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. 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. …show more content…
Anaya uses foreshadowing to portray Antonio becoming his own person with ideas and aspirations. The author alludes to the death of Ultima that transpires later in the book. In the beginning, Ultima came to live with Antonio’s family to mentor him. So when “Tenorio captured the nightspirit of Ultima and murdered it” (Anaya 258), it represented the end of Antonio needing Ultima to protect him. Although he was frightened by the idea of Ultima dieing, the foreshadowing in his dream shows he is maturing and becoming an adult who can make his own
One topic the book “Bless Me Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya talks about is the loss of childhood innocence. Antonio being so young hasn't had many encounters with problems in the world. Children are considered pure because of this. The book takes place in New Mexico, in the 1940’s. The story is based off Antonio Marez.
In Guadalupe, New Mexico, Antonio was a serious,thoughtful six-year-old this year is his first year in school and first communion. Antonio’s parents Maria and Gabriel cared about Ultima a folk healer, Ultima helped give birth to all Maria’s children after they found out she was alone by herself Maria and Gabriel felt bad and told Ultima to live with them. Antonio and Ultima had a special bond they would go to pick herbs from the llanos or plains, Antonio became really good friends with her as she lived in their house. Antonio’s Uncle Lucas Luna was cursed by trementina sisters as he observed them doing black magic, priest and doctors tried to destroy the evil that as cursed him but they couldn’t so Antonio’s grandfather pleaded Ultima to destroy
More importantly, if Antonio follows his father, there would be no one left to make his mother’s dream a reality
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
In a since, if his dream was true, then he lost the point of redemption, and could not handle the truth. In his story, the truth did not set him free, but this caused him to be a slave wasting away in his prison called
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.
n "My Ántonia", Written by Willa Cather. In the first book at the end of the second section the character Jim Burden the main protagonist as well as the friend and teacher of the character Ántonia Shimerda. Describes happiness as such,"At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep." quote from the book "My Ántonia" written by Willa Cather.
Rudolfo Anaya wrote Bless Me, Ultima as his first novel in the 1960s. As said in the introduction, Anaya wrote this story in the first person because he “identifies very closely with Antonio.” Antonio was born in Las Pasturas, in the llano (plains) of New Mexico during World War II as Anaya was. Shortly after their births, they moved to larger towns where they were raised. Like Antonio’s parents, Anaya’s mom was the daughter of a farmer and his father was a vaquero (cowboy).
In Bless me, Ultima, Antonio is on the journey to discover what he believes and who he is supposed to be as a man. His experiences throughout the book make him question his beliefs and took away his innocence. The Golden Carp plays a considerable role in shaping Antonio's life both religiously and physically. Antonio is already confused about his identity, what he is supposed to be, a priest or a farmer, world of Ultima's magic versus religion, and the Golden Carp is a sign of yet one more root for his uncertainties and questions about Christianity. According to pagan myth, in IIano when the gods had turned the people into carp because the people irritated their gods, the king of the god who loved the people was very depressed (84).
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.
The move, being Maria’s idea, this will unleash better opportunities for the kids. With just the thought of leaving Ultima in the llano during her old age made Maria shudder. Ultima eventually stays in the Marez residence bringing a sense
Antonio has several dreams throughout the novel, which portray many of his fears and perceptions of his family and religion. These images control and haunt Antonio. Through the first sequence of Antonio’s dreams he recollects the scenery of his own birth. “This one will be a Luna, the old man said, he will be a farmer and keep our customs and traditions. Perhaps God will bless our family and make the baby a priest” (Pg.5).
Lady Macbeth is power hungry for the throne and she will do anything to achieve her goal. Her pleasure of having the thought of killing Duncan is revealed. These murderous thoughts that run through her mind shows how desperate she is to acquire power. Although it is the beginning of the play, her dark ambitions sets a dark tone for her character in the play. This coincidentally adds to the assurance of Macbeth’s prophecy which is that Macbeth will become king, but King Duncan is still alive.
This is illuminated when the Alchemist says, “‘There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure’” (141). This particular moment shows that even though Santiago has both the ability and the knowledge to achieve his dream, it is impossible to attain it if he fears even attempting to reach it. Consequently, this fear acts as his enemy and a barrier that stands in the way of the meaningful and happy life he is destined to accomplish. Furthermore, another one of his fears is the fear of losing what he believes he has already earned. ” He reminded himself that he had been a shepherd and that he could be a shepherd again.
He thought it’s waste of time and money. Later in the novel, the man who beats Santiago does not believe his own dream, but when he describes his dream to Santiago, Santiago recognizes it as an omen telling him where to find the treasure (Coelho 167). Thus, it’s the person loss as he ignored dream. The importance of actual, sleeping dreams parallels the importance of personal, symbolic dreams as embodied by Personal Legends. Thus, dreams require backbreaking work and determination to sacrifice anything to make it come true.