The world is filled with conflicting forces and imbalances. For millennia, civilizations have repeatedly tried to explain the idea of opposite sides and how they affect the world in which they exist. For example, Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang symbols represent the idea of perfect balance and harmony in Chinese culture, demonstrating the polar forces that create and explain the world. Yin stands for femininity and passiveness, while Yang stands for masculinity and activeness, much like the characters of María and Gabriel Márez in Bless Me Ultima. The devout and anti-vaquero Maria contrasts the untethered and practical Gabriel are frequently seen balancing each other out. Due to his parents’ divergent belief systems, Antonio experiences both inner conflict about his faith in God and self-discovery during his childhood.
Throughout his early life, Tony’s intense faith in God is shaped by María’s piety and …show more content…
The wide farms that she and her brothers tended to were replaced with a small garden outside the Márez residence, which María loathes. Her husband also taunted her religion, mocking priests and the “long skirts they wore” (29). She feels constricted by her husband’s countering of her wishes, and in turn desires to control her life once more by passing on the ideals of the Lunas on to her son, Tony. To make up for Gabriel’s lack of faith, the pious woman tells Tony that he will not be like a typical Márez, that he will be a “man of the people, and perhaps a priest” (9). Despite her best efforts to pass on her religious faith to Tony, his “Márez blood” still surfaces eventually, especially after meeting the golden carp. Upon encountering this holy fish, Tony immediately wonders if his “mother [is] praying to the wrong God” (81). Such questioning thoughts are cultivated by his father, who encourages him to find his own way in the world, and not to place too much trust in an invisible
Throughout his early life, Tony’s intense faith in God is shaped by María’s piety and …show more content…
The wide farms that she and her brothers tended to were replaced with a small garden outside the Márez residence, which María loathes. Her husband also taunted her religion, mocking priests and the “long skirts they wore” (29). She feels constricted by her husband’s countering of her wishes, and in turn desires to control her life once more by passing on the ideals of the Lunas on to her son, Tony. To make up for Gabriel’s lack of faith, the pious woman tells Tony that he will not be like a typical Márez, that he will be a “man of the people, and perhaps a priest” (9). Despite her best efforts to pass on her religious faith to Tony, his “Márez blood” still surfaces eventually, especially after meeting the golden carp. Upon encountering this holy fish, Tony immediately wonders if his “mother [is] praying to the wrong God” (81). Such questioning thoughts are cultivated by his father, who encourages him to find his own way in the world, and not to place too much trust in an invisible