Theme Of Antonio In Bless Me Ultima

759 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender in 20th century literature

The Growth in Ones Life As Rudolfo Anaya places social change, cultural conflict, religion, ethnic identity formation and many other themes together into a coherent and believable story about a young boy called Antonio in Bless Me Ultima. Anaya’s themes in the book are interoperated through rhetorical strategies of contrasting situations to people and as well using them metaphorically. Through Antonio’s experience in the Adulthood, he becomes sensitive to his dangerous physical surroundings outing him a hold in situations where he hold knowledge sooner causing him to question his life and destiny in the world. Anaya uses metaphors and binary opposition to emphasize Antonio’s life situations and the reactions or his thoughts. Anaya portrays moments in Antonio’s life where he is beginning to grow maturely and question his future in life and what he is destined to do. ‘“Now I have come to live near the river, and yet near the llano. I love them both, and yet I am of neither, I wonder which life I will choose?”[Antonio says]. “Ay hijito,” [Ultima] chuckled, “do not trouble yourself with those thoughts. You have plenty of time to find yourself”’ (41). Ultima assures him to not hurry in life that it will all come to him, what he is destined in life. As Antonio takes on adventures with Ultima he beings to question what he is to become as he grows up. Antonio is confused wondering which lifestyle he is to follow, his father’s dream to become a Vaquero or mother’s dream to be a priest. Antonio views Ultima as wisdom and guidance and relies upon her judgment in determining the course of his life. Anaya uses Ultima to teach Antonio metaphorically through examples of nature, that there are life forces to trees, winds, and the earth but the ... ... middle of paper ... ...ped out the room without looking back. I rushed past my worried mother who cried after me then ran to tend Ultima. Sometime in the future I would have to build me own dream out of those things that were so much a part of my childhood” (261). When Ultima dies, Antonio is finally able to understand this link between change and violence. His time working on the Luna farm has taught him the importance of harmony in nature, and he realizes that Ultima’s death establishes the natural harmony of the world. He no longer fears death because he knows that it is a natural cycle of life and a change that is necessary for life to continue. He now placed him in the center of taking care of himself from that moment on and leading himself on what he is to become as a grown man. From that moment on he wont be given anymore advise from Ultima and has to live with that given fact.

Show More
Related

  • Counselor Ayres Memorial Sparknotes

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    With several astute observations in his memories, Aires gets to deceive and confuse readers. The diary covers two years in the life of a sexagenarian with his proverbial wisdom but placid, deceives and misleads the reader with small observations. The narrator reports people who lived with the narrator, reading quotes and works that read as a diplomat and reflections on past events that occurred in politics. One of the main characters depicted by Aires is Fidelia, a young girl who he was interested. Due to his old age, Ayres never revealed his love to Fidelia, but considered a daughter to the couple Dona Carmo and Aguiar, who cannot have

    Read More

  • Ultima is a Curandera in "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

    548 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Colonization and the True Historical Fact of Malintzin

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    Townsend organizes her narration of these events around the life and role of Malintzin. She takes the attention off of Cortes because she wants...

    Read More

  • Antonio's Dreams in Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

    838 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many of Antonio’s dreams foretell future incidents. In the first dream, the night before the arrival of Ultima, Antonio is born and both sides of his family gather together for the arrival of the baby boy. The two families express their hopes and desires for the newborn’s future, but the calm Lunas and the savage Márez fight over the destiny of Antonio. As “curses and threats filled the air, pistols were drawn, and the opposing sides made ready for battle” (Anaya 6), Ultima steps into his dream, her voice full of authority. “Cease she cried…only I will know his destiny” (6). Everyone falls silent when Ultima speaks. Antonio didn’t meet Ultima but this dream foreshadows that Ultima is a powerful and a well respected figure. The fight not only shows the difference between the two families but also hints that there may be problems between them in the future. Right before Antonio’s brothers come back from the war, he has dream about his brothers. They tell Antonio to “stay and sleep while we cross the River of the Carp to build our father’s castle in the hills” (26). The brothers are telling him to stay behind and let them build their father’s castle, which refers to their father’s longing to be restless and build a family else where. This gives a hint that his ...

    Read More

  • Antonio's Transformation in Bless Me Ultima

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    How do we make the leap from child to adult? What obstacles must we overcome to finally reach the summit of all that we can be? Who can reform and influence our decisions, the very decisions that will shape who we become? In Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, Antonio Márez must progress towards his own moral independence and choose his destiny. Tony is forced to endure difficult experiences too early in life, causing a premature loss of innocence. He is overwhelmed with a multitude of spiritual questions. To find the answers he seeks, Antonio must undertake a metamorphosis.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Religion In Bless Me Ultima

    1034 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Bless Me Ultima

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Antonio encounters Ultima’s Owl when he meets Ultima for this reason Antonio is able to sleep in ease. To Antonio every night he has been haunted by these dreams by all means this Owl’s song can be seen as a first step in getting closer to understanding his

    Read More

  • Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me Ultima

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    Antonio, from Bless Me, Ultima, lives stuck in a world of in-betweens, a world of borders. He must navigate this world and find his place within it, all while trying to please his parents. Tony’s surroundings and cultural background lead to this in between world and force him to pick a side before he has even began to grow up. In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima, Antonio is constantly searching for answers about his future and the world around him; he finds these answers through his family, environment, religion, and family friend, Ultima.

