Recently, there has been a constant barrage of news regarding the war against ISIS by the United States of America. No matter what news source is on the air, one of the stories is practically guaranteed to bring up ISIS. The main cause between the two groups fighting, and the consequential reporting afterwards, is culture. This is not a one time instance of this being the cause for war. Cultural differences leading to conflict has been a staple of human history ever since the early years of civilization. No matter how far back you go, wars fought will always be because of cultural differences. Different cultures will always lead conflict.
One of the primary conflicts in the novel, Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, is the struggle Antonio,
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the main protagonist, has with the culture he was raised on, and the culture Ultima, a curandera or healer, introduces him to. Every new conflict Antonio faces introduces a new set of moral questions that test his mindset of what is right and wrong. This impacts the journey he goes through growing up as he is confused as to what is moral and what is not. Throughout the events of Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio’s Mexican culture and beliefs, both of which he has had since birth, are challenged and clash with other cultures introduced to him by his parents, the environment at school, and his even his friends. All of these things change Antonio into a better person from the decisions he makes, and eventually molds him into an entirely different person by the end of the novel. One of the many culture conflicts Antonio gets caught in, and is arguably the most important one, is between his parents. The dispute of whether or not Antonio should choose the path of the Márez family, or of the Luna family is present throughout the entire story. His father wants him to continue the tradition of conquest that his family, the Márez’, has had and become a cowboy. His mother, who is a Luna, is opposes this idea and would rather have him be a priest. This struggle causes Antonio to have conflicting thoughts of what he wants to do with his life, as he wants to please both of them. An example of Antonio’s ambivalent thoughts concerning this conflict is when he has a dream of his birth where both of his families argue over his future. In his dream they state, “The blood of the Lunas is strong in him. He is a Márez, the vaqueros shouted. His forefathers were conquistadores… He is his father’s blood.” (Anaya 6) This is an argument between Antonio’s mother’s side of the family claiming their blood is dominant, while his father’s cowboy friends argue he is Márez blood. The fact that Antonio is having dreams of this shows that the constant fight for Antonio’s future profession is taking a toll on his mental health. A popular explanation of dreams is that they reflect daily stress that a person has in the day. If this is believed to be true, then it shows that the arguing is actually affecting Antonio. It is not a one time event either, he has multiple dreams of his birth throughout the novel, every time he sees a bit more of the night, so the ideas have left a major impact. The fight between his parents of what he should be when he grows up have left a scar on Antonio’s mental health, causing him to constantly think about it, even in his dreams. This shows that this conflict is one of the most crucial cultural conflict in the novel. Another issue introduced by the Marez and Luna’s conflict is that it not only make Antonio question what his profession is going to be when he grows up, but it also makes him question his religious beliefs.
Both sides of Antonio’s family have completely different beliefs, which includes religion. The Luna family is very religious which is why they want Antonio to be a priest, while the Marez family does not care about religion and would rather explore the world. These differences in fundamental values cause Antonio to have a dilemma of what path he should follow. Evidence of the two families difference in religion is shown in the quote, ”...we who were baptized in the water of the moon which was made holy by our Holy Mother the Church are saved. Lies! My father shouted, Antonio was not baptized in the holy water of the moon, but in the salt water of the sea!” (120) The quote is an argument between Antonio’s father and mother, which takes place in his dream. In the dream, Antonio’s father calls out his mother’s claim that he was baptized by God and should serve him. He insists that he was “baptized” by the sea, meaning that he wants him to explore the land like his forefathers the …show more content…
conquistadores. This is the main difference between the two families: their intentions of what they want Antonio to do as an adult. The clash causes Antonio to be of what he should do, since he had not yet determined if he believes in a god. The clash between Antonio’s parents concerning his religion impinges on Antonio’s life by causing him to contemplate if there is a god or not. This prompts him to grow up with an open mindset, able to find reasons that a god to exist and reasons why he does not, which changes his childhood. Another significant cultural clash that Antonio faces concerns his religious beliefs and Ultima.
