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.
Antonio’s witness of the brutal death of Lupito, led to his loss of innocence. Lupito was shot at the river which led to the fear that the blood would stain the river permanently. The idea of a permanent blood stain contributed to Antonio’s loss of innocence. After the death of Lupito, Tony questions his faith and the ideology of sin. This relates to the acknowledgment of reality, that people are not labeled as good or evil and there is a grey area between those two subjects. The death led the start of Tony questioning his father’s moral ideals. This continues the conflict between his culture and his religion. The fact that his father’s morals do not match the
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He begins to rely on the golden carp after his first communion when he did not receive a message from God. This is an example of an occasion where his culture interferes with his religion causing him to alter his ideology. This leads to the acceptance of his religion and acceptance of spirituality. He is openness allows him to accept his limitations and allows him to create his own decisions. He is able develop and to create his own ideologies. This development in Antonio’s character also leads to his dependence from his surroundings such as his family and his church. The legend of the golden carp allows Antonio’s character to thrive according to his own