Theme Of Religion In Bless Me Ultima

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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. The Catholic Church in the novel is very traditional. Antonio’s church practices old rituals, such as the children attend catechism classes before their first communion. Antonio and his friend Florence are late to one of the classes. This causes Antonio to receive a warning and Florence, a punishment. Florence is required to hold his arms outstretched in the middle of the aisle for the entire class. “”Let us pray,” Father Byrnes said and knelt. We followed suit, kneeling on the rough splintery knee boards of the pew. Only Florence remained standing, holding the weight of his arms, which would become numb …show more content…

This religion was introduced to Antonio by two of his friends, Samuel and Cico. Samuel explains the religion of the Golden Carp. He illustrates to Antonio that the gods were so angry at the people that they turned the people into Carp. However, one of the gods loved the people immensely, as a result much he wanted to be turned into a carp to be with them. They agreed, but made a golden color in order to reflect that he was a god. This is much like Jesus Christ. When the earth was created, people sinned. God was angry, but he still loved his creation unconditionally. In order to save his people from Hell, he sent his only son (him in human form) to earth to die for their sins. This tale initiates Antonio’s questioning of God. “If the golden carp was a god, who was the man on the cross? The Virgin? Was my mother praying to the wrong God?”

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