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The Theme Of Identity In Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

1199 Words5 Pages

It is impossible to avoid change, and the past can’t be ignored either. They both make the world what it is today. The novel, Bless Me, Ultima, written by Rudolfo Anaya, illuminates the story of the protagonist Antonio and his quest to discover his identity through his rooted traditions along with the changing world around him. He struggles to acknowledge his sense of self as a little boy who is confused between the pressure of his family’s cultural and spiritual beliefs opposed to his changing beliefs due to overseeing the modern world that made him question his family's perspectives. Similarly, the film Whale Rider, by Niki Caro, displays the journey of a girl named Paikea, known as Pai, and her difficulties in recognizing her true destiny …show more content…

Modernism takes a critical role in forming Antonio's understanding of his own belonging. Antonio's blazing curiosity for more knowledge leads him to doubt the traditional beliefs of his Catholic family. These beliefs do not correspond with modern ideologies he was introduced to by his friends and teachers. With the pressuring influence of his family to become a priest, Antonio “wanted to become a priest, but [he] wanted to understand everything first. [He] wanted to ask all the questions.'' (20). This wish for “understanding” and searching is due to the influence of modernism on Antonio's perspectives. Antonio has the need to “understand everything” and “ask all questions’’ before being sure about what he wants to become, revealing how big of an impact modernity really has on Antonio’s identity. This is an instance of how the modernism of Antonio’s surroundings alters his perspective on his sense of self. Antonio's experiences with Ultima, a curandera, represent how cultural and spiritual practices also take an equally pivotal role in creating Antonio’s identity. Ultima introduces Antonio to the connection of nature and living things, along with guiding him through finding purpose within his life. Thinking about Ultima’s teachings, he admits that, "She had put together the fragments of [his] faith for [him]" (70). The …show more content…

At the end of the film, Pai gives an inspiring speech at her school. In this speech, she explores many ideas that no one in her tribe has been exposed to. She reveals to everyone, "I'm not a prophet, but I know that our people will keep going forward all together, with all of our strength." (Caro) Pai challenges the traditional process of finding a leader that her opposing grandfather, Koro, holds, and she asserts her right to become the new chief, showing a modern sense of authority and creating a community that is inclusive of everyone. This speech reflects the idea of moving forward united as opposed to what her grandfather thinks, which limits one’s capability according to ancient traditions he lives by. He wants a prophet to lead them all, but she tells everyone how she is “not a prophet”, but will still accomplish what they need. Pai sees modernity as a way of discovering her strengths and abilities, and this is what helps her find belonging in the community. With all this, Pai also relies on her heritage and ancestry values to complete the responsibility of uniting her people forward. Furthermore, Pai is aware of how to do this because of the guidance of her ancestors, she explains,"When my time comes, I will be the one to climb up to

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“As you grow into manhood, you must find your own truths.” This is the overall message Rudolfo Anaya conveys regarding a hero’s journey and myth in his Chicano novel Bless Me, Ultima. The protagonist of the novel, Antonio, is not the typical hero that readers expect to encounter in a novel; perhaps, this novel’s quest does not fit the typical mold since Antonio embarks on a quest of self discovery and spiritual enlightenment to new levels of understanding. As noted, Antonio hears the call to adventure which comes in the form of Ultima who serves as a mentor and key factor to provide him with the tools necessary for his mysterious future path.

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Introduction Paragraph 2 a. Overview and Background: Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, is a book about coming of age set in the time after World War One ended. Antonio’s father comes from a vaquero family, or family of cowboys, and his mother comes from a family of farmers. Antonio will have to choose to become a priest for his mother or a vaquero like his father. Ultima comes to stay with them, and instantly,

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On page 4, he tells us about his mother's dream, “her own dream was that I should grow up and become a priest.” this shows theme because even though his mother's dream was for him to become a priest he made his own destiny. In another way, Cico brings him to she The Golden Carp and he realized that he wanted to make his own path just like the Golden Carp did. Finally, Ultima teaches him about destiny. When she was dying she told Antonio “i was to heal to heal the sick and show them the path of goodness.

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In the novel Bless Me, Ultima, the author Rodolfo Anaya presents the theme that growing up involves the loss of innocence. The novel is a coming of age story, in which the main character, Antonio Márez, struggles with the conflicting ideas of religion versus culture. The different variations of the conflict throughout the novel lead to his growth and his maturity. The author uses occurrences such as Lupito’s death, the Golden Carp, and the arrival of Ultima to demonstrate Tony being able to set aside his idealism and begin to lose his spiritual innocence.

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In one part of your life you go through a stage where you question yourself of who or what you will become in the future. The author presents different cultures throughout the novel, and only these two cultures seem to play a role in Antonios journey to reveal his own identity. It is with the help of Ultima that he is able to oversee these two cultures and finally zoom out and understand that everyone has their different beliefs and customs. In the novel it states, "But from my father and Ultima I had learned that the greater immortality is in the freedom of man, and that freedom is best nourished by the noble expanse of land and air and pure, white sky"(Anaya 228). In other words Ultima is the one who led the way for Antonio in order for him to see and accept the way other people think and how their way of life is.

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