The Golden Carp In Bless Me, Ultima

“I have hoped to see him all summer,” I said breathlessly”” (106). “The quiet waters of the river washed gently southward. “We have never taken a non-believer to see him.” he said solemnly. “But I want to believe,” I looked up and pleaded, “it’s just the I have to believe in Him?” I pointed across the river to where the cross of the church showed above the treetops. “Perhaps--” he mused for a long time. “Will you make an oath?” he asked. “Yes,” I answered. But the commandment said, Thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain. “Swear by the cross of the church that you will never hunt or kill a carp.” He pointed to the cross. I had never sworn on the cross before. I knew that if you broke your oath it was the biggest sin a man could commit, because God was witness to the swearing on his name. But I would keep my promise! I would never break my oath! “I swear,” I said. “Come!” Cico was off, wading across the river. I followed. I had waded across that river many times, but I never felt an urgency like today. I was excited about seeing the magical golden carp” (107). Antonio thinks he is committing a sin when going to see the golden carp, but actually the fish ranks first in importance for the christian belief an Antonio is Catholic. The symbol was most likely suggested by the loaves

When growing up, one can second guess their beliefs and who they are. This usually happens when people are introduced to other ideas. This helps them create their own identity, and solidify who they are and their beliefs. This can lead to even more opinions in societies with more cultural syncretism which leads to clashing between religious and cultural ideals. In the novel “Bless me, Ultima”, Rudolfo Anaya uses the cultural and religious syncretism in the society of New Mexico to display juxtaposition between the Luna and Márez, as well as Catholicism and the Golden Carp, to help Antonio solidify and change his beliefs, displaying the consequences and results of cultural syncretism.

A certain loss in Antonio’s life is his late friend , Florence, a classmate sincerely against God. Antonio is saddened and worried about Florence and attempts to let Florence at least believes in something, like the Golden Carp. Before Antonio can introduce Florence to the peaceful pagan god and make him realize that not all gods are powerful and intimidating, Florence dies drowning. After the drowning of Florence, Antonio is forced to question the restriction of Catholicism, once again. Antonio looks in the direction of religion for help as he can feel the innocence fading. He hopes that after taking his First Communion he will be free from all of the questions in his mind, but is disappointed by the lack of answers God gave him. As he questions his belief in God, Antonio is introduced to the consoling pagan god, the Golden Carp.“The Golden Carp,” I whispered in awe. “I could not have been more entranced if i had seen the Virgin, or God himself… I felt my body trembling as I saw the bright golden form disappear. I knew I had witnessed a miraculous thing, the appearance of a pagan god… And I thought, the power of God failed where Ultima’s worked; and then a sudden illumination of beauty and understanding flashed through my mind. This is what I had expected God to do at my first holy communion! (ch. pg. ). The introduction of the Golden Carp makes Antonio aware and open to magic

This becomes an issue for Antonio because he wasn’t really taught as a child growing up in a catholic home with catholic idealism that he had choice to decide who he was going to become in the future. Anaya tries to structure his argument that noticing different identies Antonio becomes confused around his childhood and how he was raised as catholic. The author implies that once an induvial is taught a set of idealism that certain individual will in the future follow those idealisms and keep the sacred. This ties into ethics and values stating that they structucted at a very young. Implying the 1st couple are the most crucial to make a person identity and what type of person they will add to

When Antonio first accepted the Catholic god in the form of the Eucharist, he “received him gladly” and waited for the “thousand questions” that “ pushed through” his “mind” to be answered. Even though Antonio waited for the answers “the Voice . . did not answer” (Anaya, 221). Anaya’s use of diction in this excerpt, developed the mood that, Antonio was disappointed in the Catholic god. Moreover, the quote depicted how Antonio did not get any answers to questions which haunted him for so long. This delineated how the Catholic religion is not open to anything that may question the religion, ultimately suppressing a follower in the boundaries of the Catholic religion. Whereas, when Antonio first meet the golden carp he was amazed by the “The huge, beautiful form” that “glided through the blue water” and the “sudden illumination of beauty and understanding flashed through” Antonio’s “mind” (Anaya 114). Anaya portrayed how Antonio is astonished, witnessing something miraculous. Hence, this excerpt depicts how Antonio was much happier and excited when he saw the golden carp. When Antonio says, “understanding flashed through my mind” (Anaya 114), the diction builds up the mood that he got answers and knowledge from the golden carp. This juxtaposes his meeting with the Catholic god, therefore, portraying how the golden carp’s religion does not suppress its followers from

Eli's life was changed drastically in a matter of a couple hours. He saw and went through a lot causing him to lose his religious faith. He isn’t the only one who lost his belief. Others like his father began to lose his faith and sense of hope.

