Bless Me Ultima Literary Analysis

Dreams can often predict what will happen in the future. In Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, the protagonist, Antonio, lives in a small town in New Mexico. Written from the point of view of Antonio, the story begins when Ultima, a curandera or traditional healer, comes to live with Antonio’s family. As Ultima constantly teaches Antonio life lessons to satisfy Antonio’s curiosity, their relationship greatly strengthens along with Antonio’s understanding of the world. Antonio also witnesses the deaths of many people throughout the novel, causing Antonio to continuously seek answers relating to morality, which is reflected in his dreams. These dreams are often about events that happened in the past or events that occur when Antonio is older.

His dreams also display the inner thoughts and feelings of Antonio. Throughout Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio’s dreams foreshadow events and reveal the changes of Antonio as he matures into an adult in order for the reader to develop a better understanding of his character.
Antonio’s dreams about changing due to loss of innocence are necessary to portray the character of Antonio. In one of his dreams, his mother states that he is “innocent when [he does] not know,” but “already [he knows] too much” (Anaya 71). Here, Antonio identifies the act of losing innocence as a sin. He realizes that knowing is the same as losing innocence, and thus is a sin. His dream allows Antonio to realize that innocence only lasts until one grows into an adult, and that he has already lost innocence. Since growing to become an adult is an inevitable change, loss of innocence is inevitable. At this point, the reader understands that Antonio is conflicted about his innocence. His dream is able to portray Antonio’s fear of losing innocence so that the reader can better understand and connect with Antonio. As Antonio wonders what has happened to his innocence, Ultima states that “where the lonely wind of the llano sang to the lovers’ feat of [his] birth, there in those hills is [his] innocence” (Anaya 71). She disappears shortly after, leaving Antonio without an explanation and forcing him to find the answer himself. When Ultima talks about the “hills,” she refers to the place of Antonio’s birth. By telling him that his innocence is at his birth place. Ultima implies that Antonio is only innocent at birth, when he does not know or understand anything. Shortly after however, that innocence will be lost as he will inevitably acquire knowledge, which causes Antonio to question innocence and further seek answers. In Antonio’s last dream in the novel, the voices of the deceased say “this is the boy who heard our last confession on earth” and that “in his innocence he prayed the Act of Final Contrition for us who were the outcasts of the town”(Anaya 243). The voices of the three people Antonio witnessed the deaths’ of huant Antonio in his dream. When Antonio prayed for them, he was “in his innocence,” implying that he was an ideal priest when he was innocent, but he is longer innocent. After witnessing the deaths of three people, Antonio’s innocence has been completely lost. Since his innocence has been completely lost, Antonio has also matured into adulthood.
Antonio’s dreams are also significant since that they often foreshadow events that happen later on in the novel. A prime example of a dream that foreshadows events is when Antonio’s brothers enter Rosie’s place. When Antonio pleads Andrew to not enter, Andrew replies “I will wait and not enter until you lose your innocence”(Anaya 71). This allows the reader to identify that once Andrew enters the house of Rosie, Antonio’s innocence will have been lost. Later on in the book, shortly after Antonio witnesses Narciso’s death, Antonio sees Andrew in Rosie’s place. The fact that Andrew has entered Rosie’s house shows that Antonio has lost innocence. At this point in the story, Antonio has already witnessed the deaths of two people. Seeing the deaths of people causes Antonio to lose his innocence. The events described in his dreams portray exactly the events that happens in the future. Another example is in Antonio’s dream shortly after his brothers return. In his dream, his father wishes to “[build] highways that stretch into the sun, and [Antonio’s brothers] must travel that road with him. My brothers frowned”(Rudolfo 26). It is revealed that Gabriel, Antonio’s father, wishes to lead a life where his sons will follow and help him. However, Antonio’s brothers are unhappy in his dream, which foreshadows the betrayal of Antonio’s brothers. It is later found out that Antonio’s brothers eventually reject these ideas and move on to lead their own life, confirming that the dreams do indeed predict the future. Antonio posses the power to see the future through his dreams. After Ultima comes and teaches him many lessons, Antonio deepens his understanding of the world, creating a relationship between the world and Antonio. Because of the relationship, Antonio possesses the power to see the future.
As Antonio matures into an adult, one can see the changes in Antonio because the conflicts of his dreams shift from questions about himself to questions concerning morality.

In Antonio’s first dream, Ultima states that “[she] pulled this baby into the light of life, so [she] will bury the afterbirth and the cord that once linked him to eternity. Only [she] will know his destiny”(Anaya 6). In his dream, Antonio is left wondering what his destiny holds. He only worries about what path he will eventually chose and whether or not it is right. He asks questions only related to himself. Later on in the book, in Antonio’s dream about God and the Virgin Mary, God declares that he will forgive Narciso “if [Antonio] also [asks him] to forgive Tenorio.” Virgin Mary states that “[she] will forgive Tenorio”(Anaya 172). Because God punishes all and Virgin Mary forgives all, Antonio begins to question their morality. Antonio is concerned why Tenorio continues to do evil without being punished and he feels responsible to beg for forgiveness for Narciso. Antonie struggles with understanding how God and Virgin Mary do not forgive and punish based on what is morally correct. His conflicts are no longer about himself but are rather about issues with morality. Since his first dream, one can tell that Antonio has matured greatly based on the conflicts of his

dreams.
Antonio’s dreams are truly significant in understanding the feelings and thoughts of Antonio. By closely analyzing these dreams, one can truly understand Antonio’s personality and his powers at the same time. These dreams clearly foreshadow future events, show Antonio’s loss of innocence, and display his growth into an adult.