The Hero's Journey In Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

Growing up is difficult for everyone. The great novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya portrays a perfect example how growing up might be extremely difficult for some. This is depicted by the protagonist of the novel, a boy named Antonio. He experiences what no boy his age should go through. Rudolfo Anaya’s depiction of the hero’s journey throughout the novel is one of the major themes which greatly contribute the foundation of the novel. The use of various elements of the cycle of the hero’s journey in the novel cause a great impact on the life of Antonio. The elements being evidently present throughout the novel are a key to the life of the young boy Antonio.

The protagonist of the novel, Antonio, is on a quest seeking answers for questions

Throughout the novel, Antonio keeps having symbolic dreams which give him confusion and fear. Those dreams foreshadow his future and influence his religious beliefs. He starts to question the morality of what he has witnessed. His dreams made him lose his innocence and caused him to have fear and grief. His dreams set him on a quest of finding the meaning of life and answers his moral and religious questions. The article “Mythic Visions of the Borderland Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima” by Şen, Hasine, points out how Antonio’s dreams are generated from his life afflictions. The author discusses Antonio’s battle with himself. She focuses mainly on how Antonio’s questions are based on his dreams and afflictions. She also discusses how Antonio is making not only a physical change, but also a spiritual change (Hasine 175). All of Antonio’s dreams make him suffer and question if what he has been taught all his life is morally correct. He is influenced greatly with the dreams, his life is has a drastic change. Antonio has witnessed various traumatic incidents which makes him difficult to understand life and see the positive thing in it. His dreams are generated from those incidents; all his problems affect his dreams. Antonio’s dreams are part of his difficult experiences and make him feel confused, yet he learns to find what they mean and this helps him

Ultima moved to Antonio’s home when he is almost seven years old, her presence on Antonio’s life gave him guidance. Ultima was always there to assist Antonio with his troubled life. Since Antonio began to have harsh experiences she was there for him. Ultima’s beliefs consisted that plants, the river and other parts of nature have a spirit. This teached Antonio to appreciate and see the beauty of where he lived.Ultima opened Antonio’s eyes and helped him find himself and see the beauty of life. Her guidance and wisdom made Antonio obtain wisdom from her, she was Antonio’s spiritual guide and tutor. In an article “Mythic Visions of the Borderland Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima” by Şen, Hasine, the author Antonio’s connection to Ultima and the effect she had on him. She explains how Ultima helps Antonio grow mature, she says “Equipped with this new cognitive weapon the boy overcomes all the trials he faces on the road to manhood”. She refers to the variable number of deaths Antonio witnessed and explains how Ultima helped him overcome those traumatic experiences. In the novel Ultima told Antonio how he had to grow and accept change (Anaya 89-90). Antonio faced various harsh experiences, he was never alone; Ultima was always with him giving him guidance and helping him grow mature. She is compared to a weapon because of the great assistance she has on Antonio. She