Literature Sec 051 September 18‚ 2011 Cultural and Religious Identity: Bless me‚ Ultima Bless Ultima‚ me‚ is a novel written by Rudolfo Anaya in 1972. The story starts in 1940 during and after World Word II in Guadalupe‚ New Mexico. The main character is Antonio. Anaya describes Antonio’s childhood through a life changing journey. Also‚ Ultima‚ the “ curandera” who helped his mother in childbirth has a strong presence in his spiritual
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As Tony witnesses Ultima work near impossible miracles‚ he cannot seem to understand how any one person can surpass God’s power. While helping Ultima cure his sick Uncle‚ Tony is baffled by Ultima’s healing abilities. He ponders how “the magic of Ultima [cwould] be stronger than all the powers of the saints and the Holy Mother Church?" (97). Tony feels a deeper and even spiritual connection to his uncle while Ultima is curing him. Although this is not addressed in the
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Gender Roles within Bless Me‚ Ultima Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me‚ Ultima is considered to be one of the centerpieces to Chicano culture. The novel follows a family of six children during the Second World War. Three of the children have left for the war and the family takes in an old curandera‚ or medicine woman. Progressing through the novel‚ Anaya opens a window to the Chicano gender roles to the reader. Broadly speaking‚ in a typical male dominated culture‚ the men are responsible for all affairs
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on the other hand his dad’s side of the family are cowboys wild and free on the open llano. He wants to make both of his parents happy‚ but also learn from other experiences that make it difficult for him to agree with their wants. He works with Ultima helping her collect herbs and healing his uncle. A significant action performed by Antonio is when stands up for Florence during the mock confession. When Florence says that he has never sinned and the other boys start to beat him up‚ Antonio sees
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Nevertheless‚ an experiment can be terminated at anytime. The experiment of child cannot be aborted‚ and sometimes the Experiment fails when he or she chooses the wrong path. However‚ for Rudolfo Anaya’s "Experiment Antonio" of Bless Me‚ Ultima‚ the results are promising. Antonio‚ as a child‚ already possesses traits that lead to a good and pure life. He is naturally a mature and wise man-child yearning for knowledge. 	Antonio shows a startling maturity. Psychologically‚ a typical
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In Bless Me‚ Ultima‚ Antonio leaves his childhood behind and seeks to reconcile his conflicting cultural and religious identities. Although Antonio is only six years old at the start of the narrative‚ he already possesses a keenly questioning mind‚ a great deal of moral curiosity‚ and a solemn appreciation for the seriousness of life. Some of his traits are typical of children his age‚ such as his anxiety at leaving his mother to start school. In other ways‚ Antonio is extraordinary. He is much more
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GOOD VS. EVIL = Maturity Bless Me Ultima‚ a book by Rudolfo A. Anaya‚ is about a young boy named Antonio who comes of age through troubling ordeals throughout the book. He is aided in this journey by a curandera named Ultima‚ who teaches Tony many life lessons. Anaya uses animals to symbolize such as good and evil. Representing Ultima‚ he uses the owl‚ which serves as the good character‚ while the coyote represents evil‚ portrayed by Tenorio. The Golden Carp is a symbol of Tony’s confused uncertainty
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The moment Tony saw the golden carp is when his life changed. The golden carp made Tony realize that there are other belief systems and he should possibly reconsider his faith he has been tough his whole life. To start with‚ in the novel it said‚ “’Behold the golden carp‚ Lord of the waters-‘I turned and saw Cico standing‚ his spear held across his chest as if in acknowledgement of the presence of a ruler” (Anaya 113). Seeing the golden carp opened Tony’s eyes to new beginnings in exploring a new
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“Antonio wants to know if he was baptized in the water of the moon or by the salt water of the sea.”(120) Whenever he dreams of being a Luna priest they all of a sudden change to nightmares. “He has so many dreams to be fulfilled‚ but Ultima tells him that his destiny must unfold like a flower‚ with only the sun
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try and defeat. Atticus has to do things he doesn’t want to‚ like killing a dog and facing the court room. Bless Me Ultima: Rudolfo Anaya Ultima’s Owl: Ultima’s owl represents Ultima’s life in animal form. The owl that sings to Antonio every night comforts him during his dreams. This is just like how whenever Ultima is around Antonio he feels at ease. When Tenorio kills the owl‚ Ultima soon dies after because her animal force was killed. The Virgin of Guadalupe: The statue in this novel represents
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