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How has religion affected literature
Magical realism and history research paper
Essays for magical realism
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A film based on the best selling, and award winning novel “Bless me Ultima” narrated by Antonio Marez Luna, while living in New Mexico right around the end of World War II. Throughout the film Antonio finds himself struggling with incredible weighty philosophical and identity questions, and in that respect Rudulfo Anaya, the author, gives a lot of credit to young people, that may also have these incredible thought processes as well of trying to figure out the world that they have been brought into, and have not had a chance to shape themselves within their environment. The film itself explores miracles and an age of wonders where magic realism apprise the protagonist Antonio Marez's into giving him a feel of how unfathomable and strange the world can be. The very first words we hear Antonio say as an adult telling his story is, "Why is their evil in the world?" one of the many question that pops into Antonio's mind as a young boy. Many of the questions Antonio has a need to find answers to include; does god exist? Does God love me, if so why is their evil? If there is evil, is there a god? What if there are other gods? …show more content…
and how much am I tied to that religion that I love, that the Spanish brought with them? “ Growing up between opposing spiritualities how could I reconcile the two, the pagan and the Christianity?” (Anzaldua 38) in general it explores the question; Am I conquered, or am I the conquer? “No matter to what use my people put the supernatural world, it is evident to me now that the spirit world, …does in fact exist” (38) Antonio does a great job of seeing the world absolute, he sees currents of truth and power running throughout both of these belief systems and ultimately sees them as coexisting, rather than completely opposed from each
Throughout the book Antonio is introduced to many new ideas. The first is the experiences he has with Ultima. Ultima is a healer who learned her techniques from an old wise man on the prairie. She is sometimes called a witch. This confuses Antonio because in his heart he knows Ultima represents good and not the evil she is sometimes blamed for. Antonio learns some of the ways of Ultima and begins to understand his surroundings. He knows the name of almost every plant and what medicinal uses each has.
One of the most interesting aspects of Diaz’s narrative is towards the end when Cortés broaches the subject of Christianity with Montezuma. Conversion and missionary work was one of the most important and lasting goals of the conquistadors and other contemporary explorers, they were charged with this duty by the rulers who sent t...
Many people in the world are pressured into a job or marriage that they don't long to be in, and don’t know how to cope or choose what to do. In Bless Me, Ultima Antonio experiences the same concept with his parents; his mother has her heart set on him being a priest, but his dad longs for him to be a cowboy, and Antonio doesn't know what to do. But, Antonio shouldn't be pressured to choose between the occupations or his fate , he should discover what he desires to do and figure out himself. One of the main themes of Bless Me, Ultima is the value of Independence, and Anaya uses juxtaposition to reinforce it.
Rudolfo Anaya interprets good and evil by the tying to nature, symbols, characters and settings. Rudolfo Anaya wrote the novel Bless Me, Ultima in 1972, with the use of religion and magical myths. Anaya makes recreates the battle between good and evil within the characters, but also goes in-depth to explain the spiritual representation of good and evil. Good and evil will orbit around Antonio to what truly represents evil, and what represents good. At the end at the end of the book Antonio will realize what makes up good and evil.
Jacques Lafaye, a French historian, published a study pertaining to the intellectual history of New Spain and its development of a national consciousness that would facilitate a move towards independence. Lafaye takes a unique approach of examining the formation of Mexico’s national conciseness by pointing to the importance of religious thought in that process. In this ethnohistorical study the author pays special attention to the interaction of Iberian Christianity and Aztec belief system in New Spain. Through careful analysis the author confronts the merging of these two faiths and their role in the transition from the Aztec world to independent Mexico. Lafaye specifically alludes to the syncretic nature of St.Thomas-Quetzalcoatl and Guadalupe-Tonantzin
Bless Me, Ultima is a story about the maturation of a young Mexican-American boy, Antonio M’arez, struggling with many questions about his destiny, life and death, and good and evil. Ultima who comes to live with Antonio becomes his caretaker and his teacher. Antonio learns there are powers in the world that differ from his beliefs in the Catholic faith. Ultima teaches Antonio “that the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart”. Ultima shows Antonio how to experience the magic of life with his heart and not with his eyes. For the first time, he sees the river not as something to be feared but as a source of life, “I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things”. The river is both creative and destructive in nature. It is this new magical way of seeing the river that will help Antonio understand many of the events that occur in the novel.
