The night after Florence dies, Antonio dreams of the bodies of Narciso, Lupito and Florence, the gang fighting, the priest desecrating the altar, Cico killing the golden carp, and Tenorio killing Ultima. Ultima wakes Antonio, comforts him and gives medicine to help him sleep without dreams. Antonio does not attend Florence's funeral, feeling that "there was nothing the church or I could give him now", and Ultima convinces Antonio's parents to send him to El Puerto to live and work with his uncles there for the summer. Ultima warns Antonio, "Be prepared to see things changed when you return".
While his father drives him to El Puerto, Antonio talks with his father, who is happy that Antonio will spend the summer away from his parents with his uncles, even though they are Lunas. Antonio wonders if he doesn't have to be just Marez or Luna but could be both, and he asks his father if a new religion can be made, and why there is evil in the world. His father responds that most things called evil are things that are not understood, and that "understanding simply means having a synpathy for people", like Ultima who can "touch their souls and cure them".
Antonio enjoys the summer with his uncles. When it is almost time for Antonio to return, his uncle Pedro tells him that they are pleased with him and his work as well. Uncle Juan approaches hurriedly and Antonio overhears that Tenorio's second daughter has just died and he is drinking and threatening vengeance on Ultima. Pedro tells Antonio to go from the fields to his grandfather's house early and pack to leave that evening. As Antonio travels across a narrow bridge, Tenorio tries to run him down with his black horse and kill him, but Antonio narrowly escapes by jumping off and rolling down an embankment. Antonio hears Tenorio vow to kill Ultima's owl and realizes that the owl is "her protective spirit...her soul".
Frightened, Antonio decides to run the ten miles from El Puerto to Guadalupe, so he can reach Ultima in time to warn her. As he runs, he thinks of the time Narciso ran to warn Ultima, of the times her owl had protected them, and of his dreams, wondering "what dream would form to guide my life as a man?" He reaches his parent's house just as Uncle Pedro arrives in his truck. As his mother, father and Ultima emerge, Antonio sees Tenorio in the shadows pointing his rifle at him! After he cries out, Ultima's owl flies to attack Tenorio, who misses Antonio but cries out in victory after he kills the owl. Pedro shoots and kills Tenorio before he can fire at Antonio. The family enters the house only to find Ultima dying. Antonio asks her, "Bless me, Ultima" and she asks him to bury the owl and burn her herbs and medicines. He does, and though there is a memorial service two days later, Antonio's closing words are that "Ultima was really buried here. Tonight."
Discussion Questions
1. Were you surprised by Ultima's death? Why or why not?
2. What vocation and religious faith do you think Antonio will choose as he grows up?
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Chapter 21
As Antonio and his friend Cico wait by the creek for the golden carp to appear, Antonio’s thoughts turn to God. “I wondered if God was alive anymore, or if He had ever been. He had not been able to cure my uncle Lucas or free the Tellez family from their curse, and He had not saved Lupito or Narciso. And yet, He had the right to send you to hell or heaven when you died.”
Antonio asks Cico why they don’t tell everyone about the golden carp. Cico replies that “the god of the church is a jealous god; he cannot live in peace with other gods. He would instruct his priests to kill the golden carp-------“
The golden carp then appears and Antonio is filled with peace; the golden carp swimming by, the beautiful natural surroundings.
They decide to find Florence and share the golden carp with him. “Florence needed at least one god, and I was sure he would believe in the golden carp. I could almost hear him say as he peered into the waters, ‘at last a god who does not punish, a god who can bring beauty into my life.’”
Antonio and Cico go to look for Florence and they come upon a group of Antonio’s friends who have been swimming in a restricted area near the lake. They tell Antonio that Florence dove into the water and has not yet resurfaced. Antonio instructs his friend Able to fetch the lifeguard from the lake. As Abel leaves, Florence’s body floats to the surface. There is a red spot on his head and he is entangled in barb wire. Florence is dead. Antonio feels sick. With tears streaming down his face, he runs away from the gathering crowd.
“The lonely river was a sad place to be when one is a small boy who has just seen a friend die. And it grew sadder when the church bells began to toll, and the afternoon shadows lengthened.”
Antonio asks Cico why they don’t tell everyone about the golden carp. Cico replies that “the god of the church is a jealous god; he cannot live in peace with other gods. He would instruct his priests to kill the golden carp-------“
The golden carp then appears and Antonio is filled with peace; the golden carp swimming by, the beautiful natural surroundings.
