Bless Me Ultima - Tony
Uploaded by ho_annie on Jan 29, 2000
Blood becomes the river. The human race dies and only the "she-goats and the he-goats" remain (176). The lake "cracked with laughter of madness" and the "ghosts stood and walked upon the shore" (120). Who dares dream such gruesome images? Only Antonio Marez. He argues with God and the Virgin Mary. He commutes with the dead; the dead asks him for blessings. Just who is this Tony person! You might not believe that this is only a seven year old kid, but he is the hero of Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima. Tony is valiant, and this courage sometimes reflects his curiously precocious nature. Precocious he is, he still is in constant mental ambivalence.
When I say Tony is brave, I don't mean that he fights demons or kill dragons, but rather that he stands for what he believe is right and he is not afraid to go to extreme measures to protect the people he love. He shows that he is a "man of the llano" when he "does[n't] run from a fight" even when confronted with Horse, the notorious bully (37). Tony also stands up against a mob for Florence; everyone wants to punish Florence for "not believing in God" (214) and Tony pushes the crowd away and refuses to give Florence the penance that Florence does not deserve. Although Tony knows that he will be given the "Indian torture" (214), he still speaks up for his friend. Anaya often presents Tony as a dependent character, never wanting to "be away from the protection of [his] mother" (51); in fact, he's so close to his mother that it seems that he's going through Oedipus's Complex. Anaya actually does this to increase the impact of Tony's bravery. One might expect Tony to stay in his undercover bushes when Tenorio is standing so close; however, when Tony hears that Tenorio knows the way to kill Ultima, the thought to warn Ultima supercedes his fear and encourages his legs to pick up and run home (255). At trying times, he "stood by Ultima" and "would have slashed out to protect Ultima" (138).
Oftentimes, Tony's bravery reflects his curious and precocious nature. For example, he runs to the bridge where the criminal Lupito hides because he is curious about Lupito's situation (22). The first thing he wonders about when he witnesses Lupito's death is "where was Lupito's soul?" (26) , and this shows how...