At the beginning of the novel Antonio is stressed and concerned by his religion Christianity. This was probably why the Golden Carp is such an escape for all his questions and problems. For

Symbolism is everywhere, it exists at whatever point something is intended to speak to something else. In Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, many of the objects Antonio, the main protagonist, and encounters are seen to be religious and further develops his coming of age. Anaya continually sets religion, as the primary character Antonio fights for reality in life. Antonio only sees the Catholicism and the ideals of Christ until his time of purity starts to arrive at an end. The golden carp, water, and the bridge are an extension of where Antonio finds out the harsh reality of the world.

Antonio begged God to forgive Andrew (Antonio’s brother) “Your brother has sinned with the whores, and so I condemn him to hell for eternity!”(Pg.173). Antonio’s demeanor portrayed confusion and fear of why he is the chosen one to save his brothers when he is hopeful for their saving of him. “Oh, I cried, forgive me Lord! I have sinned, I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed. My thoughts have trapped me and made me flee from you!”(Pg.173). Antonio believes he has sinned as he questions God for punishing his brothers who in his eyes are great men of intentions as they’ve been through the war. His begging then represents his fear towards God showing that even questioning him may attract consequences. He becomes petrified that he would be punished and eventually fail his family because he wouldn’t fit the criteria being a coming selfish

In the novel The Old Man and The Sea, written by Ernest Hemingway a credible author, the use of figurative language was not sparse. Figurative language enhances the story line and makes the book interesting and detailed. The most notable uses of figurative language were similes, metaphors, personification, idioms, and hyperboles.

In A Summer Life by Gary Soto, the reader is taken on a journey through Soto’s childhood. The story starts when Soto is at age four and continues on until he is a mature seventeen year old. The impressive way in which Gary Soto writes this story provides the reader with enough details that they feel like they know Gary personally. That is especially true about the last chapter, “The River”. The symbolism and literary devices used in this chapter make it the best chapter of the story.

Both Antonio and I were born into Catholic households but still question God and stray away from the Catholic faith. In the novel, Antonio starts to question his faith and loyalty to the Catholic religion at a surprisingly young age when Cico introduces him to the Golden carp. This is shown when Anaya writes, “‘You have to choose, Antonio,’ Cico said, ‘You have to choose between the god of the church, or the beauty that is here and now’”.(251) This shows how Cico is making Antonio choose between two religions causing him to question his faith in God. This is similar in my life, however I started straying away because I do not go to church as much as I did as when I was younger, causing me to start to lose some faith.

In Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “The Fish,” a fisherman catches an imposing fish. As the fisherman holds the magnificent creature out of the water with his/her ‘hook fast in the corner of the fish’s mouth,’ he/she begins to admire the fish for having obviously fought long and hard all its life (Bishop 3). In a sense, the speaker compares the fish to a war veteran who had seen one too many battles. On at least five occasions, five other fishermen had attempted to reel-in the beast given the “five old pieces of fish line” and “their five big hooks” embedded in its mouth (Bishop 51). Bearing this in mind, the speaker thinks of the fish-line and hooks as battle-scars and consequently, looks upon the fish as a skilled survivor rather than a regular,

In medieval thought every star in the cosmos took its light from the sun, the brightest light in the universe. In Paradiso Dante engages in this belief, allegorizing it to represent God as the sun and the rest of creation as the stars. By using overt theological metaphors for light, mirrors, and reflections, he constructed a hierarchy of light in which God, the Living Light and the source of all light in the universe, is the purest form of light and as such reflects divine light on to the rest of creation. The eyes of Beatrice, Dante, and God are metaphorical and literal mirrors, vehicles for divine light. Through close readings of the use of mirrors, the river

In the two novels they have similarities, as well as differences.They both were enslaved when they were a small child and they both have family and love ones that care for them. These are a central themes that are similar in both slave girl in california and the narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass. However there are a lot of opposing themes such as between the two novels only one has a death of a family member and in one of the novels the main character had to suffer for mostly his whole life without ever being free.