Antonio Marez Outline

Mexican society tends to be religious, that is why the elements of Catholicism can be observed in many areas of Mexican’s life. This essay will investigate the Christian motives in Mexican literature, namely, the novel by Juan Rulfo “Pedro Paramo”. In this paper I will argue that the novel “Pedro Paramo” shows a typical view of Mexican Catholicism by focusing on Mexican beliefs of purgatory and ghosts, its role and image in the novel. Investigating its influence on plot and characters and making a comparison with The Bible and Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory’s description of these terms are crucial parts of the essay. Latin American society is strictly Catholic due to historical reasons of being colonies of Catholic Spain and Portugal, therefore the influence of Catholic Church is very sensible, especially in literature.

In this dream, we see antonio break free from his destiny and become his own man. In the dream on chapter 22, in Bless Me Ultima, Anaya uses foreshadowing, juxtaposition, and symbolism to illustrate Antonio becoming less dependent on others to guide him, which leads to him forsaking his parents’ expectations and molding his own path in life. Anaya feels this change in Antonio is a positive pivotal step in growing up.

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.

Antonio “Tony” Marez is only a six year old child at the start of the book. His father trying to push him into cattle herding, while his mom is pushing him to become a priest. He instead works under Ultima a elderly women that is a healer in the community. Antonio is a businesslike child.

In the novel, “Bless Me Ultima”, written by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio lives in New Mexico with his family and Ultima, where he tries to chose his journey in life while being influenced by many different cultures and

Marco Pérez Dr. Rony Garrido The short novel, Aura, by Carlos Fuentes creates a mythical reality to reference Mexican history. He uses Aura, Felipe Montero, and Consuelo as a reflection of the past and the present, where for example, Consuelo represents the past and Felipe the present. In this paper I will explain how the love story of Felipe, Aura, and Consuelo represent Mexican history. In addition this paper will explain how myth breaks down into different elements, such as religion, legends, traditions, and beliefs, all of which are manifested in the different characters and their actions within this novel.

The novel “Bless Me, Ultima” is authored by Anaya Rudolfo. This novel is an autobiography since the author utilizes his hometown, Highway 66, church, little villages, the school and ranges around the town to present the story. The autobiography describes the cultural aspects of the Chicano in the rural sides of New Mexico in 1940s. In this essay, Rudolf describes the cultural aspects and landscape of the New Mexico during that particular time with an emphasis on the influential ways of the indigenous cultural aspects. Antonio Luna Márez is this novel’s main protagonist who in this story describes the environment in which he was brought up and all those that were involved in his upbringing.

Rudolfo Anaya is a big contributor, as well as many others, that led to a role model any Chicano can relate to. Anaya is New Mexican and puts his background into his Chicano stories. For example, he wanted to include oral storytellers in his book. As a boy he revealed that he listened “to cuentistas, oral storytellers, and wanted to bring their magic into his writing” (“Anaya, Rudolfo A. 1937”). In addition, other Chicanos have thanked him for the exposure.

In Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio was conflicted between his father’s wishes of Antonio being a vaquero of the llano and his mother’s wishes for him to be a priest; however, Antonio ultimately decides that he does “not have to be just a Márez, or Luna, perhaps [he] can be both” (Anaya 247). Antonio’s internal conflict of which parent he wanted to please influenced his view of the world by causing him to question his decisions and his motives. Throughout the novel, Antonio realizes that he does not have to do exactly as one of his parents wishes. He believes that he can assert his individuality and allow the Márez and Luna, paternal and maternal respectively, pieces of him to live together in him cohesively. Maya Angelou in “Occupation: Conductorette” also experiences a realization that she does not have to conform to what people tell her she can and cannot do.

During the 19th century, there were many artists who were under the impression that they could not create art pieces such as, modernist abstraction, naturalistic realism, panoramic landscape, or reclining nudes (Pohl 359). This led to the artists traveling south of Mexico in the 1920s (Pohl 359). Mexico’s artistic scene, cheaper cost of living, beautiful climate, and intriguing culture caught the interest of a lot of different artists and pursued them moving (Pohl 359). The image so many artists were interested in capturing through their works of art was the faultless Mexican peasant rather than the radical one (Pohl 360). This concept they had was formed off the tourist writings (Pohl 360).

The novel Across a Hundred Mountains is told from the eyes of a young Mexican girl named Juana. Juana learns the value of a family after her family is broken. Her family is described as poor but unified. Her family is also observed to be loyal, virtuous and of good ethic which we see in a few of Juana’s actions.

Márquez’s novella ‘Chronicle of a Death Foretold’ tells the story of Santiago Nasar’s murder. It is based on the real-life incident that occurred in the 1950s in a small Colombian town, Sucre. Cayetano Gentile was murdered by the brothers of Margarita Chica for having allegedly stolen her virginity. This was revealed when she was returned to her family after her newlywed husband had discovered that she wasn’t a Virgin. In his novella, Márquez displays the influence of the social mores and shows how these supersede the law of the statute books and the authority of Catholicism, which was otherwise so important and therefore how these social mores affect the characters and their actions.

2. As he tells the story, how does Antonio make sense of the conflicts he encounters? Does he seem to prefer the world and viewpoint of his mother and her brothers, his father and the vaqueros, Ultima, or some other influence? What about each of these points of view appeals to Antonio, makes him feel curious, excited, or secure? Which of these influences seems dominant in his eyes?

The pressures he faced from his family were no longer relevant to the ideas of a future that he had conjured up for himself. Having questioned ideals that seemed imperative he was able to uncover his true feelings toward the subject of independent thinking. And after the life changing events that took place, Tony no longer relied on others and came into his own. Considering the timeline of Antonio’s adolescence it is clear he grew to a point of maturity and independence that allowed him to prepare in choosing his own path in

Lieutenant Nun: Memoir of a Basque Transvestite in the New World is a memoir by Catalina de Erauso detailing her experiences during the early 1600’s in South America and Spain. She was born in 1585 into a well off Basque family and her parents were native-born residents of San Sebastian Spain. This book is one of the earliest known autobiographies by a woman and details the events that took places when Catalina escaped a Basque convent dressed as a man. During this time she served as soldier in the Spanish army, traveling to Peru and Chile, and even becoming a gambler. Being that my major falls under sociology, I will be looking at themes surrounding the constraints of females in Spanish society in the 1600’s and how this affects Catalina.