Essay on ‘Bless Me Ultima’: Antonio Character Analysis

A bildungsroman is an elaborate technique that shapes a novel as a whole, presenting the reader with a way to relate and grow closely involved with events surrounding the protagonist. Rudolfo Anaya leads the audience in Bless Me, Ultima towards the development of a young hero, Antonio, who needs to gain the wisdom of his cultural and religious predicament. Anaya initiates a cultural assertion, otherwise known as Chicano, throughout this novel as a way to connect Mexican-American Heritage to Antonio’s understanding of the world around him. The connection between coming of age and spiritual expansion is blurred during the battle of man versus society.

Antonio struggles with barriers that interfere with his development within himself and the influence of outside groups. As a renowned healer called Ultima visits the protagonist and his family, we can see the immediate psychological expansion presented through a series of dreams that Antonio endures, “I could not make out the face of the mother who rested from the pains of birth, but I could see the old woman in black who tended the just-arrived, steaming baby. She nimbly tied a knot on the cord that had connected the baby to its mother’s blood. then quickly she bent and with her teeth she bit off the loose end” (Anaya 5). Ultima witnessed the birth of Antonio and his destiny, immediately establishing a mentorship between the two of them. Becoming interested in the life and existence of such a mystifying woman, Antonio helps her to collect herbs for remedies and to speak with nature that surrounds them. The wise woman helps young Antonio to begin his first lesson; the river’s purpose, “I learned from her that there was a beauty in the time of day and in the time of night, and that there was peace in the river and in the hills. She taught me to listen to the mystery of the groaning earth and to feel complete in the fulfillment of its time. My soul grew under her careful guidance” (Anaya 15). Ultima then uses her influence positively and guides Antonio so that he may be able to reach his full potential, to become his own person rather than to live by the instruction of someone else. Instilling the firm belief in Antonio that one must make decisions based on their true morals before blindly obeying the instructions of an authority Thus beginning Antonio’s growth journey.

Antonio began the process to his monumental self change along with tragedy. Once Antonio starts his path through childhood, he trudges into a river and abruptly witnesses a violent death. A man by the name of Chavez comes to the door with severe news- his brother had been shot dead, killed by a veteran named Lupito. In response to this event, search parties are formed to investigate the area for the suspect on the run. Antonio, however, makes the crucial mistake of following the search parties to the destination, as he lurks in the shadows to avert attention from his contiguity. Lupito eventually notices Antonio’s presence, shooting his hidden pistol into the air, which warrants the investigators to open fire, “ A low, sad mournful cry tore itself from his throat and mixed into the lapping sound of the waters of the river. His head shook slowly, and I guess he must have been thinking and fighting between surrendering or remaining free, and hunted. Then like a coiled spring he jumped up, his pistol aimed straight up. There was a flash of fire and the loud report of the pistol” (Anaya 21-22). Desperate to revise his life, he begs for a blessing to lead his spirit home. Lupito dies in the river at the frail eyes of Antonio, furthering the growth of a child into adolescence. Anaya shows the audience symbolism through water’s appearance, this creates imagery of not only a baptism, but washing away the sins of the past.

Conflict arises within Antonio’s soul once more when faced with a dilemma in his own family. Antonio’s father, an outdoorsman, toughened by years of farm labor believes his son will also find a true calling in the vastness of the wild open plains he roams. Antonio’s spirit’s flow is interrupted by this constant tugging, as he is tormented by the obligation he feels to both parents to follow the path they choose for him. Antonio’s mother wishes for her son to pursue a life in the church and find God by returning to work and live in his family’s homeland. Evidently these two forces interfering with Antonio’s spirit cause him great discomfort and stress, but with this comes growth. Antonio’s internal and external struggles create a pathway for him to ask more of himself and what his future may hold.