    Read More

  • Bless Me Ultima

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Bless Me Ultima Analysis

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    In essence, Antonio shows that he is unsure if he truly believes in his religion because of his acceptance of other beliefs, the new ideas that he learns, and the deaths of Narciso and Lupito. Antonio’s experiences lead him to believe that he is in charge of his destiny and he has the ability to choose what he wants, not what his parents want. In the end, Antonio determines his religious values based on what he believes in, so he tells himself to “[t]ake the Ilano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp and make something new” (247). Antonio’s encounters with religion represent those who follow their religion but are not content with it. All in all, the story suggests that sometimes people want to learn other ideas to discover what fits them best.

    Read More

  • Mao's Last Dancer

    433 Words  | 1 Pages

    The composer has aimed this text for general reading by all people over the age of ten. However as this publication is the young reader’s edition, it is targeted at young readers. People who may wish to read the book may be able to attain it through mediums such as book stores and libraries etc. Although this publication of the novel is the young reader’s edition, there is a publication aimed at adults.

    Read More

  • Melancholic Mental Growth

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    The process of becoming an adult takes more time for children who enjoy freedom. When the kid is still young, one’s parents or guardians would not mind whatever the child does. But when one grows up, one’s hobby and attitude has to change according to one’s age. The Fall of a City is a short story written by Alden Nowlan to illustrate the forced maturation of the 11-year-old child under the influence of his relatives. It is a piece of writing full of pathos, where the protagonist ends up destroying the creation of his childish imagination because of his uncle and aunt’s judgment. Once they discovered what Teddy has been doing up in the attic, he decides to follow the course of his fate. He leaves his imaginary world, where he is the almighty king, to face the much more challenging real world. The Fall of a City is written by Alden Nowlan in order to express his vision of the transition from youth to manhood because of societal pressure, and the hardship is shown through the critique of Teddy’ uncle and aunt about their nephew’s character traits and the diverse conflicts which the protagonist faces within the story.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Tell Them Not To Kill Me By Juan Rulfo

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tell them not to kill me!,  by Juan Rulfo, is a compelling work of fiction that addresses mainly selfishness and the realities of a self-centered life, as well as highlighting the importance of empathy. Many scenes in this short story portray the theme of selfishness, but few show it better than the very first scene in which Juan Rulfo describes the protagonist, Juvencio, begging his son, Justino, to put himself in harm's way to save Juvencio’s life. Juvencio does this without giving any thought to the safety of his son or his son's family. There are also quite a few scenes in this story that explore the theme of empathy. One of the scenes that shows this best is when Juvencio talks about the crime

    Read More

  • “The Rain God”: Repression Within the Angel Family

    1493 Words  | 3 Pages

    Family is one of the most important institutions in society. Family influences different aspects of a person’s life, such as their religion, values, morals and behavior. Unfortunately, problems may arise when an individual’s belief system or behavior does not coincide with that of family standards. Consequently, individuals may be forced to repress their emotions or avoid acting in ways that that are not acceptable to the family. In the novel The Rain God, written by Arturo Islas, we are presented with a story about a matriarchal family that deals with various conflicts. One major internal conflict is repression. Throughout the novel the characters act in strange ways and many of the family members have internal “monsters” that represent the past that they are repressing. In his article, “The Historical Imagination in Arturo Islas’s The Rain God and Migrant Souls”, Antonio C. Marquez’s implicitly asserts a true idea that The Rain God is a story about repression. Marquez’s idea can be supported from an analysis of secondary sources and a reading of the primary text.

    Read More

  • Factual Accuracy Of Bless Me Ultima

    452 Words  | 1 Pages

    Literature has had a great effect on the evolution of society. It formed civilizations, changed political systems and exposed injustice. Literature provides us with a detailed preview of human experiences, allowing us to connect on basic levels of desire and emotion. Such as the powerful emotion that Robert Anaya depicts in his novel. "But what hurt more was that I had witnessed for the first time the death of a man." in this quotation six year old Antonio is talking about his first encounter with the actual death of a man. The scene that Anaya recounts is a very powerful scene in which Tony witnesses the death of Lupito, who is hunted and shot down by a group of townsmen

    Read More

More about Theme Of Antonio In Bless Me Ultima

Open Document