Antonio Character Analysis

Inductive Question 1: How does Antonio’s feelings about Andrew change?

Antonio viewed Andrew, his brother, as a favorite out of the three. He said that he was glad that Andrew stayed and said, “I had always felt close to Andrew, and if I had to lose two of my brothers I was glad Andrew was not one of them” (Anaya 76). He felt that Andrew was the most loyal brother to the family, as Andrew stayed back with the family, instead of abandoning them, like the other two brothers. When Narciso called for Andrew, and he came out with one of Rosie’s girls, Antonio “did not want to see anymore…[he] wanted to hate Andrew for being with that woman” (Anaya 172). Seeing his brother at Rosie’s brothel greatly affected Antonio’s perspective of the moral corruption and depravity of the world. Antonio felt closest to Andrew out of all his brothers, and when he saw his brother at an institution designed for promiscuous and scandalous behavior, Antonio’s innocence was diminished. Antonio’s family life will be heavily impacted as well because he can no longer trust his brother and “did not feel comfortable talking to him” (Anaya 185). Not

only did the relationship between Antonio and Andrew break, and all the righteous and child-like beliefs Antonio had were no more.

Inductive Question 2: How does Antonio feel about Narciso’s death and Tenorio’s freedom without punishment?
Antonio feels betrayed by God and his Roman Catholic faith when Narciso dies while Tenorio.

Antonio “could not understand why Narciso…had lost his life; and why Tenorio…was free and unpunished” (Anaya 91). After seeing the death of a close family friend, Antonio lost more of innocence. Now he begins to question God on why Tenorio, an evil man who took the life of another, walks free. He questions the justness of his God, and if he is truly worth believing in. As he return the school the following year, Antonio “seemed older, and yet the lives of all [his] schoolmates seemed unchanged” (Anaya 194). This dramatic change in Antonio’s life adds to the growth of his character by introducing him to the depravity of the world, demonstrating the injustice of life, which creates even more questions in the curious and doubting (in religion)

Anthony

Inductive Question 3: How does Antonio’s maturity change throughout the Novel?
Antonio’s maturity has been drastically increasing, as he witnessed 2 murders, betrayal of his brother, Andrew, and the protection of Ultima. The first murder was the death of Lapito on the riverbank and the second murder was when Tenorio shot and killed Narciso in the snow. Antonio had many fears while watching as he was almost shot by Tenorio, but the gun ran out of bullets. This fear has dramatically decreased Antonio’s innocence to the point where Antonio questions to himself, “Had I already lost my innocence? How? I had seen Lupito murdered…I had seen Ultima’s cure…I had seen the men come to hang her…I had seen the awful fight just now” (Anaya 173). He says this right after he saw his brother, Andrew, at Rosie’s brothel hanging out with nude people and breaking his family’s trust. Antonio feels that he has witnessed to many events to be considered innocent. It is also mentioned that Antonio “seemed older, and yet the lives of all [his] schoolmates seemed unchanged” (Anaya 194). This demonstrates the changes he had from these incidents.
Analytical Question 1: How is the alienation Antonio feels at first at his new school similar to that in our world?