Bless Me Ultima 2 Essay Research Paper

Bless Me Ultima 2 Essay, Research Paper

Children believe what their parents tell them but as they get older they start to question that which used to be unquestionable. Bless Me, Ultima is a novel by Rudolfo Anaya about a young Chicano boy, Antonio Juan Marez y Luna, who is growing up and seeing the world for how cruel it really is. A wise old curandera, or faith healer, Ultima, arrives just before Tony receives his first glimpse into the world of men. Ultima gives Tony spiritual healing throughout the book, as well as advice to keep him in harmony with nature and his spirit. The more Tony sees of death in the little town of Guadalupe, New Mexico, the more he questions the Christian God and turns towards the golden carp, a pagan god of the river. Rudolfo Anaya is indicating that each man must choose his own religion and destiny, by depicting the changes Tony feels after the deaths of Lupito, Narciso and Florence. Beforehand, Tony never questioned his faith but as each person died Tony turned farther and farther away from Catholicism and eventually even away from the pagan religion. Tony questioned his destiny and effectiveness as a priest, had doubts of the Catholic God and eventually of everything he had ever believed in, as Anaya shows that one strict religion isn t always the right way or the only way.

The first step in Tony s spiritual journey is when he questions his family s long-standing belief in the Catholic religion and his own destiny to follow their dreams of him becoming a priest. Tony doubts his abilities as a priest, even though he is not one, because his mother dreams for him to become a priest. Subsequently, he believes that he should have been able to save Lupito s soul from wandering the river, because he will one day be required to. Whereas, A priest could have saved Lupito. (23), Tony feels guilty that he wasn t able to fulfill his duty even though it wasn t his. This shows that the destiny at first laid out by Catholicism may not be the one that is best suited to Tony. By not saving Lupito or his soul, the town Tony lives in is no longer pure in his eyes. The river is the lifeline of the town and once it is stained then the town will also be tainted with the murder of Lupito. Tony asks, How would I ever wash away the stain of blood from the sweet waters of my river! (23), and in doing so also questions why God puts such obstacles in the paths of innocent people. The Catholic God, it seems, is cruel and not as perfect as possibly believed. By growing up

and becoming a man, boys witness acts of sin and commit a few acts themselves. Tony has witnessed sin but he is not a man because he has not committed any sins or seen enough to really understand the world he is living in. Tony is taught that, It was a sin to grow up and be a man. (31), by listening to his mother, and realizes that one day he would be grown up and lose his innocence to become a man. Because of this Tony sees how cruel God can be by putting boys on earth to grow up and become men. Tony asks whether his destiny and faith are the ones he wants to believe in and begins his journey towards changing his spiritual beliefs, and the golden carp only reinforces these doubts that Tony is just beginning to realize.

The next step in Tony s spiritual journey begins when Tony sees another god and wonders whether this god is any kinder to his people than God. Tony believed that God should have forgiven Narciso for his sins and not Tenorio because Tony was partial to Narciso. God is not partial and when he gives forgiveness to one man he must also give it to another, but Tony does not like this. God s response was I will…if you also ask me to forgive Tenorio. (173) Tony can t believe that his God would think of forgiving an evil man like Tenorio. Once Narciso dies and Tony sees the beauty of the golden carp Tony starts to wonder even more whether God is really as good and wonderful as Tony has been taught he is. Tony starts to doubt and question the God that before had been unquestionable, showing that maybe what is first believed isn t always right. Tony has …doubted the Lord! (174) because he starts to think that maybe the golden carp is a better god. Tony starts to see the golden carp as a new god, and a way to bring goodness to the people by shining its light upon the earth. The sun is a symbol of God because the sun brings life and joy to everything and can also be cruel and harsh. When there is a new sun, there is a new god that will shine a light upon the people and hopefully enlighten them to what they re doing wrong, but it will also bring with it new cruelty s that

Tony does not foresee. With A new sun to shine its good light upon a new earth. (176) comes an ending and a new beginning for Tony to show that all things must come to an end, even beliefs. As Tony is jolted by the death of Narciso he doubts whether God exists and in doing so questions whether his beliefs of God have ever been justified.

Tony s final spiritual step has him questioning whether there really is a God because the religions he knows seem to be based on gods who don t reply. Tony s faith is being destroyed by the realization that the old gods and their religions are dying. God and the golden carp are both old gods and when they are gone Tony has nothing left to believe in because there will be no god. In Tony s dream, he believes The old gods are dying… (244) because he sees Cico kill