’s curse, and He could save neither Lupito nor Narciso, and therefore thinks it “doesn’t seem right” that He has “the right to send you to hell or heaven when you died.” (236) Yet despite his doubts, some part of Antonio clings to his upbringing and what his mother taught him, as he is seen desperately clinging to his religious beliefs, such as when he restrains himself from seeking too much knowledge despite his curiosity, for fear that he might commit “the original sin of Adam and Eve” (197).

Read More

The Role Of Fate In Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

1100 Words | 5 Pages

Antonio’s father would have his son be a vaquero, but Antonio’s mother would have him be a priest or a farmer like his uncles, the Lunas. His father and the other vaqueros display their urging for Antonio to follow them in Antonio’s dream about his birth. The vaqueros express their interest when they say, “He is a Márez… He is his father’s blood!” (6).

Read More

Bless Me Ultima Gender Roles Essay

414 Words | 2 Pages

Analysis on the Roles of Gender in Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya narrates the story of Antonio Márez y Lunas, a seven year old boy who lives to learn that the journey to manhood is about learning to make decisions on his own. In the story, his mother hopes for Antonio to become a priest, while his father desires him to become one of the llano. Anaya cleverly uses the contrasting views of both genders to highlight Antonio's struggles of making sense that his life was a development from being an innocent young boy to being a man of wisdom and understanding. During the time of Bless Me, Ultima's writing, as in most traditional systems, women were primarily firm believers of religion (in this case, Catholicism). The teachings of Catholicism has a tendency to place women as inferior and an accessory in

Read More

The Inquisition Trial Of Jucan Luis

880 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout history, diverse cultures have unveiled fascinating, distinct, and at times astonishing facets of life. By carefully examining the Inquisition trial of Jucan Luis, we can gain profound insights into the surprising, strange, and odd practices prevalent during that period and contrast them with our present-day perspectives. On the night of August 28th, Jucan Luis was found engaging in scandalous acts such as conjuring spells and summoning demons. By unraveling the enigmatic nature of Luis and the sequence of events leading to his arrest, we aim to explore the underlying reasons behind these occurrences. Don Pedro Flores de Acebedo, the magistrate of Xochimilco, reports discovering pictures of devils painted on Luis's left arm.

Read More

Essay On Bless Me Ultima

767 Words | 4 Pages

He has encountered another god, a pagan god, other than his Catholic God. He learns that there are other gods other than God himself but he learns from this and later becomes a more devout Catholic when he takes catechism classes which starts to solidify his faith in God. Antonio accepts that there are other gods, but he still continues to strengthen his Catholic faith. Another example of religious coming-of-age is his when Antonio has his First Communion. Antonio has his First Communion and believes that when he has taken it he knows the answers to his questions about God.

Read More

La Mexicano Analysis

871 Words | 4 Pages

Both of these figures have passive personalities, weakening the character of one and emphasizing the maternal nature of the other. Also, both Mothers acted as middlemen; La Malinche as Cortes’s advisor from within and La Virgen as the intermediate between the Father and the

Read More

The Jesuit's Faith At The End Of The Star

514 Words | 3 Pages

However, he questions the actions of a God that he feels he doesn’t know, a God that is still both omnipotent, omniscient, but that lacks the qualities that the Jesuit has been told to nurture in the hopes of becoming closer to his Lord. The Jesuit struggles to reconcile these two opposite images, one of the God he knows, and the other a God whose actions he finds

Read More

Antonio's Loss Of Innocence In Twelfth Night

1537 Words | 7 Pages

Antonio was a child with mind beyond is years but nothing could prepare him to witness the death of a man by the men of his own village, the men of the village who did not hesitate to kill another man. Antonio followed his father to the bridge and hid by the river, he witnesses a man that was lost in the war, the war that his brothers are fighting in, Antonio was last person to see Lupitos last breath with his final wish of a blessing, he saw Lupitos blood spilled into the river, to stain his river for eternity, it is there and then by the bridge that Antonio started to crossed his bridge of innocence, " My body began to hurt from the beating it had taken from the brush of the river. But what hurt more was that I had witnessed for the first time the death of a man"(Anaya 24). Antonio saw the changes in people around him, he saw the world manipulating people to its wants and saw his brothers getting lost. It was shortly after Antonios brothers return from the war as men they were ready to move on form the village of Guadalupe, they were ready to leave their parents and take their life for themselves, "There was an empty feeling inside, not because they spanked me, but because they would be gone again.

Read More

Bless Me Ultima Themes

682 Words | 3 Pages

One of Bless Me, Ultima’s biggest themes is coming of age in the case of Antonio. Both his parents wish to steer him in the direction of their dreams, with his mother dreaming of him becoming a priest and his dad wanting him to become a vaquero. Throughout the story, Antonio sees the problems with both his parents’ ideal future for him. In the end, Antonio will go his own path.

Read More

Mexican American Culture In Bless Me Ultima

1414 Words | 6 Pages

Through Antonio and Ultima, readers identify the creation of a culture that has been forge by war, discrimination, and common hardships. With Ultima being a powerful curandera, the story shows the importance of the female character within Mexican culture. Today, this is prevalent in many Mexican-American households, as the elderly women are held in the highest respect. Another aspect of Mexican-American Culture is masculinity, which is shown in Bless Me, Ultima when Antonio’s father says, “a man of the llano does not run from a fight” (Anaya, 1999, p.37). There are countless examples of Mexican-American masculinity in this novel, like when it mentions that Gabriel’s two eldest sons are fighting in WWII.

Read More

Essay On Miracle In The Andes

535 Words | 3 Pages

Nando was one of the few that trusted in God to get them out of the Andes. Although, he did not have faith in God the whole time. He did most of the time. “If there is a God, and if He wanted my attention, He certainly has it now.” (Nando, 85).

Read More

Cultural Conflict In Bless Me, Ultima

1896 Words | 8 Pages

I am a Catholic… I can believe only in the God of the church”(107). Like many other children, Antonio is unclear on what religion to follow, especially since his own religion failed to help him when needed. He now needs to come to fact on what he should follow. What belief is suitable for

Read More

Gender Roles In Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

1441 Words | 6 Pages

Characters in the novel are frequently shown to be contradicting traditional Catholic values and the Ten Commandments, such as the prohibition of sex before marriage. Pedro Vicario, one of the Vicario brothers behind the killing of Santiago Nasar, was “trembling with rage” (p.47) after finding out Angela Vicario was not a virgin before marriage, despite having returned from the local brothel with his brother moments before. This use of irony demonstrates the satirical nature of Márquez’s work, all the while making a commentary on the contradictory communal religious ideologies entrenched in the town. In the novel, the revered religious figures in the community are portrayed as symbols of the hollow religious beliefs in the community, solely making appearances which portray them in a negative light. Father Amador and the Bishop are portrayed to be apathetic and demonstrate un-Christian values.

Read More

More about Rite Of Passage In Bless Me Ultima

Open Document