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UNITY
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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 workv 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 hadfailed 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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