They decide to find Florence and share the golden carp with him. “Florence needed at least one god, and I was sure he would believe in the golden carp. I could almost hear him say as he peered into the waters, ‘at last a god who does not punish, a god who can bring beauty into my life.’”
Antonio and Cico go to look for Florence and they come upon a group of Antonio’s friends who have been swimming in a restricted area near the lake. They tell Antonio that Florence dove into the water and has not yet resurfaced. Antonio instructs his friend Able to fetch the lifeguard from the lake. As Abel leaves, Florence’s body floats to the surface. There is a red spot on his head and he is entangled in barb wire. Florence is dead. Antonio feels sick. With tears streaming down his face, he runs away from the gathering crowd.
“The lonely river was a sad place to be when one is a small boy who has just seen a friend die. And it grew sadder when the church bells began to toll, and the afternoon shadows lengthened.”
Chapter 20
Antonio continues to go to confession and take communion every week, but finds it disappointing because the answers and understanding he sought are not to be found there after all. His group of friends become contentious with the boys from Los Jaros, and his former teacher explains to him that it is all just a part of growing up. When his teacher asks if he wants to be a farmer, after he tells her he will be going to his uncles' farm for part of the summer, he repeats what Ultima told him: "a man's destiny must unfold itself like a flower". She remarks that Ultima is wise, and Antonio notes that his teacher somehow seems older and he muses that perhaps they are all older now. As he continues home, Antonio finds that the Vitamin Kid is not there to race him across the bridge -- instead, the Kid is walking with a girl. Though this is the first time Antonio has beat the Kid, he isn't happy at his victory and only feels sad that something good has ended.
Antonio sees tracks under the trees around his house, and worries that they belong to Tenorio. He is concerned, too, about rumors he hears regarding "evil things" happening at the Agua Negra ranch, which people think are the result of a curse. A man from one of the families, by the name of Téllez, comes to Antonio's home searching for Ultima's help to lift the curse. He provides evidence of the curse's existence with stories of things flying around inside his house, being burned with hot coffee, and stones raining down on his roof. He tells Antonio's family that even the blessing of a priest has not stopped the effects of the curse, and Antonio's father decides to go with Téllez back to his house to see the signs himself. When he returns, he is convinced that the house is indeed cursed. Ultima tells him that it was not a curse laid on a person, but rather one laid on a ghost, which is now haunting the house. Ultima explains that many years ago, the land that is now Agua Negra was the land of the Comanche Indians. Three Comanches raided Téllez's grandfather's flocks, and he killed them and didn't properly bury them. As a result, their souls now haunted the land. The witches who laid the curse on the area placed it on the ghosts instead of on people, so as not to get caught. Though Ultima reminds Antonio's father of the rules that guide interference with a man's destiny, she agrees to help lift the curse because Téllez is an old friend of the family.
Ultima heads to Agua Negra, and Antonio and his father go with her. As his father and Ultima marvel at the beauty of the land of llano around them, Antonio thinks to himself that from his mother he has learned that man is from the earth with gives him safety and security, but that from Ultima and his father he has learned to love the magical beauty of the earth, and that the greater immortality of man is his freedom nourished by the land and open sky.
When they get to the Téllez home, Téllez enthusiastically greets Ultima. Téllez's wife cries and looks sick, and tells Ultima, Antonio and his father that she cannot offer them anything to eat or drink. At this moment, a cloud comes over the house, and stones begin to rain down on the roof. Ultima performs a ritual where she burns three bundles in a pyre that the men construct for her. No one but Ultima knows what is in the bundles, but the ritual lifts the curse. Téllez asks how he can repay Ultima, and she says that he need only bring her a lamb the next time he is in town, and to stay away from the evil Tenorio. This warning reminds Téllez that he encountered Tenorio in a bar the previous month, and that Tenorio had insulted him and he had responded, and directly following this was when the bad things started to happen at Téllez's home.
That night, Antonio dreams of his three brothers. In his dream, his brothers wander in the mist in a foreign city, and they call to him, asking that he save them from their unrest. Antonio calls back to them that he has no real power to help them. He takes the livers from his three brothers, and baits his fishing hook to catch a catfish from the river by which he stands. His brothers call to him again, "But you have the power of the church, you are the boy-priest! Or choose from the power of the golden carp or the magic of your Ultima. Give us rest!" Moved by their pain, Antonio takes their livers from his fishing line and casts them into the river of the golden carp; then they, and Antonio, are at peace.
