Nicolle Davila
Professor Patricia Perea
Woman Studies 332
2 December 2014
Bless Me, Ultima
Bless Me, Ultima, is a coming-of-age story about a young boy name Antonio and his life in rural New Mexico during WWII. The story revolves around young Antonio and his relationship with Ultima, an elder medicine woman (curandera). Written by Rudolfo Anaya, a Mexican-American author from New Mexico, the story is a prime example of life within the Chicano culture of New Mexico and the important roles woman play in the culture.
About the Author
Rudolfo Anaya is a Mexican-American writer and educator who was born on October 30, 1937, in Pastura, New Mexico. Anaya taught high school and college courses while writing novels with groundbreaking Chicano themes.
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Presently, Chicano Catholics still celebrate days of obligations and observance, saint worship, and partake in rituals of baptism, marriage, and death as a matter of habit based on Catholic religion. Children are still sent to catechism to learn the ways of the Catholic Church and to prepare for first Holy Communion. Catechism is defined as a summary of instructions through a series of questions and answers, prepared in book form, containing instruction on the religious doctrine of the Catholic Church. The intent of these instructions is that they be used in a class environment or other means of formal instruction. The official teaching of the Catholic beliefs includes creeds, sacraments, commandments, and prayers ("What is the Catholic catechism?").
Another aspect in Bless Me, Ultima relating to modern day Chicano culture is the struggles of keeping the old traditions alive. Many young Chicano s have become modernized and are relating more to the American lifestyles. Their native language of Spanish has diminished over the years with the younger generation and Chicano pride, traditions, and their culture is slowly fading away. One thing stays constant though, the woman’s role in of keeping the family
The movement was occurring during the time this book was being publish. The movement was happening in political, economic, and cultural spheres which affirmed the value of Latino experience and protested the discrimination Latino were suffering. The book Bless me Ultima was the first novel to rejoice this powerful movement. This book mention the Mexican Americans heritage in New Mexico and the Spanish conquistadores, the Aztecs, and the Comanche. The book also mention the llano which was rich in the history of the vaqueros, descendants of the Spanish conquistadores.
The hero’s journey is a common theme in many mythological novels that convey the adventures the protagonist experiences as they resolve their conflicts in attempt to become their own savior. As the novels go about the hero’s decisive crisis and victories, the protagonist is often subjected to develop as he grows mentally from learning from his problems. In the novel, Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, the story of Antonio exhibits how coming of age can be difficult. As Antonio grows older, he learns that there are many obstacles he must face and surpass, and to aid him with these challenges is his mentor, the curandera, as she brings about the mythical aspects.
The main driving point is Bless Me Ultima is Antonio’s coming of age. In the novel, Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio is spiritually and religiously tested which leads him to a bildungsroman. Throughout the novel, Antonio encounters religious doubts like the golden carp and spiritual events like the deaths of others. Although Antonio’s purpose in the story is to fulfill his prophecy, along the way he experiences life changing grows more as a spiritual and religious person. Antonio spiritually grows when he experiences the deaths of Lupito and other dear friends.
Through Antonio and Ultima, readers identify the creation of a culture that has been forge by war, discrimination, and common hardships. With Ultima being a powerful curandera, the story shows the importance of the female character within Mexican culture. Today, this is prevalent in many Mexican-American households, as the elderly women are held in the highest respect. Another aspect of Mexican-American Culture is masculinity, which is shown in Bless Me, Ultima when Antonio’s father says, “a man of the llano does not run from a fight” (Anaya, 1999, p.37). There are countless examples of Mexican-American masculinity in this novel, like when it mentions that Gabriel’s two eldest sons are fighting in WWII.
First of all, Anaya used juxtaposition while Uncle Lucas was cursed to demonstrate the absence of God’s power and the presence of Ultima’s powers in times of need; therefore, causing Antonio to question the religion he was born with. Specifically, when "the holy priest at El Puerto had been asked to exorcise el encanto, the curse, and he had failed" after Uncle Lucas got cursed by brujas in the forest (Anaya 84). Uncle Lucas was on his deathbed, dying from the curse inflicted on him for interrupting the brujas ' dance for el Diablo. He attempted to defend God by punishing the sinful, non-Christian actions of the brujas. However, when the Christian priest attempted to heal Uncle Lucas, he did not have the ability.
