Bless Me, Ultima Essential Question: What does it mean to grow up? Students continue work with characterization and setting, and now add point of view and them to their repertoire. Bless Me, Ultima is Anaya's best known work and was awarded the prestigious Premio Quinto Sol.In 2008, it was one of 12 classic American novels selected for The Big Read, a community-reading program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 2009, it was the selected novel of the United States Academic Decathlon.
Summary
The whole family is glad that Ultima has come to staywith them. Mária is happy to have a woman to talk to, and Antonio'stwo older sisters are happy to have someone to help with their choresso that they can spend more time playing together with dolls. Gabrieltalks to Ultima about his desire to move to California, a wish henow feels will never come true because his older sons are fightingin World War II, and he cannot move his young family alone.
Antonio is happy because he and Ultima quickly becomefriends. Ultima takes Antonio on walks to gather herbs and teacheshim about their healing properties. Antonio says that he beginsto hear the voice of the river. He senses that his family's peacefulisolation is about to end. Jasón's father, Chávez, comes to theMárez home shouting that Lupito, a local war veteran, shot Chávez'sbrother, the sheriff, dead. When Gabriel joins Chávez and the othermen searching for Lupito, Antonio secretly follows them to the river.He sees Lupito, armed with a pistol, hidden in the water. Antoniomakes a small noise, and Lupito looks down at him. But just then,the searchlights fall on Lupito, and he is confronted by his pursuers.Lupito runs off again into the reeds, out of sight of the men onthe bridge. Gabriel and Narciso, the town drunk, try to explainto the mob that Lupito is shell-shocked because of the war, butafter crying out something about Japanese soldiers, Lupito shootshis pistol into the air, drawing the fire of his pursuers. Lupitobegs Antonio for his blessing as he dies.
Antonio runs home, sobbing and reciting the Act of Contrition, thelast prayer that Catholics say before dying. When he realizes that Ultima'sowl has been with him the whole time, he loses his fear. He fearsthat the river will be stained with blood forever. He thinks aboutthe town, which he knows his father despises, and the llano, andhe wonders why Lupito had to die. He remembers when his father builttheir house. Rather than choosing to build on a patch of fertileground, Gabriel built a house on a barren place at the start of thellano. Antonio enters the house and Ultima meets him. She cleanshim and puts him to bed. Ultima explains that it is not for themto judge whether Lupito or the men who killed him will go to hell.Antonio dreams of his three older brothers discussing their father'sdream to build a castle in the hills. When Antonio states that theymust gather around their father, they reply that he is supposed tofulfill María's dream and become a priest. When they try to cross theRiver of the Carp to build Gabriel's castle, a mournful voice calls Antonio'sname. His brothers shrink in fear, saying that it is La Llorona,the 'Weeping Woman,' or Lupito asking for his blessing. Antoniodeclares that it is the presence of the river. He calms it so thathis brothers can cross.
- Nguyen 1 Emily Nguyen Ms. George Honors English - Block 3 6 April 2020 Harmony The title, Bless me, Ultima, refers to Antonio's struggle with two conflicting understandings of religion and the resolution the two find through his spiritual growth.
- Based on the novel by acclaimed author Rudolfo Anaya, BLESS ME, ULTIMA is a turbulent coming of age story about Antonio Marez (Luke Gonfalon), a young boy growing up in New Mexico during World War II. When a mysterious curandera named Ultima (Miriam Colon) comes to live with his family, she teaches him about the power of the spiritual world.