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think Antonio's dream at the end of the chapter means?
1. What do you think Antonio's dream at the end of the chapter means?
2. What do you think is in the bundles of that Ultima burns during the ritual at Téllez's house? Is it the bodies of the cursed Comanches, or something symbolizing their remains, or something else entirely?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Chapter 19
It is Easter Sunday - Antonio and the other children are outside of church, waiting to go inside and receive their first Communion. The boys and girls are in separate lines, with parents nearby, including Antonio's mother and father and Ultima. The girls are lined up neatly, but the boys talk and fidget, and Bones gets whacked on the head several times by one of the high school girls in charge of keeping order. Florence stands nearby, watching but not participating. The children enter and sit in the front row.
During the first part of the mass, Antonio thinks about his first confession the previous day, and how he had mixed feelings about revealing his thoughts and telling "everything, everything I thought was a sin". As the priest performs the Communion "ceremony of changing the bread into flesh and the wine into blood...of the risen Christ", Antonio imagines that God will soon be with him and inside of him and will answer all of his questions. Abel and Horse whisper about blood and Antonio thinks of the blood of Lupito and Narciso in the river and the hills of the llano.
Finally the children get up and kneel at the altar to receive the Communion. After Antonio is given the wafer and wine, he bows his head and waits for God to speak to him, but this confuses the other children who are continuing to move quickly in the line. "There wasn't time just to sit and discover Him, like I could do when I sat on the creek bank and watched the golden carp swim in the sun-filtered waters."
Antonio moves on and tries to sense God's presence and ask some of the many questions he has: "Why did Lupito die? 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--?" But Antonio does not hear a Voice within, only silence, and he wonders if he did not prepare for First Communion correctly. He looks toward the statue of the Virgin and sees her smiling, "her outstretched arms offering forgiveness to all." A short time later, the mass is over.
Discussion Questions
1. How is Antonio's experience of First Communion different than that of the other children?
During the first part of the mass, Antonio thinks about his first confession the previous day, and how he had mixed feelings about revealing his thoughts and telling "everything, everything I thought was a sin". As the priest performs the Communion "ceremony of changing the bread into flesh and the wine into blood...of the risen Christ", Antonio imagines that God will soon be with him and inside of him and will answer all of his questions. Abel and Horse whisper about blood and Antonio thinks of the blood of Lupito and Narciso in the river and the hills of the llano.
Finally the children get up and kneel at the altar to receive the Communion. After Antonio is given the wafer and wine, he bows his head and waits for God to speak to him, but this confuses the other children who are continuing to move quickly in the line. "There wasn't time just to sit and discover Him, like I could do when I sat on the creek bank and watched the golden carp swim in the sun-filtered waters."
Antonio moves on and tries to sense God's presence and ask some of the many questions he has: "Why did Lupito die? 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--?" But Antonio does not hear a Voice within, only silence, and he wonders if he did not prepare for First Communion correctly. He looks toward the statue of the Virgin and sees her smiling, "her outstretched arms offering forgiveness to all." A short time later, the mass is over.
Discussion Questions
1. How is Antonio's experience of First Communion different than that of the other children?
Chapter 18
This chapter starts on Ash Wednesday. To Antonio, this is a day of dread, a day to realize that the body is nothing and will disintegrate and disappear. But then the thought of the enduring soul raises him up from this morbid truth.
During the forty days of lent, Antonio thinks of little else except the goal of first communion and saving his soul from an eternity in hell. He has dreams that people he knows are burning in the inferno. Florence, his friend, was one of the people that often appeared in these dreams. Antonio wants to save his friend from this fate and begs him to answer the priest's questions in catechism class. But Florence is not a believer and his reply is "You mean, when the priest asks where is God, I am to say God is everywhere: He is the worms that await the summer heat to eat Narciso. He shares the bed with Tenorio and his evil daughters_____" Samuel tells Antonio that in the summer they will tell Florence the legend of the golden carp so that Florence might have something good to believe in.
