Bless Me Ultima Essay, Research Paper
Worlds of Existence
Vividly described, throughout the novel Bless me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, are the worlds that influence the character Antonio in his life. The worlds contain elements of good and bad and help shape the Antonio s future. In relation to his life at home the worlds of the school, the bar, Rosies, the church, and the war going on in the world all have similarities or differences to how things are going on there.
In the world of the school there are similarities, namely in the fact that Antonio is learning. Miss Maestas sent a note to my mother telling her that I was progressing very well, and my mother was happy that a man of learning was once again to be delivered to the Lunas . Antonio is doing so well in school that his teacher sent a note home to his mother that said that he was doing very good. Antonio learns in school as well as learns at home. At home Ultima teaches Antonio about life and helps him grow up by directing him in the right path. Ultima uses her age and wisdom to help Antonio figure out the problems he has in growing up. Ultima is a good witch and serves as a resource to all of Antonios questions that he has about life. Both school and home life serve as areas where Antonio can learn and help shape his future.
The world of Antonio s life at home is not similar to the world of the bar. At the bar people are always drinking and getting into disagreements. The people at Antonio s house people are not drinking and getting into fights. At the bar characters like Tenorino and Narciso are usually drunk and fighting with each other. At home Antonio s mother is usually praying for her sons save return from war and his father is usually out farming the land. This peacefulness of family life is not found in the local town bar. The town bar represents a source and starting point of most of the problems that happen in the novel. Antonio s life represents the complete opposite that the bar does and so one can see no similarities.
Rosies is again, like the bar, in contrast with what Tony s family life is like in that it does not relate in any way. Rosies is a whorehouse that is located near the bar, making it easier for the whores to get customers. Antonio has nightmares of this place because he believes that it is a sin to have sex. Antonio s brothers however go there often. Antonio s home life is not at all like a whorehouse because of the level of religious belief that is found there. Antonio s family is very religious and they spend their time praying rather than dealing with whores. Antonio wants to be a religious worker and they try to be as sinless as possible so his life and lifestyle do not represent the workings of a whorehouse. It can be seen clearly that Antonio s lifestyle is nowhere near that of a whorehouse.
The church s way of doing things, however, is very much like Antonio s own but has one small difference. We prayed rosary after rosary, until the monotonous sound of prayers blended into the blur of flickering altar candles . The family is always praying for people and especially for the three sons who went off to war. Antonio s family is very religious and practices religion every day. But unlike the church, Antonio s family is not closed-minded and keep more than one religion under the same roof. Antonio discovers the golden carp and in doing so he becomes aware of how many other religions there are out there. The church is founded on the belief that there is one god and only one god, while Antonio believes in more than one. One can now see the similarities and the differences found in the two subjects.
The war has some similarities to Antonio s family life. The war is symbolic of the struggle between the two families. The Marezs are the wanderers who roam the land while the Lunas are farmers who tend to stay put and farm the land. The disagreement is when the parents try to decide what Antonio should be when he grows up. Another similar comparison between the war and Antonio s family life is that the war represents the struggle between Tenorio and Ultima. Tenorio is accusing Ultima of being a witch and killing his daughters and is trying to kill her. Ultima is defending herself and she has allies to help her also like in war. The war is similar to his home life in more than one way making it a good comparison.
The many worlds of Bless me Ultima can offer some differences and some similarities. Though not all the worlds had similarities they still can relate to Antonio s life at home. It is obvious for one to see these comparisons throughout the novel.
written by Frank Capobianco