Analysis
Antonio's changing attitude toward nature reflects theways in which he is developing into an independent and thoughtfulyoung boy. As a child, Antonio's fear of the llano represents hisdependence on his family and his youth. Later, Ultima helps himappreciate the natural beauty of the wide plains that his fatherloves so much. Her guidance allows Antonio to find harmony betweenhis conflicting paternal and maternal heritages. This developmentforeshadows Antonio's ultimately optimistic end, but it also suggestsa new period of difficulty and conflict that parallels his generaltransition away from childish innocence and toward a more adultwisdom. After he witnesses Lupito's death, Antonio becomes preoccupied withsin, punishment, and the loss of innocence. Antonio's confrontationwith ideas of good and evil manifests itself in his use of religionto try to understand the world. Antonio recites the Act of Contritionas he runs home, even though he doesn't fully understand its significance.Furthermore, Lupito forces Antonio to take the figurative role ofpriest when Lupito asks Antonio for a blessing. Antonio must suddenlydeal with the moral significance of an adult dilemma.
Antonio's dream about his brothers further symbolizesthe conflict between his maternal and paternal heritages. But unlikehis brothers, Antonio now senses that there is greater strengthin embracing his entire heritage than in choosing any one part ofit. The novel suggests that Antonio's maternal and paternal heritages resultfrom the same conflict, the conflict between Spanish and indigenouscultures. Antonio's struggle to reconcile his family heritage ismuch like the struggle to evaluate the influences of the varyingcultures of New Mexico.
Anaya's reference to the legend of La Llorona demonstrateshow Bless Me, Ultima breaks from a traditionalWestern canon of great works. Like the more commonly known legendof Medea, La Llorona is the story of a woman who kills her childrenin a fit of rage. However, the legend of La Llorona is more relevantwithin Antonio's culture as an illustration of his continuing fearof veering from his parents' expectations. The legend of La Lloronais a classic of Mexican and Chicano folklore. Some versions of thetale suggest that La Llorona kills her children because their fatherleaves her or makes her jealous of her children. Many versions ofthe legend suggest that she died or killed herself when she realizedwhat she had done. Her spirit wanders the river, crying out forher lost children.
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideasexplored in a literary work.
The Importance of Moral Independence
An emphasis on thinking independently about moral decisionspervades Bless Me, Ultima. Antonio's progress towardmoral independence is the main marker of his maturity and development throughoutthe novel. Antonio's struggle to reconcile the complexities of hisexperience with his religion leads him to conclude that he mustmake his own decisions. He becomes increasingly frustrated by thefailure of the church to explain the most pressing questions aboutmorality and human experience.
Intensive English Santillana
Ultima acts as Antonio's guide as he learns the importanceof moral independence. Nvidia nvs 4200m max resolution for vgalasopatask x. Ultima teaches him that the most difficult questionsabout life can never be answered entirely by a single religion orcultural tradition. Antonio has questions about evil, forgiveness,truth, and the soul, questions he can answer only for himself. Antonioonce believed that the Communion ritual would answer all his questions,but Ultima teaches him that he must think for himself and arriveat his own conclusions.
Intensive English Classes
The Influence of Culture on Identity
Bless Me, Ultima explores the difficultyof reconciling conflicting cultural traditions. In the end, Anayasuggests that a person can draw from several cultural traditionsto forge a more complex and adaptable identity. Antonio is so eagerto find a single, definitive answer to the questions that haunthim because he has been influenced by many conflicting cultures.The first major conflict involves his parents. His Luna mother wishesfor him to become a priest, while his vaquero father wishes forhim to ride the llano. Each parent has deeply rooted cultural convictions.Next is the conflict within his town between its Spanish and indigenouscultures. We see evidence of this conflict in the pronounced tensionbetween Ultima's mystical folklore and the Catholic church. Anotherconflict takes place at Antonio's school between Spanish and Englishspeakers.
Intensive English Program
Anaya uses these conflicts to explore the influence ofculture on identity. Many characters in the book are limited bytheir cultural prejudices and never learn to look beyond their ownassumptions. For example, the townspeople condemn Narciso for beinga drunk and refuse to acknowledge that his traumatic experiencein the war might play a part in his psychological state. Ultimateaches Antonio to avoid the limitations inherent in abiding byone culture, one religion, or one creed. Instead, Ultima encouragesAntonio to embrace all of the cultural influences in his life tobecome a better person.
