Bless Me Ultima 2
Children believe what their parents tell them but as they get older they start to question that which used to be unquestionable. Bless Me, Ultima is a novel by Rudolfo Anaya about a young Chicano boy, Antonio Juan Marez y Luna, who is growing up and seeing the world for how cruel it really is. A wise old curandera, or faith healer, Ultima, arrives just before Tony receives his first glimpse into the world of men. Ultima gives Tony spiritual healing throughout the book, as well as advice to keep him in harmony with nature and his spirit. The more Tony sees of death in the little town of Guadalupe, New Mexico, the more he questions the Christian God and turns towards the golden carp, a pagan god of the river. Rudolfo Anaya is indicating that each man must choose his own religion and destiny, by depicting the changes Tony feels after the deaths of Lupito, Narciso and Florence. Beforehand, Tony never questioned his faith but as each person died Tony turned farther and farther away from Catholicism and eventually even away from the pagan religion. Tony questioned his destiny and effectiveness as a priest, had doubts of the Catholic God and eventually of everything he had ever believed in, as Anaya shows that one strict religion
The next step in Tony's spiritual journey begins when Tony sees another god and wonders whether this god is any kinder to his people than God. Tony believed that God should have forgiven Narciso for his sins and not Tenorio because Tony was partial to Narciso. God is not partial and when he gives forgiveness to one man he must also give it to another, but Tony does not like this. God's response was "I will...if you also ask me to forgive Tenorio." (173) Tony can't believe that his God would think of forgiving an evil man like Tenorio. Once Narciso dies and Tony sees the beauty of the golden carp Tony starts to wonder even more whether God is really as good and wonderful as Tony has been taught he is. Tony starts to doubt and question the God that before had been unquestionable, showing that maybe what is first believed isn't always right. Tony has "...doubted the Lord!" (174) because he starts to think that maybe the golden carp is a better god. Tony starts to see the golden carp as a new god, and a way to bring goodness to the people by shining its light upon the earth. The sun is a symbol of God because the sun brings life and joy to everything and can also be cruel and harsh. When there is a new sun, there is a new god that will shine a light upon the people and hopefully enlighten them to what they're doing wrong, but it will also bring with it new cruelty's that The first step in Tony's spiritual journey is when he questions his family's long-standing belief in the Catholic religion and his own destiny to follow their dreams of him becoming a priest. Tony doubts his abilities as a priest, even though he is not one, because his mother dreams for him to become a priest. Subsequently, he believes that he should have been able to save Lupito's soul from wandering the river, because he will one day be required to. Whereas, "A priest could have saved Lupito." (23), Tony feels guilty that he wasn't able to fulfill his duty even though it wasn't his. This shows that the destiny at first laid out by Catholicism may not be the one that is best suited to Tony. By not saving Lupito or his soul, the town Tony lives in is no longer pure in his eyes. The river is the lifeline of the town and once it is stained then the town will also be tainted with the murder of Lupito. Tony asks, "How would I ever wash away the stain of blood from the sweet waters of my river!" (23), and in doing so also questions why God puts such obstacles in the paths of innocent people. The Catholic God, it seems, is cruel and not as perfect as possibl
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Approximate Word count = 1726
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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