The first theme that draws religious significance is of the three deaths. Antonio (Tony) Marez is a small boy, at the young age of six. He faces many difficult challenges that he must overcome using his wits and his faith as the story progresses. Of the many themes that can be drawn from this book, a few stand out as most important to the future of Tony.

The most important events Tony faces in the story are the three un-natural deaths he witnesses. The deaths are used as symbols in their story. The way each death occurred and the reactions all symbolize Tony's ongoing maturity as the story progresses. The first of these deaths is the killing of Lupito.

Lupito is described as a man who is mentally unbalanced after returning from the war. As the commotion starts, Chavez tells us that his brother,

the sheriff, has been shot and killed by Lupito. Tony's father joins the small mob that goes to hunt Lupito, and Tony makes his way down to the river, finding himself almost face to face with Lupito. As Tony crouches in the bushes, he sees Lupito fire his gun into the air, drawing fire from the mob on the bridge. Lupito falls over dead after being shot many times. Tony returns home and questions himself. Should he have helped? Should he have blessed Lupito? What could he have done to save Lupito's soul? These questions give us our first insight into the mind of young Tony. We see a young boy torn apart by the death of a man he did not know. And the reason he is so torn apart is because he thinks he could have done something to help save Lupito's soul from purgatory, or worse, hell.

Tenorio, the father of the three witches, one of whom has died, has threatened Ultima's life. Narciso is going across the bridge in a pretty large snow storm to warn Ultima of this. Tony, who is returning home from the Christmas play at school, is following Narciso. Suddenly, Tony hears a gunshot. He comes upon the scene and sees Narciso and Tenorio fist fighting. As the fight ends, Tenorio comes to his feet, leaving an almost dead Narciso on the ground. Tony gives Narciso his last living rites, much as a priest would do to someone on their deathbed. He holds Narciso as he dies and prays for his soul. This death is much more tragic than the death of Lupito. Tony knows and respects this man, and is forced to have to mourn along with bearing the weight of Narciso's soul on his shoulders.

The third un-natural death Tony is present at is the death of his young friend, Florence. Tony had become almost a spiritual mentor to Florence, who did not believe in anything. He did not believe in God, the Virgin, or the Golden Carp. Florence simply had no belief to live by. This alone perplexed Tony like nothing else ever had. He embraced Florence and accepted him as his friend. He told Florence of God, and had planned to tell him of the carp. Florence drowned in the same waters the other boys saw the carp in. Tony had no chance to talk with Florence before he died, because, as Florence surfaced, he was already dead.

Anaya shows that he is questioning by modeling Antonio after himself. We see that Anaya ha

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Approximate Word count = 1548
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)