Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me Ultima

The implementation of the history of New Mexico’s events and peoples is important to better your understanding of the book, Bless Me, Ultima. The novel, Bless Me, Ultima, is a fictional story written by Rudolfo Anaya, who writes the story from the point of view of a young boy named Antonio Marez. He based his novel on his own life, people he knew, and the history of New Mexico. Because he implements parts of real New Mexican history in the novel, we will be able to relate the state's past to the place, time, and people to the novel. Although the novel is a work of fiction, multiple events in New Mexico’s history relate to the novel in many ways that are obvious to spot. The history and peoples of New Mexico relate to the novel by it revealing and including the topics of lynching, early agricultural tribes, and the Spanish flu.

In New Mexico history, actions like lynchings, which occurs in the novel, are somewhat common. Robert Torrez, the author of “Hangings and Lynchings in New Mexico”, asserts that the peoples of New Mexico committed multiple lynchings between 1852 and 1920s. As a former New Mexico

Events and actions that occur in the book will make more sense, as you would be able to link real life events and peoples to the novel's events. Learning about the lynching in New Mexico will help you understand how often and why it occurred in real life. The early tribes depended on agriculture, just like Antonio’s uncles in the novel, so it reveals part of New Mexico’s roots. The Spanish Flu has a connection to the novel by doctors not being able to cure it, just like Uncle Lucas’s curse, which are essentially the same. Knowing the the history of New Mexico is important in order to make connections, which will better your understanding of the events that occur in Bless Me,