Stephanie Granados
Caleb
English, Big Lit

Bless me, Ultima draft #1

Bless me, Ultima is a novel by Rudolfo Anaya that takes place in a poor farming community in Guadalupe, New Mexico. Antonio, the main character in the book, at such a young age he is witness to death, violence and evil. He is forced to make decisions that will affect his future. As this takes place Antonio is surrounded by various conflicts that in a way help him make his decisions. These conflicts; Good versus Evil, Mother versus Father and various religious conflicts are also the main themes in the novel.
Throughout the novel the theme “Good versus Evil” is portrayed by two characters, Ultima and Tenorio. Ultima, a healer, being essentially good and Tenorio …show more content…

Antonio’s mother wants him to become a priest and a man of education while his father has other dreams. Antonio debates with himself because he does not find complete comfort in any of the two choices; “I love them both by I am neither, I wonder which life I will choose?” (p.41). Tony keeps on struggling with the idea and the decision of who to be and what path to choose. “I would have to choose to be my mother’s priest or my father’s son” (p.41). However, towards the end of the story his father somewhat gives in an accepts to have Tony go to his uncle’s and learn how to work the fields;
“Ay,” he murmured, “we lived to different lives, your mother and I. I came from a people who held the wind as brother, because he is free, and the horse as companion, because he is the living, fleeting the wind – and your mother, well, she came for men who hold the earth as brother. They are steady, settled people. We have been at odds all of our lives, the wind and the earth. Perhaps it is time we gave up the old differences” (p.247).
After hearing what his father has said, Antonio comes up with the following idea; “Then maybe I do not have to be just a Marez, or Luna, perhaps I can be both” (p247). Antonio tries to find a balance between both sides of the family and with this he seems to have made up his mind about who he wants to be. Antonio also faces various religious conflicts.