During a time of uncertainty in the life of Antonio, he is introduced to the concept of the ‘golden carp’ god by Samuel. Samuel explains to Antonio the legend surrounding The River of The Carp, ensuring that Antonio is aware of the holy Golden Carp that inhabits the river. This tale, similar in fact to that of The Bible strikes discord in Antonio’s soul as he begins to question the very foundations of his Christian faith. How could there be another benevolent, more forgiving God? Is it possible these two Gods coexist? Who really is God? The uncertainty this brought to Antonio’s psyche rattles the very roots of what he holds so dearly. Antonio begins to consistently visit the river, hoping dearly in his heart to see a glimpse of the Carp that has troubled him so greatly. Antonio seeks to find the truth about the Golden Carp in an attempt to quell the burning hunger for knowledge of the spiritual world he sees and hears of. Unable to assess his doubts properly, Antonio’s mind is thrown into a constant whirlwind of obsession over the existence of the Golden Carp and the astonishing possibility that his faith may be one amongst many stories that tell of a God figure. Deeply inside Antonio wants nothing more than to uncover his true purpose and to find the truth of the faith he holds so dearly.

During harsh times one must always have faith in order to stay true to oneself and remain steady. With that being said there are those who deny adamantly the existence of faith, or a higher power. Florence, a friend of Antonio’s, is one of those people. Plagued by doubt Florence denies even the slightest possibility of the existence of God, symbolically vacating his soul of any faith or hope there once was. On a trip to the lake, Antonio walks with Cico as they realize Florence’s dive into the water was fatal. In an instant, his friend was gone, forever. with no hope of reprisal in an afterlife due to his complete lack of faith. Stricken by tragedy, Antonio is overcome with guilt and sadness and runs home to grieve for his lost friend. Florence never had faith during his time on Earth and the opportunity to witness the Golden Carp was lost once he lost his life. This tragic passing riddles Antonio’s mind with a slew of confusion and guilt and causes him to go into a state of panic and depression, not having a single clue of why his friend passed in such a cruel unnecessary fashion.

Constantly pulling Antonio in two directions, Antonio’s parents both attempt to guide Antonio along the path each of them want him to take. as true as this may be, Antonio feels inside of him that he is more of a Luna, and as such he is equipped with a moral compass that enables him to make the right decisions in life. Throughout his life’s events Antonio will often run into a fork in the road where he calls upon his faith and his Luna ancestry to guide him to righteousness. However, Antonio still feels locked in an everlasting battle between both his mother and his father’s wishes. 

Essay on Religion in ‘Bless Me Ultima’

His mother is the first introduction Antonio had to his religious identity. All his life he only knows what his mother forced onto him. With this formalized religion, he feels as if it is the only accepted religion and the only God he should follow and abide to. Especially since his mother continues to pressure Antonio to be a priest and never sin, he is always pressured. Yet at the same time, Florence tells Antonio that (2nd quote). Antonio has always been asking himself the same question. He believes that god is too punishing and hardly ever forgives anyone of the sins they have committed. He turns out to be progressively frustrated by the negligence of the church to clarify the questions concerning ethical quality and human experience. Antonio is told that communion and God would be the answer to all questions, yet Antonio only sees the evil within God. Thus, causing conflict and confusion as he is told he would achieve all his answers through the church and still has yet to understand the ways of God.

Continuously questioning the church, Antonio starts to notice the weakness the church truly holds in his life. With no evidence of the physical power the church holds, he starts to become more interested in the magical world Ultima holds. After seeing the healing powers Ultima contains, Antonio starts to doubt the church in the powers it claims to contain. At the point when Ultima effectively fixes Lucas, Antonio comes to understand that Ultima’s magic is both legitimate and separate from the Catholic Church. Antonio’s acknowledgment that the church doesn’t have a similar sort of intensity as Ultima proposes to him that believing in the church might not be so effective at all. Because there is no living proof of God’s miracles, Antonio is conflicted whether to trust in the church ways or trust in Ultimas blessings.

At this point, after witnessing the golden carp, he is not too worried about sinning and going against his God that he believed in. Antonio sees the Golden Carp for the first time and realizes that it’s more like a holy figure than everyone believed. This new pagan god is as amazing to Antonio as the Catholic God, which gives Antonio inner conflict. He’s seen the truth from Ultimas power, and the possibility of the Golden carp just strengthens the possibility of something different out there other than what he’s found out from his mom and in the church.  

