Blood becomes the river. The human race dies and only the "she-goats and the he-goats" remain (176). The lake "cracked with laughter of madness" and the "ghosts stood and walked upon the shore" (120). Who dares dream such gruesome images? Only Antonio Marez. He argues with God and the Virgin Mary.
He commutes with the dead; the dead asks him for blessings. Just who is this Tony person! You might not believe that this is only a seven year old kid, but he is the hero of Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima. Tony is valiant, and this courage sometimes reflects his curiously precocious nature. Precocious he is, he still is in constant mental ambivalence.When I say Tony is brave, I don't mean that he fights demons or kill dragons, but rather that he stands for what he believe is right and he is not afraid to go to extreme measures to protect the people he love. He shows that he is a "man of the llano" when he "does[n't] run from a fight" even when confronted with Horse, the notorious bully (37).
Tony also stands up against a mob for Florence; everyone wants to punish Florence for "not believing in God" (214) and Tony pushes the crowd away and refuses to give Florence the penance that Florence does not deserve. Although Tony knows that he will be given the "Indian torture" (214), he still speaks up for his friend. Anaya often presents Tony as a dependent character, never wanting to "be away from the protection of [his] mother" (51); in fact, he's so close to his mother that it seems that he's going through Oedipus's Complex. Anaya actually does this to increase the impact of Tony's bravery. One might expect Tony to stay in his undercover bushes when Tenorio is standing so close; however, when Tony hears that Tenorio knows the way to kill Ultima, the thought to warn Ultima supercedes his fear and encourages his legs to pick up and run home (255).
At trying times, he "stood by Ultima" and "would have slashed out to protect Ultima" (138).Oftentimes, Tony's bravery reflects his curious and precocious nature. For example, he runs to the bridge where the criminal Lupito hides because he is curious about Lupito's situation (22). The first thing he wonders about when he witnesses Lupito's death is "where was Lupito's soul?" (26) , and this shows how deep Tony's thoughts are.
“Wes was so confused. He loved and respected his brother. Tony was the closest thing Wes had to a role model. But the more he tried to be like his brother, the more Tony pushed back.” (72) Wes then got his girlfriend pregnant 4 times and dropped out of school to help out with her. With multiple arrests for shooting someone and drug dealing. Tony his "so called role model" helped Wes rob a jewelry store and they were convicted for murdering Sergeant Prothero along the way. Tony's motives were right but he never really got across to Wes with leading him in the right direction. Tony tried to push Wes away from the drug game but Wes was to drawn to it.
In the end, Tony plays the role of both hero and villain. His wife, Marcela, represents both the whore and the virgin Mexican-American. The both prove unfaithful: Tony to America and Marcela to Mexico. Herein lays the schizophrenic world in which good and bad coexist across the borders of two emerging world countries struggling for control of land and culture. There’s a price to be paid for such human greed and unrealistic expectations. Ultimately it proves to be a place where virtue doesn’t remain intact and villains abound, even among the good guys!
In Bless Me Ultima, Tony embarks on a rocky journey to discover who he is and what he believes. Tony must make the transition from a naïve six year old boy to a mature man. His experiences continually call his basic beliefs into question, and chip away at his innocence. For example, when he witnesses the brutal death of Lupito, he starts to question many ideas; sin, good and evil, punishment, and his faith. He begins to see the world of man as violent and sometimes ruthless, not the friendly, loving world where he had previously resided. He even becomes concerned about his own father's salvation because of Gabrielle's involvement in Lupito's death and begins to see his father as less than perfect. Death continues to haunt him when Narciso, a good man, is killed defending Ultima, while Tenorio, an apparently evil man, is spared. These outcomes are not what he believes should have occurred and yet again, a piece of his innocence is stripped away as he sees life is not always fair. He is beginning to realize that he must define his own beliefs.
Another example of the evolution of Tony's sense of good and evil through the utilisation of setting is Tony's own home. To him, his home provided him with warmth and safety. This was due to the people who lived in the house. Antonio's father creates a sense of protection in the home. When Tenorio and his men come to he house to take Ultima away, Tony's father "would let no man invade his home" (pg 123). This gave Tony faith that as long as his father was around, he would be protected. Antonio's mother made home a loving and caring place to be. She would always baby Antonio and give him the affection he needed whenever he needed it. The morning after Tony had seen Lupito killed, Ultima tells Tony's mother not to be too hard on Antonio; he had a hard night last night. His mother puts her arms around Tony and holds him saying he "is only a boy, a baby yet" (Pg.28). The Virgin also makes the atmosphere of Antonio's home peaceful and protected. Tony loves the Virgin Mary because "she always forgave" (Pg. 42). Tony thought she was "full of a quiet, peaceful love" (Pg.42) which she filled the home with. The most important person who contributed to the goodness of Antonio's home was Ultima. She made Antonio feel as though her presence filled the home with safety, love, and a sense of security. When Tony saw Lupito get killed, it was Ultima who calmed him. Whenever he had a nightmare, Ultima was there to comfort Antonio and "[he] could sleep again" (Pg.