Tony would ask him so many questions why didn’t he believe and florence would tell him “I don’t know...My mother died when I was three, my old man drank himself to death, and...And my sisters are whores working at Rosie’s place-”(Anaya 195). Tony’s friends didn’t want Florence to be pardoned for his sins, but either way Tony pardoned him and that caused Tony’s friends to beat him up. This caused Antonio to question god and go to confessional to be pardon for his sins but he had no answers. After this Florence’s death came about, he drowned in the river while he was swimming and Tony was there to see him already dead. Tony would ask himself, why didn’t Florence confess, he would have been pardoned for all his sins. Antonio would question god because he didn’t understand why there was so much evil in the
Blood becomes the river. The human race dies and only the “she-goats and the he-goats” (109) remain. The lake “cracked with laughter of madness” and the “ghosts stood and walked upon the shore”.(109) Who dares dream such gruesome images? Antonio Marez. He questions God, he communicates with the dead, the dead ask him for blessings. Just who is this Tony? Tony is only a seven year boy who lives in small town of El Puerto. But he is no ordinary boy, he is the hero of Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima. The novel guides you through Tony’s life. From childhood to adulthood. It tells you about the experiences Tony has in life. The difficult tasks he has to overcome. Tony being only seven years old has to go through a lot.
For example, a major dichotomy in this book is Márez and Luna. This has an important impact on Antonio’s identity such as whether to become a priest or a farmer. Another dichotomy is good and evil. This also plays a role as an impact on Antonio’s identity. For an instance, Ultima executes good deeds, but she is still accused of being a witch by some. At the same time, Tenorio takes evil actions and is still not blamed for seeking avenge for his two dead daughters. Ultima is forced to prove that her nature isn’t witchcraft, so she is put to a test, a test in which you “…take the holy needles and pin them to the door. Put them in so they are crossed—and in the name of God,” (Anaya, 133) and everyone knows that “…a witch cannot walk through a door so marked by the sign of Christ,” (Anaya, 133). Ultima took the challenge and passed through the door, but then Antonio notices the cross is on the floor. It is unclear whether or not Ultima was able to cross the door marked. Antonio is left to conclude that a good person is a person that acts according to the inner being of Catholicism, not necessarily the laws and structure of
Explanation- This article gives examples of how indigenous people used to live before the colonization of Christopher Columbus. After the appearance of Christopher Columbus in Mexico different ethnic groups were distributed amongst different states along with their different languages. In the state of Oaxaca there around sixteen different ethnic groups which the Mixtecs and the Zapotecs are the two main ethnos who have continued to expand amongst the territory. During the Spanish conquest the Mixtec and the Zapotecs’ religion was mostly based on belief in the vital force that animated all living things, meaning that they worshiped the land and the creator. Throughout this day there are still indigenous people who believe and practice their ideology, and the “modernized” are set to practice Catholicism.
In the book “Bless Me Ultima”, by Rudolpho Anaya, there were two families represented, the Marez family and the Lunas family. These two families were very different, but were brought together by the marriage of Gabriel Marez and Maria Lunas. Through the eyes of their son Antonio one may see the comparison of the two. The differentiation of these two families is very clearly noticeable, such as in their personalities, the expression of their religion, and their everyday ways of life.
In Rodolfo Anaya's novel, Bless Me, Ultima the author uses different settings in order to develop Antonio's sense of good and evil.
The main characters in the film include Sebastian and Costa, who happen to be lifelong friends. Sebastian is a compulsive visionary who strives to direct controversial a film about one of history’s most influential figures, Christopher Columbus. He is determined to escalate the “myth” that western civilization's arrival in the Americas was a force for good. Instead, his story is about what Columbus set in motion; the hunt for gold, captivity of, and penal violence to those Indians who fought back. His story is counteracted by the radical priests Bartolome de las Casas and Antonio de Montesinos, the first people to ra...
In essence, Antonio shows that he is unsure if he truly believes in his religion because of his acceptance of other beliefs, the new ideas that he learns, and the deaths of Narciso and Lupito. Antonio’s experiences lead him to believe that he is in charge of his destiny and he has the ability to choose what he wants, not what his parents want. In the end, Antonio determines his religious values based on what he believes in, so he tells himself to “[t]ake the Ilano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp and make something new” (247). Antonio’s encounters with religion represent those who follow their religion but are not content with it. All in all, the story suggests that sometimes people want to learn other ideas to discover what fits them best.
Antonio lives in a magical world that is full deaths and sadness in his life. His dreams represented his inner interpretations of those experiences. The story of the child in Bless Me, Ultima is much more than just an ordinary child living at the time in Santa Rosa. He sees parts of the future, but doesn’t want it to happen. This boy has a grown soul that lives in a child’s body.