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Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo
Anaya, is a coming-of-age story that revolves around a young boy named
Antonio. In this story, Antonio is torn between three destinies. His mother
wants him to become a priest while his father wants him to explore and
be free; then along comes Ultima. Ultima, an old
woman who works with herbs and magical powers, comes to visit Antonio
and hisfamily on the Ilano. With her, she brings her magic, her views,
and her perspectives on life--and she has chosen to pass these things
down to Antonio before she dies.
It is clear throughout the story that both Ultima
and Antonio have magical powers. It is unclear, however, if Antonio's
powers have been given to him or lent to him from Ultima, or if he has
had the magic inside of him from the very beginning. Antonio's dreams seem
to foretell the future. From the very beginning, Antonio sees Ultima by
his mother's side while he was being bom in a dream. Antonio's dreams seem
to foreshadow several events in this novel.
Up to the point where Ultima visits, Antonio
has it in his mind that it is his destiny to become a priest. He is to
follow his mother's belief system, which consists of strict, traditional
rules; Antonio's mother is Catholic, and she practices her religion very
strictly. This belief system is shaken when Antonio not only witnesses,
but becomes a part of, Ultima's cure for Uncle Lucas. Uncle Lucas is dying,
and the Priest's past attempts to save him had failed. So, the family
turns to Ultima as a last resort. Ultima agrees to treat him, but requests
Antonio come with her. During the cure, Antonio experiences weird feelings,
most of these feelings painful and unpleasant. It is like he has taken
some of the burden of the pain off of Uncle Lucas, helping him overcome
his illness. Ultima's cure ends up saving Lucas' life, and Antonio isn't
only there to witness it, but actually becomes a part of it. Because the
Priest failed where Ultima did not, this really shakes Antonio's whole belief
system: "The power of the doctors
and the power of the church had failed to cure my uncle. Now everyone depended
on Ultima's magic. Was it possible that there was more power in Ultima's
magic than in the priest? "(103). At
this point, Antonio begins to doubt his destiny of becoming a priest.
Later on, Antonio learns the story about the
golden carp from another boy his own age. Antonio sees the golden carp,
which means he is one of the magical people in the
town. Not everyone can see the golden carp; the golden carp is considered
a pagan god: "The golden carp is my god, Tony. He will rule the new
waters. I will be happy to be with my god. It was unbelievable, and yet
it made a wild kind of sense! All the pieces fitted! "(124).
At this point in time, Antonio is searching
for answers to his many questions about life and what happens afterwards.
So far, the church is not providing answers to his questions, but Antonio
thinks his First Communion will cause him to know the answers to all
of his questions. The carp seems to make more sense to Antonio, but he
is not ready to believe in that yet; he will wait for his First Communion.
Antonio knows that he is special since he can see the golden carp, and
that is it going against his church and his entire destiny if he chooses
this path. He cannot both become a priest and believe in the golden carp.
When Antonio receives his First Holy Communion,
and his questions are not answered, he is extremely disappointed: "After Easter I went to confession every Saturday and on
Sunday morning I took communion, but I was not satisfied. The God
I so eagerly sought was not there, and the understanding I thought to gain
was not there " (235). This is the last nail in the coffin for his future
priesthood. At this point, Antonio is looking to the belief system involved
with the golden carp.
So, what does all of this have to do with Ultima
passing her powers down to Antonio before she dies? In every instance
mentioned here, Ultima moves Antonio one step closer to her belief system,
and it is necessary for Antonio to accept Ultima's belief system in order
for him to receive her powers. When Antonio becomes part of Uncle Lucas' cure,
his absolute certainty that he will become a priest goes away since the Priest
failed where Ultima had not. When Antonio learns about the golden carp, this
presents a new idea about religion into his life.
The fact that his First Holy Communion failed
to bring about answers to his questions further weakens his ties to the
church and further strengthens his belief in the golden carp. Ultima
then has Antonio exactly where she wants him. Ultima sees the big picture;
she recognizes that all the belief systems have the same thing in common
and that you need to approach problems in life with an open mind. You
cannot work with Ultima's magic with a closed mind or a fixed belief
system. She has to break Antonio's strong ties with the church and introduce
something new in his life in order for her to achieve this.
Antonio will carry on Ultima's work. Antonio
will see the entire picture, instead of just the blinded, closed-minded
views of a particular religion, which will allow him to use Ultima's magic.
Antonio will always have more questions than answers. Antonio will become
Ultima's successor.
Works Cited
Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me Ultima.
New York: Warner Books, 1972.
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