Bless Me Ultima

The rite of passage that children go through to enter adulthood is a difficult one. Their task is to find themselves and grow into the adult they will become. This is a daunting and difficult journey filled with new experiences, difficult situations, confusion, and the loss of childhood innocence. In the novel Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, Tony, a young boy, makes his way into adulthood and in doing so, discovers the dire evil in the world. With so many new and overwhelming situations, Tony is lucky that to have so many people who care about his transition into manhood, and are there to offer him advice. Tony’s maturation from his innocent childhood to the sin filled adult world is strongly influenced by magical elements.
In the novel, while Tony sleeps, he has many dreams that change his spiritual and personal views of life. For example, Tony’s fourth dream occurs during a time when he is struggling with his brothers’ growing up and wanting to leave the llano for good. In the dream, Tony’s three brothers, Eugene, Andrew, and Leon are going into Rosie’s, a place of sin, dangerous thoughts, and dangerous activities. Tony, knowing about Rosie’s, pleads with them to stop when he sees them entering. Everybody

Religion plays a major factor in Tony’s maturation mentally and spiritually. He is confused about God’s roles in the Catholic Church. While troubled about his faith in God, his good friend Cico tells him about one of his gods, the Golden Carp. The Golden Carp is a beautiful fish with scales that shimmer with golden effulgence that can only be seen by those who believe in its power. As Cico is showing Tony the carp by the river, Tony is filled with thoughts about Catholicism. He knows that it is wrong for him to believe in this new God because the commandment of the Lord said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Through his doubts however, he becomes fascinated with the Golden Carp. Although he matures through this experience, he is left questioning the god he was raised to believe in even more than before. Leaving his childhood, also means leaving the innocent, carefree life he once knew, to take on one filled with pain, sorrow, and tragedy. He witnessed the death of many people in his young life. “ ‘You are innocent when you do not know’, my mother cried, ‘but already you know too much about the flesh and blood of the Marez men.’ ‘You are innocent until you understand’, the priest of the church said, ‘and you will understand good and evil when the communion is placed in your mouth and God fills your body.’” (71) As he matures, he has to decide what evil really is. He also realizes that God doesn’t give clear answers. At his first confession, he gets in the box to confess to the priest. What he really wants to do though, is ask God questions. “God! Why did Lupito die? Why do you allow the evil of the Trementinas? Why did you allow Narciso to be murdered when he was doing good? Why do you punish Florence? Why doesn’t he believe? Will the golden carp rule--?” (221) He finds out quickly that God doesn’t explain the sin to him. The priest told him he’d understand everything about God when he took his first communion, but Tony felt no special relationship with God whatsoever.

The novel has many sections that deal with magical realism as it relates to Tony’s maturation. Tony’s many dreams that predict his future are filled with magical circumstances. This magic affects Tony’s outlook on life and helps him become a man intellectually and emotionally. Another magical agent contributing to his development, are his religious beliefs. Throughout the book, he struggles with his faith in God, and starts to doubt what he’s been told since he was a very young boy. This leads to a spiritual transformation in Tony that helps him mature into adulth