What Is The Role Of The Owl In Bless Me Ultima

Essay 1: Bless Me Ultima
Rudolfo Anaya, the author of Bless Me, Ultima, writes an empowering coming of age novel. A 7-year-old boy, Antonio Márez, is the protagonist, and the novel revolves around the idea of whether or not Antonio will follow in the steps of his mother or father’s side of the family. Both families are exceptionally different, and ultimately cause Antonio a great deal of misperception in many aspects of his life. Due to this, Ultima and her owl play an important role for Antonio because they guide and protect him in a way that his parents cannot. After Ultima and her owl arrive, Antonio dreams of the owl, instead of angels, lift La Virgen de Guadalupe to heaven, which conveys his fondness for the owl. Rudolfo Anaya portrays

Ultima’s owl in the novel as a form of comfort, protection and spiritual presence.
In Chapter 1, the arrival of Ultima and her owl is very exciting for Antonio because Ultima is the only one that knows Antonio’s destiny.

At first Antonio was wary of Ultima’s owl because he had heard that witches come in disguise in the form of an owl, and their hooting would cause fear. This is not the case for Antonio with Ultima’s owl because when he hears the hooting it is very comforting, similar to a lullaby. The owl’s role in protection is foreshadowed when Antonio says, “Its song seemed to say that it had come to watch over us”. In many religions, angels are used as a form of protection; however in many scenarios Antonio’s views the owl as the form of an angel or spiritual presence, which is very contradictory to the beliefs he has been taught. This is shown immediately in Antonio’s dream when he sees Ultima’s owl lifting La Virgen de Guadalupe to heaven. This passage in particular is very contradictory to the Christian belief because it should really be the angels lifting The Virgen to heaven, because The Virgen is the “patron saint of our town” and angels are good whereas owls are seen as evil. However in Antonio’s dream he says, “The Virgen smiled at the goodness of the owl”, foreshadowing that the owl is good and not

evil.
Protection is another role for Ultima’s owl, which is seen plenty. From the dream, the owl is protecting and safely delivering The Virgen and the babies of Limbo to heaven. Also when Lupito, the war veteran, is killed in front of Antonio. Antonio is very frightened but as soon as he sees that Ultima’s owl is with him he feels safer, he says, “calmness had come over the moonlit night when I heard the hooting of Ultima’s owl…the terrible, dark fear that had possessed me was gone”, through this quote and Antonio’s prior dream the idea of comfort, protection, and spiritual presence are all seen.
Rudolfo Anaya uses the owl to portray comfort, protection, and a spiritual presence. Antonio’s dream of Ultima’s owl and La Virgen de Guadalupe sets up the constant theme that is seen throughout the novel, which is Antonio’s new beliefs contradicting with his prior beliefs. The presence of the owl gives readers a feeling of ease knowing that there is safety when Antonio cannot sleep or is in harms way. The idea of Ultima’s owl is significant to the entire story because in many aspects the owl helps Antonio form his own opinions and beliefs, which is perfect in a coming of age novel.