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The Importance Of Religion In Bless Me, Ultima

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The Struggle to Understand
Religion can be defined several ways. Merriam-Webster dictionary offers four different definitions of religion (Merriam-Webster). The second definition is, “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices" (Merriam-Webster). Religion is a strong characteristic of rural. Rural communities are often large and sparse; however, despite the many miles between places, there is usually a common bond. Most rural communities offer at least one place of worship. It is a common ground for most of the community. A place people can express their beliefs and have a shared practice. In Bless Me, Ultima, religion is a recurrent theme. Tony deals with trying to understand his Catholic …show more content…

While the story of the pagan god seems far-fetched, Tony finds himself caught up in the mystery of it. The golden carp is a story known only to a few; only a select few people can see it. Cico asks Tony to believe the golden carp is a god, however, Tony does what he feels is right and recites the Lord’s commandment that “there shall be no other gods before me” (Anaya 107). Tony struggles to separate his Catholic teachings and desire to see the pagan god. He wants so badly to believe that there could be a god that is beautiful and forgiving. Tony has the privilege to see the beautiful golden carp. He feels he has witnessed a miracle. “And then a sudden illumination of beauty and understanding flashed through my mind. This is what I had expected God to do at my first holy communion” (Anaya 114). Tony’s is having his first real feelings about a power different from his Catholic God, even though, he feels that he has sinned by just seeing the vision of the golden carp. Tony, though doubtful, is still holding true to the fact that his God will still come to him and offer His answers when he takes his first holy

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Children are the most vulnerable to outside perspectives and ideas when they are still developing their sense of reality. Most importantly, children are vulnerable when they are still learning the extent to which the boundary between possible and impossible exists. As children learn, they realize that the world that once seemed limitless has limited capabilities. Their entire world is put into perspective based on their personal experiences. In “Bless Me Ultima”, a novel by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio Marez experiences this progression firsthand.

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In the novel, Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, it has a commonly used motif, which is religion. Anaya used religion in the novel showing how the main character’s thoughts changed as he grows up. This correlation is very worked out and well thought because it leads directly into the theme of growing up. In chapter twelve of the book Tony, the main character, states “Ultima’s cure and the Golden Carp occupied my thoughts the rest of the summer. I was growing up and changing.

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As he came out of the darkness of the pond and the sun caught his shiny scales and the light reflected orange and yellow and red. He swam very close to our feet. His body was round and smooth in the clear water. We watched in silence at the beauty and grandeur of the great fish" (120). When Antonio sees the Golden Carp the first time, he could not believe his eyes that he had saw a pagan god.

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Being Born into a Family with Two Different Backgrounds: A Conflict in Bless Me Ultima About Tony Being Influenced By Two Opposite Ways of Life In all conflicts there are always two sides which think they are superior to the condescending opponent. Sometimes in the conflicts they are facing, a force which is intertwined with both sides will have to choose a side in order to declare which side is superior. There are times when the deciding force is confused and not sure which side is actually better, so it must take time to finalize its decision. This deciding force in Bless Me, Ultima is Tony, who is puzzled about whether he should follow the path of a Luna or a Marez.

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Both Antonio and I were born into Catholic households but still question God and stray away from the Catholic faith. In the novel, Antonio starts to question his faith and loyalty to the Catholic religion at a surprisingly young age when Cico introduces him to the Golden carp. This is shown when Anaya writes, “‘You have to choose, Antonio,’ Cico said, ‘You have to choose between the god of the church, or the beauty that is here and now’”.(251) This shows how Cico is making Antonio choose between two religions causing him to question his faith in God. This is similar in my life, however I started straying away because I do not go to church as much as I did as when I was younger, causing me to start to lose some faith.

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As Tony was having an epiphany about God a huge fish shot out of the calm water of the river, “The evil mouth of the black bass was open and red. Its eyes were glazed with hate as it hung in the air surrounded by churning water...” (Anaya 105). Antonio begins to think about God and sin, the black bass rips through the water as a coherent symbol of evil and wrong. Antonio hopes his first communion will be as harmonious as his

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