Bless Me, Ultima

Fay Weldon once wrote that writers who offer a happy ending with moral reconciliation or spiritual reassessment receive better responses. The author, Rudolfo Anaya, embraces this technique in his book, Bless Me, Ultima. To achieve his purpose of spiritual reassessment, Anaya uses various rhetorical devices such as symbolism, irony, and characterization.

Anaya uses symbolism throughout his entire novel and it shows spiritual reassessment for Tony, the protagonist. The Golden Carp and Ultima’s owl are some examples he uses. The Golden Carp, a fish God, represents a magical religion not connected to Catholicism. Tony was raised a Catholic. At first, Tony rejects the idea that there could be another God other than his, but as time passes he begins to accept the possibility that he could be wrong. As Tony’s curiosity of the magic fish grows, he feels he is abandoning his God. His interaction with the Golden Carp makes him feel comforted and guided and he tries to consider all aspects of both his religion and that of “carpism”. Ultima’s owl symbolizes her life force and the power of her magic. When her owl sings at night, Tony feels at peace. Its song symbolizes Ultima’s comforting presence in Tony’s life and the mysterious protective power of her magic. At the end of the novel, when Tenorio kills Ultima’s owl, it, in turn, kills her. When Tony buries the owl at the end of the novel he believes he is really burying Ultima. He thinks Ultima and her magic are like a religion, one that can overpower his Catholic God. Three different religions he copes with, trying to understand and decide just what he will believe in.

Another rhetorical device Anaya uses to give a spiritual reassessment is irony. Two occurrences are Tony’s first communion and Florence’s death. Tony believed when he “swallowed God” at his first communion, he would receive all the knowledge of God. All the years leading up to his first communion, he believed he would receive answers to all of his questions...