Transition To Adulthood In Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

The transition to adulthood is tough and usually changes who people are permanently. In Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya shows how Antonio Marez is forced to grow up due to the violence surrounding the little town he lives in and the two sided conflict in his life. Antonio’s mother wants him to be a priest while his father wants him to live the life of a wild vaquero. He is not able to find his own way to cope with all of the surrounding madness due to his family pulling him in every direction. In contrast, in Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha a young son decides on his own to go on a journey to find himself and reach Nirvana. Siddhartha decides to follow his own feelings and is not controlled by anyone. While the protagonists take different approaches …show more content…
Antonio is content with his life at the beginning of the novel. He lives a quiet life with his parents and siblings in the small town of Guadalupe. The murder of local citizen Lupito begins a downward spiral of violence which is a sign of growing up in Guadalupe. Antonio was at the bridge when the manhunt for Lupito was going on and “saw Lupito murdered” (Anaya 33). He thinks about the events of that night and is worried and self conscious. He does some soul searching and wonders about what he is becoming. Antonio begins to mature and things really begin to change. As a result Antonio has to begin going to school. This really affects him and “when [he] thought of leaving [his] mother and going to school a warm, sick feeling came to [his] stomach” (Anaya 7). He physically isn’t able to bear the thought of leaving his family at home. His hidden built up fear is beginning to show for the first time. Antonio, who is extremely independent throughout this point in the novel, appears dependent on others for the first time. His actual age begins to show and he doesn’t want to leave his mother’s side.. The violence and behavior of the local townspeople has shown Antonio the dark side of Guadalupe and he doesn’t feel ready to begin to face the outside world on his own. Antonio is scared of changing but realizes that he has to “grow up and be a man” (Anaya 62). All the men in Guadalupe are hardened and …show more content…
Antonio is slowly losing his innocence. Antonio is not the little and naive boy that he used to be. He is scared about what the future holds and what he is becoming. On the other hand Siddhartha feels excitement toward change. Siddhartha is not content with his life, is looking for more and wants change. Compared to the other members of his community Siddhartha’s life is perfect. He is the spoiled and rich son of a Brahman with a loyal best friend. Siddhartha lacks nothing