Bless Me Ultima - Book Report/Review Example

Such knowledge has, in turn helped us prepare for eventualities at short notice. Early warning systems today sound the alarm for impending earthquakes or tsunamis. For all the depth and breadth of man’s learning, however, the questions that remain unresolved are those that involve his sheer existence (Caroline, Harry & Michael, 2001). What makes these elements hidden at the deepest recesses of our being more inaccessible to those found in the deepest seas? What turns a basic part of our own being into an anatomical equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle?

Its content mocks discovery, its workings defy common logic. All these were well known to young psychology student James Joyce. His incurable curiosity coupled with an unyielding spirit earned him the nickname ‘Socrates’. Unlike more illustrious namesake, however, he was disposed to seek the intervention of others when he couldn’t generate the answers all by himself. This was quite contrary to his Greek forerunner who was reputed for entirely generating ‘truth’ by depending entirely on his inner resources.

It was this quality that led him to his 70 year old professor. He sought an appointment and a meeting was slated for early the next day. Morning came. He was up early. He adored the habit of rising before the rest of the world, but it had not been easy to come by. This bit of self improvement had been picked from a book he had read a few months earlier. Most mornings he was half awake at the self-appointed hour. However, much the mind was determined to fight off sleep, the body was not quick to follow.

Why could so many disharmonies exist in a body that was expected to work as a single unit? This was a question he could never get an answer to, no matter how hard he tried. Perhaps, the professor could. In the meantime, he had proven that any man’s greatest battles were against him. After reciting and mastering his questions well, he set off for the date. The session was friendly, the atmosphere congenial, and the weather perfect. He posed his questions in the order he had drafted them. However, soon the discussion began to drift out of its premeditated limits.

New elements formed strong connections with those he was more interested in; and it was going to take enormous willpower to disrupt a conversation moving so gracefully. It wasn’t enough to disrupt such a captivating conversation merely in the interests of dutifully sticking to a script. A script he had written himself after all. They decided to talk about things touching on their everyday lives. His mind wandered a lot. Perhaps, human beings were created to do what felt good not what was right, he thought.

With time, his line of thought drifted so far away from his well wide off his line of questioning. His mind swelled with questions and only when he thought it could burst at the seams did he come back to his senses. He stood and headed for the door. He considered making a future appointment to resolve his remaining questions but decided against it. He had found his answer. The nature of life and that of the individual was not to be found in the best books or in the brightest minds. It had to be found in life itself.

It had to be found in living. Description of the narrative In Bless Me Ultima, the protagonist, Antonio Menez, is taken through an emotional and psychological roller coaster. There is no firm or harmonized identity engrained in him from a very young age. He is exposed to conflicting ideas on