With the introduction of Ultima into his life, Antonio starts to question the existence of a god. He sees the curandera’s magic and mysterious healing methods and immediately becomes enthralled by her. He becomes her apprentice in an effort to learn her ways. This causes him to drift away from his belief of God, since Ultima’s magic causes him to think that there is nothing stronger than it. Upon witnessing the Golden Carp, a reference to a Pagan deity, Antonio states, “...the power of God failed where Ultima’s worked…” (114) Not only does him witnessing it causes him to believe in the existence of more than one god, but it also makes him believe that Ultima’s magic is superior to the power of God. Antonio has been exposed to so much of Ultima’s ways after becoming her apprentice that he now argues with himself over the existence of God, and if he is actually as powerful as believed. This goes against his existing culture, which is very
religious. Antonio has this reflection throughout the entirety of the novel, and it only becomes harder to answer for him as time goes on. This conflict is easily identified and the question pondered by Antonio is responded to by many, including scholar Felipe de Ortego y Gasca. In the article he wrote titled, “Curanderismo in the World of Bless Me, Ultima” which is about curanderismo and Ultima and the role they play in the story. In it he ponders, “Antonio wonders if the magic of Ultima would be stronger than all the powers of the saints and the Holy Mother Church?” (Ortega y Gasca). The fact that a scholar like Felipe is questioning this means that the conflict is apparent, and that it is undoubtedly plays a major purpose in the novel. This evident inner battle makes it so that Antonio does not know whether to turn to God or Ultima, since either of them could be the superior one. The two cultures clashing affect Antonio’s view of the world and makes him unsure of who he should ask for help from. He does not know if God is always going to be there when he needs him because of his experiences with Ultima. He no longer unquestionably accepts God as the most powerful force, he sees Ultima and her magic as an equal or greater one. Another instance of a culture introduced by Ultima clashing with Antonio’s own is when he starts to debate with himself whether or not Ultima’s magic is evil. Ever since the introduction of Ultima into Antonio’s life, he’s been exposed to the idea that she is actually a bruja, or witch. The thought does not begin process in Antonio’s mind until he starts to connect magic associated with evil, with Ultima’s magic. This causes him to contemplate the idea that they might be the same thing. While reflecting over this idea, a thought he has is, “But how could the blessing of Ultima be like whirlwind? Was the power of good and evil the same?” (55) The quote discusses how a blessing given to him, Antonio, by Ultima felt the same way as a whirlwind that knocked him over in the past. This thought in Antonio’s head implies that he notices a large similarity between what he believes to be evil magic and Ultima’s good magic. This happens many times due to many other people’s view of Ultima. They assume because she uses magic that is not related to the church, she must be a witch. This idea crosses Antonio’s mind in this moment, causing him to consider what his mother has told him about Ultima, which was all positive things, and what he is thinking when he feels the whirlwind’s power again. He does not know if he should consider her magic holy or evil anymore. Antonio’s revelation of the connection between Ultima’s magic and what he considers to be the devil’s magic changes him. It challenges his existing belief of God, given to him by his mother’s culture, with the culture of magic. This greatly impacts him by making him more open minded about religion in the future, which does impinge on his life. Lastly, one of the other major cultural clashes Antonio is challenged by, is the one introduced at his school. The American school system is a brand new environment that Antonio experiences for the first time on his first day of school. The place is foreign to him, because he had never been too far away from his house before. He feels very out of place while attending school. One of the major reasons for this feeling is because his culture at home is completely different from the one at school. This causes him to be alienated and made fun of. Evidence for this event is found in the quote, “When the other children saw my lunch they laughed and pointed again... A huge lump seemed to form in my throat and tears came to my eyes.” (58) In the quote, Antonio describes a moment where he is about to eat lunch, but then other kids notice how it is different from their sandwiches and proceed to laugh at him. This causes Antonio to run away and hide from shame.
Ultima goes to stay with Antonio Marez, a young boy who lives in the llano with his parents, two sister, and three brothers. This is because Ultima is too old to live on her own. Antonio and Ultima grow very close. Antonio helps Ultima cure his uncle Lucas and lift the curse on the Tellez home. Ultima collects herbs from the mountains and uses these to make remedies and medicines. She used remedies and medicines to cure Antonio’s uncle, Lucas.
Townsend organizes her narration of these events around the life and role of Malintzin. She takes the attention off of Cortes because she wants...
In the novel, Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, a boy goes through many more experiences than any child in the hot summer days in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. He witnesses the deaths of his close friends and family. This boy expresses his emotions and grief through his dreams, only to wake up with fear and confusion in his mind. Antonio’s life is filled with dreams that foreshadow future incidents, as well as influences Antonio’s beliefs of religion and ideas of innocence.
Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is a magical-realism novel about Antonio, a young boy at the mere age of six turning seven, realizing the many cruelties the world has to offer. As he matures, Antonio is conflicted while trying to choose between the career expectations from his two divergent families and attempting to figure out a true religion. Anaya depicts hidden messages to help the reader comprehend a perceptive insight of Antonio’s inner schism through symbolism.
In Rodolfo Anaya's novel, Bless Me, Ultima the author uses different settings in order to develop Antonio's sense of good and evil.