Antonio and his classmates finish their catechism classes and at last on the Saturday before Easter, prepare to go to their first confession. As the children are waiting to enter the church on this day, they decide to "practice" confession. Against his will they force Antonio to play the part of the priest. The first two to "confess" are Horse and Bones. Then the children insist that Florence make a confession. But Florence says that he doesn't have any sins and that God has sinned against him. The children are shocked by this and Florence goes on to say. "You refuse to see the truth, or to accept me because I do not believe in your lies! I say God has sinned against me because he took my father and mother from me when I needed them, and he made my sisters whores-----He has punished all of us without just cause." The children are angry and scared by Florence's words, they want Antonio to punish him. Antonio himself is scared since the other children are calling out "beat him, stone him, kill him." Antonio finds the courage to defy the other children and say there will be no punishment. The mob of small children then turn their anger towards Antonio. They tear off his clothes and hold him on the ground. Horse then proceeds to sit on Antonio and punch him repeatedly. "The blows of the knuckles coming down again and again on my breastbone were unbearable, but Horse knew no pity, and there was no pity on the faces of the others." Finally the beating stops because the priest is calling the children into the church. Florence helps Antonio get dressed. He says to Antonio, "You could never be their priest."
Antonio then goes into the church and into the confessional.
Discussion question:
During the forty days of lent, Antonio thinks of little else except the goal of first communion and saving his soul from an eternity in hell. He has dreams that people he knows are burning in the inferno. Florence, his friend, was one of the people that often appeared in these dreams. Antonio wants to save his friend from this fate and begs him to answer the priest's questions in catechism class. But Florence is not a believer and his reply is "You mean, when the priest asks where is God, I am to say God is everywhere: He is the worms that await the summer heat to eat Narciso. He shares the bed with Tenorio and his evil daughters_____" Samuel tells Antonio that in the summer they will tell Florence the legend of the golden carp so that Florence might have something good to believe in.
Antonio and his classmates finish their catechism classes and at last on the Saturday before Easter, prepare to go to their first confession. As the children are waiting to enter the church on this day, they decide to "practice" confession. Against his will they force Antonio to play the part of the priest. The first two to "confess" are Horse and Bones. Then the children insist that Florence make a confession. But Florence says that he doesn't have any sins and that God has sinned against him. The children are shocked by this and Florence goes on to say. "You refuse to see the truth, or to accept me because I do not believe in your lies! I say God has sinned against me because he took my father and mother from me when I needed them, and he made my sisters whores-----He has punished all of us without just cause." The children are angry and scared by Florence's words, they want Antonio to punish him. Antonio himself is scared since the other children are calling out "beat him, stone him, kill him." Antonio finds the courage to defy the other children and say there will be no punishment. The mob of small children then turn their anger towards Antonio. They tear off his clothes and hold him on the ground. Horse then proceeds to sit on Antonio and punch him repeatedly. "The blows of the knuckles coming down again and again on my breastbone were unbearable, but Horse knew no pity, and there was no pity on the faces of the others." Finally the beating stops because the priest is calling the children into the church. Florence helps Antonio get dressed. He says to Antonio, "You could never be their priest."
Antonio then goes into the church and into the confessional.
Discussion question:
- Do you think that any of the children confess to what had just happened on the church grounds?
Monday, October 12, 2009
Chapter 17
Antonio begins his catechism lessons, about which he is so excited that Chapter 17 starts out with the words "Aleluya! Aleluya! Aleluya!" Adults around Antonio talk about the atomic bomb made to end the war, and blame on it the harsh winter and spring sandstorms, saying that the bomb is against God because it means that man is trying to know more than God himself. When Antonio asks his father about this theory, his father tells him it is nonsense. He blames the bad weather on men who have abused the land, and says that nature is trying to restore the balance and that "the wise man listens to the voice of the earth". Antonio continues his catechism lessons, hoping that some of his moral questions about what has recently happened will soon be answered.
Later, Florence and Antonio discuss the nature of sin before catechism class, and Florence questions why he can have a lifetime of it but then just confess at the end and still go to heaven. Antonio agrees that this doesn't seem fair. As the other boys in the gang come around, rough-housing and talking about a fight that happened the day before, the discussion turns to whether or not Protestants go to hell, and Florence replies that if you don't believe in God there's no hell to go to anyway. Antonio asks why, then, Florence still goes to catechism, if he doesn't believe in God. Florence tells them he comes just so he can be with his friends. When the boys ask Florence why he is an atheist, he tells them that his mother died when he was three, his father drank himself to death, and his sisters are "whores" at Rosie's. Antonio wonders if his brother Andrew has ever known one of Florence's sisters at Rosie's, and this make Antonio feel closer to Florence. Antonio suggests that maybe God puts obstacles in front of people to test their faith, and Florence argues that if God were as smart as everyones says, then why does he have a need to test people's faith, and why didn't he make people good? Florence questions why humankind should be punished for seeking knowledge in Eden, and Antonio wonders if his desire to seek knowledge makes him as bad as Adam and Eve, and he questions if the Golden Carp is a better god. Antonio wonders if maybe God comes in cycles, like the weather, and if maybe other gods -- like the Virgin Mary, or the Golden Carp --ruled in his absence. As he utters this thought, thinking it is blasphemy, the bell in the church tolls and a huge thunderclap sounds.
