Theme Of Innocence In Bless Me, Ultima

Innocence is referred to as one’s purity to the world. The loss of innocence occurs with the gain of knowledge. However, knowledge and understanding the ways of the world can only be obtained through exposure. In Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, the author reveals how exposure negatively impacts a person’s loss of innocence through newly found insight on the world. This is by the uses of word usage, contrast, and tone. The word usage from Bless Me, Ultima exemplifies the loss of innocence throughout. Anaya utilizes the concept of age and descriptions as a tool to identify losing innocence. For example, Tony states, “I only felt tired, and older” (Anaya 165). This proves that the use of the word “older” (Anaya 165) shows that as one ages

The comparison of experiences shows that innocences can be lost through good or bad situations. Bless me, Ultima quotes, “Had I already lost my innocence? How? I had seen Lupito murdered… I had seen Ultima’s cure… I had seen the men come to hang her… I had seen the awful fight just now… I had seen and revealed in the beauty of the golden carp!” (Anaya 165). This displays how experiences in one’s life shape the innocence they have lost. Distinctions between polar opposites could be denoted as a metaphor in Bless Me, Ultima. For instance, Tony states, “I wanted the cold to draw all the heat out of my tired, wet body and make me well again” (Anaya 165). Hence, this quotation represents the contrast between the cold and warm as metaphors to losing and keeping innocence. Additionally, the contrast of the safeties of a home and the dangers of the outside are indicated. Tony says in the book, “I only wanted to be home, where it was safe and warm” (Anaya 165). Because innocence is lost through the exposure of the world, Anaya uses contrast as a technique to show that a home protects one from the world. Furthermore, all of these examples prove that contrast shows how innocence is lost through

Anaya demonstrates this through uses of word usage, contrast, and tone; all of these aspects lead to the overall theme of lost innocence through exposure. The novel conveys how the exposure to alternative ideas in the world lead to a gain in understanding. This is shown through the use of words of that portray pessimistic meanings. The contrast between innocence and impurity demonstrates the loss of innocence as well through exposure through the comparison of opposites. Lastly, the tone of the specific part of this novel backs up this claim by stating that loss of innocence has a negative impact. As previously stated, all of these writing techniques that Anaya uses shows how Tony’s exposure to new ideas lead to his loss of innocence as he