Bless Me, Ultima by Rudulfo Anaya Rudulfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima is about a young protagonist, Antonio and his coming-of-age. The story is also about Ultima, a curandera, who helps Antonio mature by guiding, mentoring and protecting him. The novel succeeds in reflecting Chicano culture of the 1940s in the rural parts of New Mexico, “Guadalupe”. Anaya uses myths, cultural motifs s and curandera customs like the gathering and use of medicinal herbs to show the readers how indigenous cultural traditions can influence people. Bless Me, Ultima is about the spiritual transformation of a young boy confused by the societal and cultural changes that took place during World War II. The novel succeeds in making people sensitive towards people
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Contradictions such as good vs. evil, the Golden Carp vs. the Christian God, Ultima 's knowledge and methods of learning vs. the Church 's or the school 's way of knowing and learning illustrated in the book reflect how the beliefs and thoughts of the whites differed from that of the indigenous people. As Anna Nieto Gomez (pg.57) in the short stories, “Legacy of Suffering and Self denial” has rightly said, “The roots of the psyche of la Chicana lies deep within the colonial period in Mexico”, These contradictions reflect political conquest and colonization that in the first instance put the Spanish ways of thinking, believing, and doing in the power position relative to those of the indigenous/Maya …show more content…
He uses legends and myths to explain nature’s forces. One such legend is the Legend of the Golden Carp. The Legend of the Golden Carp renewed Antonio’s faith and made him realize that pagan legends are not in conflict with the Catholic ideology. On the other hand they help you to understand it .The Legend of the Golden Carp taught him the way to reconcile paganism with Catholicism. Antonio learnt about the Legend of the Carp about the same time he was learning about Catholic religion. The legend helped in building his faith. It did not force him to give up one philosophy for the sake of another. Through it he attains a better understanding of God.
Contradictions such as good vs. evil, the Golden Carp vs. the Christian God, Ultima 's knowledge and methods of learning vs. the Church 's or the school 's way of knowing and learning illustrated in the book reflect how the beliefs and thoughts of the whites differed from that of the indigenous people. As Anna Nieto Gomez (pg.57) in the short stories, “Legacy of Suffering and Self denial” has rightly said, “The roots of the psyche of la Chicana lies deep within the colonial period in Mexico”, These contradictions reflect political conquest and colonization that in the first instance put the Spanish ways of thinking, believing, and doing in the power position relative to those of the indigenous/Maya …show more content…
He uses legends and myths to explain nature’s forces. One such legend is the Legend of the Golden Carp. The Legend of the Golden Carp renewed Antonio’s faith and made him realize that pagan legends are not in conflict with the Catholic ideology. On the other hand they help you to understand it .The Legend of the Golden Carp taught him the way to reconcile paganism with Catholicism. Antonio learnt about the Legend of the Carp about the same time he was learning about Catholic religion. The legend helped in building his faith. It did not force him to give up one philosophy for the sake of another. Through it he attains a better understanding of God.