Essay on ‘Bless Me Ultima’ Dialectical Journal

 Chapter 1

  • (summary/ important events)

Throughout these pages, he dreams about his birth and in that dream he had specific people in it. Later on, he asked his mom if the people he had in his dream were actually there. His mom said yes, but was a concern in why he was asking so many questions This dream kinda made me believe that he has some kind of gift. Maybe a gift of remembering things from the past by using his dreams. Or he probably dreamed about this because the curandera was present in his birth, and since a curandera uses “magic” and witchcrafts maybe is a sign by her appearing in his dreams.

Chapter 2

  • Ultimas presence
  • Lupito’s death

“I had started praying to myself from the moment I heard the first shot, and I never stopped praying until I reached home. Over and over through my mind ran the words of the Act of contrition” pg 23

  • Ultima’s presence:

The arrival of ultima at their house had some benefits.. Such as having more free time, for example, the brothers now have more time to play together because of ultima. Not only últimas presence benefited the kids but the parents as well. They now have someone in the house who she could talk too and relate too with certain things.

  • Quote:

In this chapter, we see Lupito’s death. Antonio was present when he got killed and since Antonio is a young kid this event could eventually stick with him for a long period of time. I believe that this event will not leave Antonio’s mind because in the quote it said, “I never stopped praying until I reached home”, when I read this I noticed that he began to pray right away. Praying in occasions like this most lily means that you are trying to forget or praying for what you saw. This event could be one tragic event out of many more (maybe) that could stick to him as a significant event or symbol.

Chapter 3

“I wanted to not think anymore of what i had seen last night” pg31

  • Quote:

In the quote it shows how traumatized Antonio is, antonio keeps replaying the event of Lupito’s death and can’t stop thinking about it. This quote shows how much Antonio overthinks and how much he dreams about certain events over and over again.

  • Summary/important events in book:

In this chapter, Antonio is obviously still thinking about Lupito’s death because he is kind of traumatized by the event. Antonio starts to think about what happen or what would happen to the person who killed Lupita. In this chapter, we can see Antonio making a lot of questions about a lot of stuff. Specially ultima, antonio was questioning últimas powers and he wanted to know the secrets

Chapter 4

“I wonder which life i will choose?”

  • Quote:

In this quote we can see Antonio really thinking about what he wants to become in the future. Throughout the book Antonio gets lots of pressure, especially from family members. Antonio’s mother wants him to be a priest, others want him to be a Luna or vaquero. Antonio at this moment has lots of pressure and isn’t sure what he wants to choose

  • Summary/ important events in the book:

One important thing that happened in this chapter is that Antonio finally got a bonding moment with Ultima, they both go and get plants for her “magic”.Ultima eventually gives Antonio some kind of advice and skills. Another thing that happens in this chapter is another dream, this dream involved Antonio’s mother wanting him to become a priest. Maybe this is some kind of sign.

Chapter 5

“My uncle had come for us. Of all my uncles I loved my uncle pedro the most”

  • Quote:

This quote shows how much Antonio loves Pedro. I believe that Antonio has some sort of connection with his uncle. I think that Pedro could be one person who understands Antonio and who is willing to help when antonio needs it.

  • Summary/ important events in the book:

In this chapter Antonio meets uncle pedro, antonios moms brother. Pedro is luna, and since antonios moms family is popular because they were the lunas, they hope that Antonio can turn into a luna. The fact that antonio has a lot of paths to take for his future. This is a big step for him and so far he has gotten a lot of pressure in what he should be.

Chapter 6

“I felt Ultimas hand on my head and at the same time I felt a great force, like a whirlwind, swirl about me.” pg 55

  • Quote:

This quote shows how strong the connection between Antonio and Ultima can be because of the word”Force” in that sentence. The phrase “great force” shows some sort of connection between them.

  • Summary/ important events in book:

In this chapter, Antonio goes to school and he is very nervous and has lots of mixed emotions. During this event, his parents fight again because they were discussing Antonio’s future or what he should do or be in the future. One thing that impacts him in this chapter was ultima’s blessing before leaving school, this made him feel a lot of different emotions, he didn’t know what to feel about that. At school, he is made fun of because he doesn’t know how to speak English, read or write, and he is made fun of. Although he is made fun of at school, he finds friends and finds out he isn’t alone after all.

