The Myth of the Golden Carp - Essay Example

The myth of the Golden Carp and its significance in Antonio spiritual coming of age in ‘Anayas Bless Me, Ultima’ Rudolfo Anaya’s novel, “Bless Me, Ultima” has often been regarded as one of the most challenged books in the U.S. The novel has acclaimed wider publication thanks to its themes and variety presentation, accompanied with various myths and religious beliefs. Myth, at once ‘providing cultural back ground of the community described and directly helping Antonio in his individual development’ (Bless Me, Ultima Study Guide). The novel is centered on Antonio Juan Marez, the protagonist of the novel. The plot traces the spiritual journey of a young boy [Antonio] torn between Catholicism and mysticism, a struggle which Anaya admits experiencing during his own youth (Anaya, X). Antonio feels difficulty to lead a life in between the conflicts of his father’s and mother families, namely, the Marez and the Juans. These conflicts, along with his mother persuasion to make him a Catholic priest and his father’s wish to join him with the Marez, wild and untamed vaqueros, also poses several questions in Antonio’s mind and seeks answers to all these questions with the help of Ultima, the Curandera—the traditional folk healer. An overview of the novel clearly brings out the role of myth which predominates from the beginning to the end. The purpose of the study is to unveil the significance of the myth of golden carp on Antonio and explore its significance in Antonios spiritual coming of age. Among the different myths used in the novel, one can see that the myth of the golden carp plays a decisive role in determining or guiding the story. “The myth of the golden carp is certainly the most significant myth used in the novel, particularly because it helps to elucidate Antonio’s increasing anxiety and eventual acceptance of the differing religious beliefs that he encounters” (Bless Me, Ultima Study Guide). The role of the minor myths on the novel also is not negligible as they help the readers to have glimpse of Mexican –American culture. When tracing the origin of the myths, it leads us to Aztec Mythology of Mexican-American culture which supported polytheism. Antonio had to meet many different kinds of myth all through the novel and each had a dominant influence in his character formation. The myth of the golden carp brings new perspectives to Antonio when he identifies it as different from Catholicism. The myth of golden carp was takes substance from the Aztec legend according to which, “there were four ages of the world or “suns” before the present world, each of which was destroyed by an individual apocalypse. The four ages were called “Tiger Sun,” “Wind Sun,” “Rain Sun,” and “Water Sun” (Bless Me, Ultima Study Guide). As per this legend, the heavy flood in the world turned all the people to fish, expect a man and his wife who prevented the world from total destruction, and became the parents of the fifth generation of people. This myth is really comparable with Noah’ Arc in the Bible. Regarding Antonio’s spiritual coming of age, one can see that Antonio, confronted with many conflicts and deaths, had well trained to balance his beliefs and family expectations, especially the conflicts between his father and mother. “On a spiritual level, the conflict as interpreted by Antonio, is between Ultima and God—good versus evil or myth (as in the golden carp and the mermaids) versus history” (Kevane 36). The novel clearly expresses Antonio’s ability to settle all the disputes and create a harmonious blending of beliefs which will lead him to his future. Above all, the refrain of Ultima to maintain the harmony of the world also moved Antonio. He could certainly draw examples from Ultima, who, with her life reminded the necessity of maintaining harmony in the world. Ultima was well aware of the fact that she and Tenorio disrupted the harmony of the world and as such, their deaths were sufficient to bring back that lost balance. Antonio’ nightmare, the sight of the destruction of the fifth world is also symbolical to the Aztec beliefs, that is, the fifth age of the world also will face massive destruction. There appears the golden carp in Antonio’s dream and Antonio sees the birth of new world and new sun. This is also symbolical to Antonio who decides to maintain the harmony of the world by filtering the good sides of different belief systems. The novelist brings to the readers the reality that destruction will result a new creation—reminding the cycle of birth and death. To conclude, one can infer that the myth of the golden carp has exerted a tremendous influence in Antonio’s decisions to maintain the harmony of the world by ignoring the controversial ways of his father. Antonio, with his quality of mind, could make his father change his decisions. It is the dream of the myth of golden carp and the ending words of Ultima turns him entirely to spirituality. Analysis of the novel also brings out the autobiographical elements of the writer. The autobiographical elements become important as Anaya could covey his own childhood experiences and it provides the readers some realistic pictures. The words of Kevine makes the influence of the golden carp on Antonio when he says, “Antonio fights evil forces like Trementina witches, who cast a deadly spell on his uncle; he experiences a magical moment with the golden carp; and he witnesses life in inanimate objects (Kevane 35). Thus it is clear that the myth of the golden carp has totally changed Antonio’s character who found out answers to the moral questioning he asked for himself. He has clearly identified the difference between the Pagan worship and Christian method of worship that lead him to the eventual acceptance of the different types of religious worships. It is also notable that the myth of golden carp helped Antonio to elucidate his increasing anxiety in the so called differences in the ideologies and belief systems of different religions. Works Cited: Anaya A. Rudolfo., Dick, Bruce., Sirias, Silvio. Conversations with Rudolfo Anaya. Illustrated, Univ. Press of Mississippi. 1998. Print. Bless Me, Ultima Study Guide, GradeSaver LLC. 2010. Web. 29 Sep. 2010. Kevane A. Bridget. Latino literature in America. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2003. Print. Read More