Characters: Ultima- An old Curandera who comes to spend her last days with Antonio and his family. She is Tony's mentor and helps him to find the right path for his life.

Antonio Marez- A young boy who is torn between his parents: a Marez and a Luna. But with the help of Ultima, he discovers his own destiny. He thirsts for knowledge: he is a curios boy, an outstanding student, and a questioning worshiper.

Maria Luna - Antonio's mother. A kind woman who's one dream is to see her youngest son become a priest. She is obsessed with his education and pushes him to learn about the culture of her family, the Lunas.

Gabriel Marez- Antonio's father. A proud man, a carefree rancher on the plains who tends to push his son away from his mother's protective arms. He is often depressed because he gave up his lifestyle for his wife. His dream in to move to California.

Lupito- A man turned mad by the happenings of the war who kills the sherriff of the town in cold blood. It is his blood that first defiles the river. The memor

Other significant imagery: In the novel Rudolfo Anaya uses imagery to give you a feel of the enivironment in which the story takes place. His ellaborate description of the llano shows you the beauty of Spanish America and helps you to understand the restless culture of the vaqueros who wander across it. Also, Anaya gives you a detailed description of El Puerto. The village in which the Lunas reside. The imagery in this description also helps you to understand the culture of the farmers, the calm and quiet people who plant their crops by the light of the moon and live in peace. Imagery plays and important role in this novel because without it, certain aspects such as the point of views of both the Lunas and the Marez faimy, would never be understood .

In the beginning of the story, Ultima is called to the home of Tony's grandfather to cure his cursed uncle. She relieves him of his curse and also curses the three witches that wished him harm. Later on, one of the witches becomes ill and her father, Tenorio, swears to avenge the coming death of his daughter by killing Ultima, who he believes to be an evil witch. During this Narciso, the town drunk swears to protect Ultima until he is killed by Tenorio in cold blood. Tenorio then tries other ways to bring harm to Ultima but fails miserably.

Then finally, he discovers the secret to her power: the owl. He then tries to kill Tony while telling him what he plans to do to Ultima. Tony runs to his home from El Puerto to warn Ultima of Tenorio's evil doing but is too late. Tenorio kills the owl. But he is then killed by Tony's Uncle Pedro. Sadly, Ultima dies along with her owl.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Las Lunas-, Ultimately Tony, California Lupito-, Golden Carp, Marez Luna, Versus Evil-, El Puerto, Settings Llano-, Outline Tony, Ultima Marez, golden carp, cold blood, bless ultima, people town, el puerto, rudolfo anaya, town drunk, throughout book, tenorio cold blood, helps understand, death daughters, cure cursed uncle, killed tenorio cold, golden carp pagan, cultures mother father,
Approximate Word count = 2138
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)