Magical Realism In Bless Me Ultima

1. The definition of magical realism is “a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy.” Bless Me, Ultima fits the description of magical realism because of the combination on the real world and fantasy. The real world aspects are in the setting of New Mexico and all the characters are humans. The magical part consists of Ultima’s power to cure people. Antonio thinks that “The power of the doctors and the power of the church had failed to cure my Uncle. Now everyone depended on Ultima’s magic” (Anaya 103), showing Ultima’s supernatural abilities in the story.
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3. Owls are very symbolic in Bless Me, Ultima. The owls meaning is revealed "'It is

Cico trusts Antonio with the story of the golden carp because he knows that Antonio is spiritual and will respect the knowledge being shared with him. The carp represents Antonio’s belief in something that is not the single catholic god. At first, Antonio denies the idea that the golden carp could really be magical because he believes that he is supposed to worship only one God. Antonio starts to question his religion "'The golden carp,' I said to myself, 'a new god?'" (Anaya, 396-399). As time passes, he realizes that the carp can help him find answers to all the questions he asks and can help him find his true identity.
6. “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 sprit shared in the spirit of all things” (15). In the story, Lupito is shot in the river which gives the river a bad essence and the “rivers brown waters would be stained with blood forever and ever” (24). On the contrary, Antonio associates the lake with Florence, because he drowned in it, and he sees Florence as a Christ like figure making the lake pure. However, the golden carp, a very important spiritual figure to Antonio, is neither in the lake or the river but is in a pond in the