After reading the book, Bless Me Ultima, I realized the integral importance of religion and need for religion and answers to life’s questions. At first, while reading this book, I thought it was just about relationships and the meaning in them but as the plot progressed I realized the book, is more than that, it questions the structures that decide the rules, morals and values that society is composed of. There were three types of religion that I identified in the book that young Anthony chose to pursue. The first was the paganistic rituals of Ultima. Ultima came into the life of Tony at a very young age and had great influence n the child. Ultima saved the life of Lucas through Tony’s strength. Physical pain was brought unto Anthony because of Ultima's ritual, showing actual validity of the rituals themselves, that they were had tangibility. She brought torment on the Tenorio’s family (he was the antagonist in the book-the bad guy) saving Lucas though using ritualistic dolls and chants. This showed her magic was not only good but bad as well. Ultima guided Anthony through all of the mental and social torment during his early years of grade school. So in away Ultima was a guide for Tony through his early years to make sense of all of the storms in his early life, but also was an instrument of religion to base his life on. But in the end of the book Ultima ultimately dies and the strength he once found in her is destroyed. She is ...
He questions whether he belongs to his mother’s family, the Lunas, who live as farmers, or his father’s family, the Márezes, who freely wander the land. His care for his family demonstrates his maturity at attempting to always do the best he can for everyone. Although his parents each want him to follow their families’ paths, they remain absent from Antonio’s true journey of understanding his own thoughts and beliefs, leaving him “frightened to be alone” (Anaya 7); the lack of parental support through his personal conflict leads him to have trouble knowing how to address his confusion, but it also causes Antonio to develop an independence that most people do not possess. He sees hope for finding answers from the moment he meets Ultima when he “knew she held the secret of [his] destiny” (Anaya 13). She chooses him and sends him to save as she helps lead him on his path. Through assisting her, he gains new experiences that contradict his traditional Christian teachings, which encourage him to be open-minded and bold as he challenges everything he believes. The Belly of the Whale demonstrates Antonio’s heroism by highlighting his courage to discover answers to his questions, even after he finds “only silence” (Anaya 233) at his first communion, as he realizes that he cannot find the peace in God that he
In the novel, Bless Me Ultima, written by Rudolfo Anaya, two different religions are introduced. The religion of Catholicism is the religion originally practiced by the novel’s main character, Antonio. Throughout the novel, the religion of the Golden Carp is introduced and causes a crisis of faith for Antonio. Antonio must learn to choose between the conventional values of the Church and the modern beliefs of the Golden Carp by comparing and contrasting the two religions.
After Ultima dies, balance is restored. Antonio learns how to combine ways from Catholicism and Paganism to create a new set of beliefs that guide the rest of his life. Antonio’s combining of the two religions show that both share similarities. All religions borrow idealisms and even practices from others to create new religions. In doing so, many people learn to come together and find peace by practicing religions that they feel will help them be the best person they can grow to be and that is what Antonio
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.
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya is a coming of age story about a young boy named Antonio Marez. The novel takes place in New Mexico where Antonio tries to fulfill his parent’s expectations while struggling with religion. Through Antonio, Anaya defies the some of the principles in religion and expresses her interpretation on the system of beliefs. Antonio’s religious confusion suggests that man should be able to choose his own religion and destiny. In the Bless me, Ultima, Antonio experiences conflict in his religious beliefs because of the deaths he witnesses, the new ideas that he learns, and his open-minded mentality.
...elf and where he fit into this life that he had. She made him believe that many things were sins against God, and he would be punished if he so much as thought about them, but she never told him why they were sins and why people continued to do them; so he went on a quest for knowledge to find out what it was his mother along with other people were trying to keep him away from. Maria loved her family, and made sure that she provided for them, but when it came to religion she could only teach them what she had been taught all her life, which provided a biased opinion, in that she believed the the Catholic religion was what was right, and anything else would be a sin against God. She tried to protect Antonio, but everyone knows there is no protect from life, it comes and engulfs us into this whirlpool of situations and tragedies, and we are merely pawns in its game.
Bless Me, Ultima uses the struggles Antonio must face and the deaths he encounters to show that innocence is destroyed as one grows older, but is replaced with experience that brings maturity and wisdom. The loss of Antonio’s innocence has been shown through the deaths of Lupito, Narciso, Florence, and most importantly, Ultima. As Antonio has matured, he has discovered new understanding and knowledge that will guide him through the rest of his life. Antonio has discovered that he can make his own decisions, and he is no longer a child. Therefore, one must be aware that losing one’s innocence is an important part of life. When one’s innocence is lost, it triggers newfound maturity. It is essential to understand that one doesn’t need a trial to lose their innocence, but with this loss comes responsibility, wisdom, and understanding.
Most importantly it is cited that the most severe and dangerous conflicts will arise between none other than people with different cultural entities, specifically those along the fault lines between civilizations. Reason for this being that they are all in search of the identities and as Huntington has already said that there is no way you can love what you are if you do not hate what you are not , hence the arousal of the conflicts. In their search of identities they hate what they are not so that they can have a deeper love for what they are.
[Note: In this written work Antonio thinks of himself as an innocent person and believes that the world is doing wrong to him .He also believes that his rights have been snatched from him and no one in this world is more miserable and sympathy deserving than him.]