Recommended by Tammy

Bless Me, Ultima
Title of Novel

I. Author - Rudolfo A. Anaya

A. Lifespan

Rudolfo Anaya was born October 30, 1937, in Pastura, New Mexico; son of Martín and Rafaelita (Mares) Anaya. Anaya is still alive today.

B. Background

The fifth of seven children, Anaya also had three half-siblings from his parents previous marriages.
C. Relevant facts
· When Anaya was still very young, his family moved to Santa Rosa, Mexico. When he was a teenage, his family moved again, this time to Albuquerque, where Anaya graduated high school in 1956.
· Anaya attended business school for two years and dropped out before finishing, but he graduated from the University of New Mexico a few years later.
· Anaya worked as a public school teacher in Albuquerque from 1963 to 1970. During this period he married Patricia Lawless. Afterward, he worked as a the Director of Counseling for the University of Albuquerque for two years before accepting a position as an Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico.
· Over a period of seven years, he completed his first and best known novel, Bless Me, Ultima, went on to win the prestigious Premio Quinto Sol award and is now considered a classic Chicano work.

D. Notable works
Novels
· Bless Me, Ultima, Quinto Sol, 1972.
· Heart of Aztlan, Justa, 1976.
· Tortuga, Justa, 1979.
· The Legend of La Llorona, Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol, 1984.
· A Chicano in China, University of New Mexico Press, 1986.
· Lord of the Dawn: The Legend of Quetzalcoatl, University of New Mexico Press, 1987.
· Alburquerque, Warner Books, 1995.
· Zia Summer, Warner Books, 1995.
· Rio Grande Fall, Warner Books, 1996.
· Jalamanta: A Message from the Desert, Warner Books, 1996.
· Rio Grande Fall, Warner Books, 1996.
· Shaman Winter, Warner Books, 1999.
Other
· The Silence of Llano, Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol, 1982.
· The Adventures of Juan Chicaspatas, Arte Publico Press, 1985.
· The Farolitos of Christmas, Hyperion, 1995.
· The Anaya Reader, Warner Books, 1995.
· Farolitos for Abuelo, Hyperion, 1998.
· Elegy on the Death of Cesar Chavez, Cinco Puntos Press, 2000.
· Anaya's manuscript collection is located at Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

E. Influence of life on works
· Bless Me, Ultima novel was also a semiautobiographical.
· Anaya published his second novel, Heart of Aztlan, in 1976. The novel tells the story of the Chavez family, who is forced to moved from their family farm to the barrios of Albuquerque. Heart of Aztlán is a political novel that focuses on the struggles of a displaced family. While the father attempts to fight the oppressive forces that surround him, his children succumb to the temptations of sex, drugs, and alcohol, and the family is torn apart.
· Tortuga, Anaya's third novel, published in 1979, completed a loosely tied trilogy that focused on the Chicano experience over several generations. Tortuga is set in a sanitarium for terminally ill teenagers. The main character is a teenage boy who lies in the hospital in a full body cast, partially paralyzed and unable to move. He is nicknamed Tortuga, which means Turtle in Spanish, because of his cast. In despair, he tries to kill himself, but through the wisdom of another boy who is terminally ill, Tortuga learns to accept and appreciate his life. The book was well received and was considered by some critics to be Anaya's most complete and accomplished work.
· A Chicano in China, 1986 was a nonfiction account of Anaya's travels to China.



II. Brief plot summary

Antonio asks questions concerning evil, justice, and the nature of God. He witnesses many violent deaths, which force him to mature and face the reality of life.


III. Characters
Antonio Marez – The precocious protagonist who turns to both pagan and Christian ideologies for guidance, but doubts both traditions.
Gabriel and Maria Marez – Antonio’s parents, whose frequently conflicting views make it difficult for Anotnio accept either of their belief systems. Maria, the devoutly Catholic daughter of a farmer, wants Antonio to follow her Luna family tradition by becoming a priest. Gabriel is the son of vaqueros (cowboys) and he prefers that Antonio follow the Marez tradition of restless wandering across the Llano, or plains.
Ultima – An elderly healer endowed with the spiritual power of her ancestors. Ultima lives with the Marez family and teaches the moral system that the novel espouses.
Lupito – A war veteran who has been deeply mentally affected by the war. Lupito’s death provides the driving force for Antonio’s serious moral and religious questioning.
Narciso – The town drunk and respects and loves Ultima deeply. Tenorio kills him because he supports Ultima.
Cico – One of Antonio’s closer friends. He exposes Antonio to yet another belief system when he takes Antonio to see the golden carp, a pagan god who lives in the river.
Tenorio Trementina – is the malicious saloon-keeper and barber.

A. Relationships
Antonio’s relationship with Ultima is the most important bond in the novel. Ultima acts as Antonio’s mentor and helps him cope with his anxieties and uncertainties. Ultima claims a spiritual connection with Antonio that manifests its power when Antonio dreams of Ultima burying his afterbirth to keep his destiny secret from the arguing families of his parents.

With Ultima’s help, Antonio makes the transition from childhood to adolescence and begins to make his own choices and to accept responsibility for their consequences.

B. Development (How does the author show the increasing importance of the main characters? Include brief quotations, if possible.)
Ultima plays a major role in Antonio’s quest for religious enlightenment.

IV. Setting
A. Time and time span – Mid 1940’s during and after World War II
B. Place – Guadalupe, New Mexico and the surrounding areas
C. Importance of setting to the story (Could the story take place at any other time or place?) - Yes, if Mexican Americans still hold the same family values then this story could take place during any time period or place.

V. Conflict
As Antonio moves from childhood to adolescence, he tries to reconcile his parents’ and his community’s conflicting cultural traditions. The Catholic Church was unable to answer Antonio’s questions. Antonio cannot bring himself to accept the lawlessness, violence and unthinking sensuality other. Antonio’s goal is independent thought and action; he strives to make his own moral decisions and to accept responsibility for their consequences.
VI. Resolution
Antonio learns to draw from each tradition and, as Ultima has taught him, become stronger, better person as a result. Now, instead of him feeling he has to choose between the two, Antonio accepts both views positively.

VII. Vocabulary
A. Ilano
1. Definition – someone who lives inhabitant of the plains
2. Quotation (including page number) from text – Pg. 3 “When I married you and went to the Ilano to live with you and raise your family, I could not have survived without la Grande’s help. Oh, those were hard years-“

B. Curandera
1. Definition – Quack, medicaster, an artful and tricking practitioner in physic.
2. Quotation (including page number) from text – Pg. 97 “I am curandera, “Ultima said softly, “and I have come to lift a curse. It is you daughters who do evil that are the brujas-“
C. Por la sangre de Lupito, todos debemos de rogar,
Que Dios la saque de pena y la lleve a descansar…
1. Definition - By the blood of Lupito, all we should beg, That God the kick-off of grief and carry it to rest
2. Quotation (including page number) from text – Pg. 34

VIII. Personal criticism and recommendation
A. Criticism (What literary tools did the author employ to tell the story? Cite examples from the novel. How effectively was the story written? What tools did the director and producer employ to show the story? Cite examples from the movie. How effectively was the story portrayed on film?)
The author used literary tools like dreams, family, death, learning and education and tolerance and understanding. Themes used were the importance of moral independence and influence of culture on identity.
“The tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart.”

B. Recommendation (Would you suggest that others read this novel or watch this movie? State reasons. Give examples from the text or the movie, if possible. Which medium did you prefer? State reasons and cite examples.)
I would recommend this novel based on the cultural and insight into religion views. This novel is an easy read and explores alternative beliefs.