Term Paper; Bless Me Ultima

Summary

Taking place in Gaudalupe during World War II, the novels follows the struggles of Antonio Márez. It begins when a curandera, named Ultima, had come to live with Tony’s family when he was six years old. As Antonio grows up through the novel, he finds that he must choose between two completely opposite families from which he was born in: the Márez; wild and untamed vaqueros from Antonio's father's side, and the Lunas; quiet, religious farmers from whom his mother descended. While his father wanted him to make his own choices in the future, his mother’s dream was for him to become a Catholic priest. But over the course of the novel, Tony became disillusioned with faith and through Ultima, learns of the broad awareness and possibilities of other gods, such as the Golden Carp. Throughout most of the novel is spent with Tony trying to reconcile Native American religion with traditional Roman Catholicism, much like him reconciling the Lunas and the Márez. What else happened in the story is that Tony starts asking questions concerning evil, justice and the nature of God. He even witnesses many violent deaths that had forces him to mature and face the reality of life much earlier. Ultimately, the Catholic Church, dominated by female imagery, by concentrating on the Virgin Mary and a vengeful Father God, on ritual and superficiality, is unable to answer Antonio's questions. Realizing that the Roman Catholic Church represents the female values of his mother, Antonio cannot bring himself to accept the lawlessness, violence and unthinking sensuality which his father and older brothers symbolize. Instead through his relationship with Ultima, he discovers a oneness with nature.

Personal Response

The novel is very intriguing to me. I don’t normally find myself hooked to a book like this. But when I had started reading, I couldn’t stop myself from reading as much as I could. The events that took place in the story had a great effect on Antonio, especially him...