Heritage in Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya

In Bless Me, Ultima, Antonio abandoned his youth and tried to accommodate his clashing social and religious personalities (Anaya 3). Besides being only six years of age when the story began, he had an excellent questioning mind, a lot of good interest in terms of moral curiosity, and gratefulness for the realities of life. Some of his qualities were typical to that of his age mates, for example, his anxiety to leave his mom to begin school. In different ways, Antonio was more of exceptional (Anaya 13). In this manner, he was exceptionally distinguished from other children, especially in the boisterous and profane gathering of his fellow colleagues and friends. Additionally, he was intensely delicate to his questionable spot on the planet, as he was caught between two contending social dreams. His dad was a vaquero who wanted him to ride the Llano so as to welcome the open prairie. His mother was a daughter of ranchers who wanted him to turn into a Catholic cleric. Antonio was profoundly grieved by his particular dubious fate; however, Ultima, who was a folk healer by then, guided him in his endeavors to comprehend the world.A

Conflicts between heritages of Antonio’s parents

Since they were devoted Catholic believers, Antonio’s family had a great hope that he would become a great priest in the future. The spiritual relations to the earth by then were greatly linked to the indigenous religion (Black 154). However, their profound devotion to Catholicism expressed the level in which the culture of the Europeans had influenced them. Maria’s family only planted by the moon’s cycles. For instance, Luna was a Spanish word they used to refer to the moon. It was symbolical and illustrated the depth of the spiritual magnitude that was within the family in terms of identity. Other than the wrangles between the indigenous religions and the Spanish, the Culture where Maria belonged contained elements that were harmonious in both cases (Black 150).

In contrary, the family of Gabriel favors the cowboy way of life “vaquero”.  For instance, the family is led by the same restless spirits and adventures that resulted in the driving of the Spaniards to the New World across the oceans. This was typically conveyed by the name of the family derived from the Spaniard words referring to oceans. Additionally, how Gabriel perceived the traditional culture deeply influenced the world. Just like the Luna family, Gabriel had great mystical and spiritual relationships with the land. Moreover, the Luna's considered the opportunity to establish towns with an aim of expanding Llano. However, Gabriel's family saw the Llano with deference and reverence. In other words, they wanted it to be preserved as it commemorated their hardships and struggle that they had endured (Black 148).

Antonio is compelled to give up his idealized picture of Andrew when both of them met at Rosie's home. Initially, at the time when Ernie teased Antonio regarding Andrew's visitation to the massage parlor, Antonio disregarded the remarks, declining to believe that his sibling visits a parlor. However, when Antonio and Andrew met face to face at the venue “the parlor”, he was compelled to acknowledge reality. This meeting made genuine a fantasy of Antonio's in which Andrew guaranteed never to enter the massage parlor until the innocence in Antonio was completely lost. In this manner, if Andrew's presence into the parlor implied that the fantasy had turned into a reality, Antonio too must have lost his honesty (Klein 21). In any case, the loss of innocence in Antonia doesn’t imply that he went against the traditional norms. It only indicated that Antonio was no more willfully ignorant about Andrew's conduct and that he recognized the force of physical craving, which Antonio would, in the long run, feel too.

Why Is Childhood Preferable To Adulthood?

Childhood age is more preferable to that of adulthood based on the ideology of decision making. For instance, Maria had a notion that as a child becomes an adult, the life experience, and acquired knowledge during the transition period helps in decision making. This is why she believes that for Antonio to be saved, he had to become a priest. Antonio's changing disposition toward nature mirrors the routes in which he is forming into an autonomous and a thoughtful young man. As a young person, Antonio's apprehension of the Llano shows his reliance on his family and his childhood status (Klein 21). Later, Ultima helps him value the regular magnificence of the natural beauty that his dad adored to such an extent. Her direction permitted Antonio to discover congruity between his clashing maternal and paternal heritages. This advancement hints Antonio’s idealistic end as a child.

However, it also proposed another time of trouble and clash that paralleled his transition far from the innocence of a child and toward a more grown-up astuteness. After he witnessed the passing of Lupito, Antonio got distracted with sin, loss of innocence and discipline. His encounter with thoughts of good and insidiousness manifested itself in his utilization of religion to attempt to comprehend the world. Additionally, he recited the Act of Contrition as he was running home, despite the fact that he didn’t comprehend its essential completeness (Testa 70). Besides, Lupito pressed him to take the metaphorical part of cleric when Lupito approaches him for a blessing. Antonio should suddenly manage the ethical hugeness of a grown-up predicament.

How Does Maria’s Childhood Influence Her Current Beliefs?

María relates growing up with figuring out on how to sin (Testa 77). However, Gabriel and Ultima’s perspective on growing up is that it is an unavoidable procedure that is neither great nor awful. María trusts that as a child transforms into an adult, s/he utilizes his/her background and insight to make crucial decisions. In this case, she believed that Antonio will be spared only if he turns into a cleric. She even wanted to go to Father Byrnes to examine Antonio's future as a Catholic cleric. Gabriel pointedly deviated from these ideas, contending that only Antonio himself could choose whether to turn into a priest or not. Gabriel's reaction uncovers his staunch conviction that fate ought to be dictated by one’s actions and thoughts, not by any imposition by a family member or relatives. However, María, who was a staunch Catholic follower, trusted that she ought to have guided Antonio's future because his spirit (Antonio's) was questionable (Testa 79). Additionally, she also had a narrow-minded thought that should she discharge control over him, Antonio will begin to settle on his choices and will no longer consider her for guidance.

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Works Cited

Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing, 2012. Print.

Black, Debra B. "Times of Conflict:" Bless Me, Ultima" As a Novel of Acculturation." Bilingual Review/La Revista Bilingüe (2000): 146-162. Print.

Klein, Dianne. "Coming of age in novels by Rudolfo Anaya and Sandra Cisneros." English Journal 81.5 (1992): 21.print.

Testa, Daniel. "Extensive/Intensive Dimensionality in Anaya's" Bless Me, Ultima"." Latin American Literary Review (1977): 70-78. Print.