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 ...
In conclusion, these two coming-of-age stories of Tony and Ofelia contrast in situation, but the powerful similarities in themes lead them both to the same initiation into adulthood. Both begin innocent and absorbed in fantasy and fairy tales, both begin to be disillusioned by religious themes, and both have their fantasies and dreams struck down by violent realities.
Ultima also teaches Antonio to appreciate nature and helps him develop a spiritual relationship with the plants of the llano. It is this growing harmony with the earth that will later help Antonio connect with his heritage and the ancient ways of his ancestors. Ultima teaches him the magic of nature, “even the plants had a spirit, and before I dug she made me speak to the plant and tell it why we pulled it from its home in the earth”. Antonio learns which plants are good for healing but more importantly he learns of Ultima’s nobility and grace as they wonder the llano together. Ultima teaches Antonio that one must give back to the earth what has been taken away. It is this spirit...
Tony could’ve prevented his death, by not being a part of the Royals. Tony joined this gang because he wanted to feel important and wanted to have meaning in his life. He felt that joining this gang would give him a sense of pride. It turns out that
Tony saw through the prejudice though, he loved one of the PR's and when the Jets found out, they were ashamed. Tony's love for Maria was so real, he didn't care what happened. He died.Prejudice plagues this world now and forever, as long as there is a difference in people there will discrimination and prejudice.
People were scared of the monster and thought the lake was haunted. “Bloody Knife” was about two men that were fighting by a creek after fighting long and hard one man finally fell, his knife feel in the creek. He couldn't reach to get the knife out but he could see it was the color of the water was clear and it magically changed color when the knife hit the water to blood color. The two myths are similar because they both greatly impacted by water. One was a lake and one was a creek but they both had a scary event happen near water. These myths reflect american culture by showing that crimes and frightening events can happen anywhere including by water. Water and fear are two evident value reflected in both
“been awakened at the dawn of day by the most heart-rending shrieks of an own aunt of mine, whom he used to tie up to a joist, and whip upon her naked back till she was literally covered with blood. No words, no tears, no prayers, from his gory victim, seemed to move his iron heart from its bloody purpose…[he remembered] the first time [he] ever witnessed this horrible exhibition. [He] was quite a child, but [he] well remembers it.” (7)
...o he murders his wife. Then, he does not want to be made to look like a murderer so he begs to be remembered as a different man than the one he actually is. In the midst of trying to save his reputation, Othello reveals his subconscious fears of not being accepted and always looking like a foreigner no matter what he accomplishes. Out of all his accomplishments in the military, Othello wants to be remembered for one specific story – the time he saved a Venetian from being abused by a Turk. It is as if he is forcefully portraying himself as a contributing member of Venice by saying that he protected it from outside forces. At the same time, he equates himself to the Turk and kills himself in the same way he killed the Turk. Othello, in trying to save his reputation, loses everything he has ever cared about or worked for – Desdemona, his reputation, and his career.
Another Tragic hero trait that Tony demonstrated in Scarface is his heroic qualities. Throughout the movie it seems like all that Tony does are unlawful acts, such as killing and drugs. However Tony has his own code of conduct that has made him demonstrate heroic qualities. In the movie he saves his sister from having sex in the restroom from some stranger, and he tells Manny that he can’t date his sister. This shows Tony is overprotective when it comes to his sister, as he realizes that she is the most purest and innocent person in Tony’s
...table intention. It looked at you with a vengeful aspect.” Although the time period and place were completely different, this description of the river is very similar to what the viewer experiences in the movie. The foreshadowing of the mist in both the movie and book show something bad is about to happen: the ambush of the natives.
This tribe brings nothing but death and destruction to the island. Moreover, the newly formed group of warriors even develop a dance that they perform over the carcass of the dead pig. They become so involved in this dance that that warriors kill one of their own kind. By chance, Simon runs from the forest towards the group that is already shouting “‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’” (152).