Bless Me Ultima
Uploaded by mseducated69 on Mar 28, 2002
In life there are many people and events that one will encounter that will have such an impact on their life that it will stick to them for as long as they can remember. In Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima, Antonio has encountered many events in his life that taught him a great deal. The events and people that Tony learned a great deal from are, Ultima- and the conversation she had with Tenorio before she cured Pedro Luna, Cico- and the golden carp, and Tony‘s uncles- when he stayed with them for the summer.
In Chapter 10, Antonio’s uncle Lucas comes to seek Ultima’s help to cure their brother from a curse put on by brujas. Ultima agrees to help, and she takes Antonio with her to El Puerto to cure his uncle. After they arrive, Ultima and Tony go to Tenorio Trementina’s saloon shop to reason with him. Tony observed everything Ultima did and looked up to her a great deal. He implies this on page 86 after Ultima tells the men in the shop she seeks Tenorio; Tony states, "Her voice was strong and confident. She stood tall, with a nobleness to her stature that I had seen often when walked on the IIano. She was not afraid, and so I tried to stand like her and put my fears out of my heart." This quote signifies that Antonio observed Ultima’s stature often and he thought of her as fearless and stood like her to get rid of his fears. Tony looked up to Ultima because he knew she was very wise, that’s what "La grande" meant. In Chapter 12 on page 115 Tony says, "I felt more attached to Ultima than I did my own mother," which states that he felt very close and safe with Ultima, and he looked up to her, like any child would to his mother. So when they were in the saloon, Ultima’s actions and everything else she did had a positive impact on Tony.
Events of Antonio’s religious preference changes a lot throughout the novel as well. In Chapter 11 on page 105, when Tony is introduced to the golden carp, he says, " I could not have been more entranced if I had seen the Virgin, or God Himself." This quote signifies that the golden carp had a positive impact on Tony more than the Virgin had on him, because...