Analysis of the Book Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya - Essay Example

In his search for identity, Antonio struggles to find his personal belief and value system. Please investigate Antonio’s religious quest and discuss the juxtaposition of Catholicism, paganism, magic, mythology, and superstition in the novel The book, Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, one can say is about the war between one’s culture and tradition, which involves one’s pagan or shaman roots, with new technology as well as the new “formal” religions. Antonio, the main protagonist of the book, is only six when the narrative starts. It can be said that it is more of an account of his past, with him looking back to when he was 6, and the events that happened then. However, as the title suggests, the book is more of an account of how Ultima, the curandera (the woman that cures), influenced Antonio’s thinking and his view of the world, in general, and religion, in particular. Antonio has a somewhat conflicting childhood, with his mother belonging to the Luna family who are mostly farmers and priests and who wants him to become a priest as well. Whereas his father belongs to the Márez clan, a family where roaming the earth and the freedom it gives are encouraged. Antonio is raised as a Catholic, which he adapts to so unquestioningly that at the small age of six he already decides to become a priest when he grows up. However, despite being Catholic, both his parents not only love, but also revere the curandera Ultima. She is someone who holds fast to the traditions of the people and is a healer, though not a witch, albeit she is accused of being so. Most of the people do not know how to react to her, as she has really good healing powers, almost to the point of people suspecting witchcraft. (Anaya, 1972) The first time doubts are raised in Antonio’s mind about his Catholic faith are when his friend tells him about the golden carp, a pagan god. The first thought that comes in his mind is if the God the Catholics pray to is the true God or not. He thinks, “If the golden carp was a god, who was the man on the cross, the Virgin? Was my mother praying to the wrong God?” (Anaya, 1972). Then, a little while later, when Ultima heals his uncle, whereas the Catholic priest and his prayers were ineffective, he again doubts his Catholic faith, “The power of God failed where Ultima's worked; and then a sudden illumination of beauty and understanding flashed through my mind. This is what I had expected God to do at my first holy communion!” (Anaya, 1972). To add more confusion to his already confused mind, a friend of Antonio’s, Florence, an agnostic or atheist, confronts him with challenging questions about Catholicism. All of his confusion is also depicted in Antonio’s dreams, something Anaya uses often to describe the inner turmoil of the boy. Finally, he has a nightmare, which involves both Catholic symbols – hell-fire, the voice of God etc. – and Aztec mythological symbols – a carp, rivers of blood etc. At the end of his dream, the carp swallows everything, the good, the bad, and the Catholic and Aztec symbols. However, this does not answer his questions about the harmony between both the beliefs, and he realizes that perhaps on his day of Communion the Holy Mother would talk to him and answer his questions. this turns into another disappointment as “A thousand questions pushed through my mind, but the Voice within me did not answer. There was only silence.” (Anaya, 1972). He seems to be lost, with no certain directions as to which path to choose. Antonio mind is divided between all these conflicting worlds and he does not seem to decide which worldview exactly to choose, and which worldview is correct. There are so many possibilities before him; however, it is hard for him to decide which of these is the correct one. He, in essence, is struggling with his religion and identity, and does not know which is more correct. He starts asking a lot of questions, questions that he could not answer on his own, “Could knowledge lead to damnation?” (Anaya, 1972), “Does only one God exist?” (Anaya, 1972), “Is there salvation for people who are not Catholics, like Ultima and for Protestants?” (Anaya, 1972), “Why does God allow badness to exist?” (Anaya, 1972). However, these questions of his remain unanswered completely. He discovers that there is no one truth, that there are certain seemingly conflicting things that are part of his culture and a part of him, and it is only when he acknowledges all of them that he will be able to make some sense of them all. “Take the llano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp — and make something new” (Anaya, 1972). It is then that Antonio realizes that it is possible to take everything together and make your own truth; that the chicano is a amalgamation of many beliefs, and that believing in one does not necessarily imply leaving the other. It is Ultima who directly and indirectly helps him understand that it is possible to believe in the old pagan beliefs in this age of new technology and formal religion. The novel uses a lot of Christian as well as pagan and mythical symbols. There are many questions raised by the novel regarding the ultimate truth of life, and how one set of beliefs cannot possibly answer all the questions a man may have. For instance, Florence’s question to Antonio about Catholicism, “You mean I can do a million bad things and then when I'm about to die I just go to confession and make communion, and I go to heaven," (Anaya, 1972), Antonio answers in the affirmative, though in his heart he thinks it is unfair, and it adds to the already long list of questions he wants answers to. There is a lot of Aztec mythology used in the novel, which is a part of chicano tradition, with the carp and the rivers of blood that Antonio’s friend tells him about and which Antonio sees in his dream. There is a need to understand that albeit Antonio’s people have embraced Catholicism as their religion, however, their roots still lay in the pagan traditions of yore, as well as the Nahua tradition, which Ultima represents. The novel puts forward a very interesting question regarding the importance of these religious as well as traditional beliefs for the chicano who are somehow pulled towards two worlds and somehow cannot find their place in this age of new technology; a world where paganism and mythology are often looked down upon as mere superstitions and false beliefs that hold people down instead of letting them move forward. However, there is an attempt to answer that question too; “Around me the moonlight glittered on the pebbles of the llano, and in the night sky a million stars sparkled” (Anaya, 1972). This shows how Antonio suggests that the beliefs of his parents (the moonlight representing his mother’s Luna clan, and the llano, his father’s) are actually a part of something that is one in reality, and they need not be separated with only one belief being right and the other wrong. Just like that, the novel suggests that there is no need to abandon’s one set of beliefs for another, the chicano can exist and flourish by combining these beliefs. These beliefs seem contradictory on the outside, yet it is when one embraces each and every aspect of his life and beliefs, whether they be mythological in nature or technological, that one can find his own true identity. Anaya has strived to explain how, in this day and age, when religion is often considered to be divorced from mythology or when mythological religions are looked down upon, there are certain lessons to be learned from the mythological cultures, even if those cultures have been overcome by the modern religions (in this case Christianity). The need for finding a balance between Christianity and the mythological religion of the Chicanos is important, and somehow it is through the Chicano religion that Antonio finally finds a balance between his old traditions and new life. References: Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima. TQS Publications, 1972. Bauder, Thomas A. “The Triumph of White Magic in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima.” Mester: Revista Literaria de los Estudiantes Graduados 1.XIV (1985): 41 – 54 Lamadrid, Enrique R. “Myth as the Cognitive Process of Popular Culture in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima: The Dialectics of Knowledge.” Hispania 68.3(1985): 496 – 501 Tonn, Horst. “Bless Me, Ultima: A Fictional Response to Times of Transition.” Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies 18.1 (1987): 59 – 68 Read More