Chapter 7

  • Quote:
  • Summary/ important events of the book:

In this chapter they find out that war has ended and that everyone is coming back home. Antonio’s brothers come back from war and his mother is extremely happy to see them back. After his brothers came home, antonio’s father starts thinking about moving to cali.

Chapter 8

  • Quote:

“would they always be lost to me? I wanted to cry after them, I bless you”

  • Summary/ important events of the book:

In this chapter Antonio finds out that his brothers don’t wanna stay in town and want to move somewhere else. Antonio gets sad because he feels like he’s going to lose them again, and has a feeling that he’s not going to see his brothers ever again.

Chapter 9

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because war made men out of us too fast..” pg 74

  • Quote:

In this quote for me was a bit confusing because I wasn’t sure what “war made men out of us”. Does it mean that war created “man” or war ended “men” in some way. I wasn’t sure if this was some kind of metaphor or symbol or any kind of meaning.

  • Summary:

Antonio starts to have thoughts about his innocence. He also finds out that he will be skipping a grade. This is a big step because he felt like he was smart and it was a big step in his life.

Chapter 10

“And if people say you walk in the footsteps of a curandera, will you be ashamed?”

“No I will be proud, Ultima” pg 90

  • Quote:

In the quote we see Ultima and Antonio having a close connection with each other, they have gotten closer and stronger. And we can see that Ultima trust Antonio, especially because she took him with her to go cure lucas which is probably an important step.

  • Summary:

In this chapter, we find out that Lucas is cursed and people think he might die. And ultima, being a curandera, goes and cures Lucas with Antonio. But taking Antonio was not good because the bad vibes in Lucas passed to Antonio. But eventually, they both come out healthy at the end.

Chapter 11

“Excruciating pain broke and I sweated Blood” pg 120

  • Quote:

In this quote i wasn’t sure on what “sweated blood” menats, because obviously it didn’t actually mean sweating blood. I believe this is some kind of symbol since this was happening in his dreams. His dreams usually open up a new idea or new chapter in his life.

  • Summary:

In this chapter, Antonio goes to the garden with cico and notice a golden carp arrive. Antonio sees a “god”, antonio also finds out that only a few see the golden carp. Maybe this is a sign that antonio is special and can see certain things because of it.

Chapter 12

“Ultima told me stories and legends of my ancestors. From her I learned the glory and tragedy of the history of my people, and came to understand how that history stirred in my blood.”

  • Quote:

In this quote Antnio learns about his history and who he is. The history of his family helps him understand who he is and why things happen. And knowing his family’s history, helped him look at the bigger picture and opened up.

  • Summary:

In this chapter they argue about if últimas actually a which. But eventually, they convinced each other that ultima isn’t a which but just a person who cures. Also ultima is very helpful around the house because it helps their mother have someone to talk too.

Chapter 13

“Perhaps the best god would be a woman, because only woman really knew how to forgive” pg 137

  • Quote:

I wasn’t sure why Antonio thought that woman only knew how to forgive. Was it because Ultima is a woman? Because he has gotten a strong connection with ultima that has impacted him in thinking that women know how to forgive?

  • Summary:

In this chapter, the whole family visits the family side of the mom. During the trip to find out a lot of stuff but at the end they find out that they want antonio to come back. They want antonio to come back during the summer. They want to teach him how to be a farmer.

Chapter 14

(quote is too long, it’s on page 165 on the top)

“Had I already lost my innocence? How?………..How had I sinned?”

  • Quote:

In this quote I noticed that Antonio was questioning his innocence because he had seen many awful things. And since his a young kid, these thoughts could affect his innocence and his way of interacting with certain people. This might be an important step for him since he has seen many awful hing in his life, ever since Ultima because part of his life.

  • Summary:

One big event that happened in this chapter is another death. Teronio kills Narciso and antonio thinks that he will be killed as well, but thankfully I wasn’t. This tragedy was shocking because antonio wasn’t expecting it. This is the second murder antonio has seen, and since antonio is a young kid, these events could affect him mentally and emotionally.