The immigrants entering the United States throughout its history have always had a profound effect on American culture. However, the identity of immigrant groups has been fundamentally challenged and shaped as they attempt to integrate into U.S. society. The influx of Mexicans into the United States has become a controversial political issue that necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their cultural themes and sense of identity. The film Mi Familia (or My Family) covers the journey and experiences of one Mexican-American (or “Chicano”) family from Mexico as they start a new life in the United States. Throughout the course of the film, the same essential conflicts and themes that epitomize Chicano identity in other works of literature
She studies their background and circumstances, explaining how “whether living in a labor camp, a boxcar settlement, mining town, or urban barrio, Mexican women nurtured families, worked for wages, built fictive kin networks, and participated in formal and informal community associations” (p. 5). These are the ways, Ruiz found, that helped Mexican American women make them part of the American society. She also talks about the attempts made by groups like Protestants that tried to civilize or Americanize the immigrant women but were unsuccessful due to the religious and community groups as well as labor unions that were formed to give them
In Bless me Ultima, Antonio struggles to choose what path in life he wants to take. Antonio’s parents come from very different families and both think Antonio should follow the lifestyle of their family’s side. Antonio’s mother wants her son to follow in the footsteps of the Lunas and become a servant of God, a priest. On the other hand, his father dreams of him and his son venturing to California and starting a new life full of adventure. His parents’ constant disagreement about Antonio’s destiny causes an internal conflict that wreaks havoc on him throughout the book.
“Good is always stronger than evil. Always remember that Antonio” (Anaya 102). These are words that heavily apply in the book Bless Me, Ultima and they summarize a common theme of good and evil in the novel. In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima, juxtaposition is used to convey a sense of good and evil in various characters and it portrays that the goodness in each and every person is determined through their actions. Throughout the book, the relationship between Ultima and Tenorio depicts good and evil through the development of juxtaposition.
Throughout the novel, Antonio goes through difficult experiences while growing up and his loss of innocence-Innocence is something you can lose, and never find again- is profound. However, when Ultima arrives, she starts to guide him through the heaps of questions he has. Narcisco is shown as the town drunk, but is a good person at heart. Tenorio and his three daughters are the antagonists in this bildungsroman novel as they rival against Ultima and her curandera abilities. As soon as she arrives, Ultima whisks Tony on a journey and shows him that the impossible is achievable, along with his parents bickering about Tony’s future occupation.
One of the many themes in the novel, Bless me, Ultima is Antonio’s “loss of innocence” throughout the months upon the arrival of Ultima, the curandera. At the beginning of the novel, Antonio is an innocent boy, protected from reality thanks to his age and parents. As the novel progresses, Antonio becomes aware of the bad and the good in life. Antonio’s transition from innocence to experience is shown through particular events.
Bless Me, Ultima is filled with Antonio's dreams. In these sequences a lot of the boy's fears and perceptions about religion and his family are vividly portrayed. These dream sequences are imaginative and beautifully written. They add a great deal to the novel. They allow the reader of Bless Me, Ultima inside the mind of this little boy, we can now see what he is dealing with.
Albert D. Saba Mr. Amoroso English 12 AP Period: 3 LAP Topic: 2 BLESS ME, ULTIMA The Classic by Rudolfo Anaya Saba Page 1. The powerful force of a Latino family begins with the basis of the strength in a man. In the novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio Márez a six-year-old begins to wonder if his destiny lies in being a vaquero or a priest. Inside Antonio, he has the blood of two different customs streaming through his veins. Is there an outlet to which can help you view your own life or guide you through it?
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom,” is a quote by Aristotle, providing a vivid understanding that if someone knows who they are as a person, it is difficult to persuade them into thinking otherwise. However, if one is ignorant of their identity, it is easy to provide them with conflicting thoughts as well as confusion toward their culture, customs, race or anything particularly having to do with their background. In Bless Me, Ultima, the author exhibits the most frequently used cultural conflict from the Chicano culture in rural Mexico in the 1940s and purposely clashes it with Catholicism and the English Language. The book introduces Antonio who can be described as a young boy who is prone to moral questioning, in search for
First, La Universidad de Familia is a public presentation comprised with the goal of strengthening families. It’s learning aim is in education that will make the nation grow. Chicano’s efforts across the country to help them experience the American Dream. Their commitment made them make leaps forward in their progression. I am aware how being informed about Chicanos can lead the way for better alternatives.