Because the two boys are late to catechism, Florence is punished by having to stand in the aisle of the church with his arms out; Antonio receives no punishment. As the boys pray, Antonio hears Bones next to him faking the prayer and mocking the priest's words. The priest explains the difference between a mortal sin and a venial sin, and tells his catechism class that if they die with a venial sin on their soul they will never get into heaven, going to purgatory instead, and that if they die with a mortal sin on their soul, they will burn forever in hell. He then goes on to tell them a story illustrating just how long eternity is. The magnitude of eternity in hell makes a huge impact on most of the class, but Florence still stands in the aisle with his arms raised, and Antonio thinks to himself that Florence must be unafraid of eternity.
Discussion Questions
1. What do you make of the symbolism in this chapter, i.e., the thunderclap at Antonio's moment of blasphemy and Florence standing in the aisle in the church with his arms outstretched in a way that suggests crucifiction?
2. Were you surprised when Antonio uttered his blashemy?Does it seem in character, and consistent with the story? Why or why not?
Chapter 16
After recovering from the ordeal of witnessing Narciso's murder, Antonio returns to school following the Christmas break. It seems that his experience has changed him -- he thinks to himself that he feels older, while it seems that all of his school friends have remained the same and continue to act like children. Antonio mostly keeps to himself, preoccupied by the dreams he had while ill, and ponders why God would let Narciso die when he was only trying to help Ultima but allows evil Tenorio to continue living and without punishment. He wonders if perhaps God is too busy to worry or care about the lives of people. Though he often goes to church after school to pray and ask God for answers to his questions, he finds no answers, and begins to pray more often to the Virgin Mary instead. Antonio imagines that when he does so, the Virgin Mary turns to God and repeats Antonio's words, but that God's response is that Antonio is just not yet ready to understand. He hopes that when he takes communion, his answers will come.
Walking home from school one day, Antonio meets Tenorio in the exact spot under the juniper tree where he murdered Narciso. Tenorio looks at Antonio with hate, curses him, and tells him his second daughter is dying and that he will find a way to punish Ultima for it. Antonio yells back that he will not allow that to happen, and calls Tenorio a murderer. It seems that Tenorio is about to physically attack Antonio, but he stops, and only says "the curse is that you know too much", then runs off.
When Antonio gets home, he tells Ultima about the encounter, but she reassures him that Tenorio is a coward and was only able to kill Narciso because he ambushed him; he will not be able to do that to Ultima. Ultima's words relieve Antonio's worry somewhat, though he continues to have nightmares of Tenorio shooting Ultima, leading him to awaken in the night and listen to see if he can hear her moving around in the house. She always seems to be awake, which reassures Antonio. He muses that though he has always been close to her, he became closer than ever to her and more appreciative of her in those weeks she cared for him while he was ill.
Discussion questions
1. What do you think Tenorio meant when he said to Antonio "your curse is that you know too much"? How does this tie in with the overall theme of the novel, thus far?
2. Why do you think Tenorio has returned to the juniper tree where Antonio finds him -- is he seeking absolution, feeling regret for what he's done, waiting to ambush Ultima, or something else?
Walking home from school one day, Antonio meets Tenorio in the exact spot under the juniper tree where he murdered Narciso. Tenorio looks at Antonio with hate, curses him, and tells him his second daughter is dying and that he will find a way to punish Ultima for it. Antonio yells back that he will not allow that to happen, and calls Tenorio a murderer. It seems that Tenorio is about to physically attack Antonio, but he stops, and only says "the curse is that you know too much", then runs off.
When Antonio gets home, he tells Ultima about the encounter, but she reassures him that Tenorio is a coward and was only able to kill Narciso because he ambushed him; he will not be able to do that to Ultima. Ultima's words relieve Antonio's worry somewhat, though he continues to have nightmares of Tenorio shooting Ultima, leading him to awaken in the night and listen to see if he can hear her moving around in the house. She always seems to be awake, which reassures Antonio. He muses that though he has always been close to her, he became closer than ever to her and more appreciative of her in those weeks she cared for him while he was ill.
Discussion questions
1. What do you think Tenorio meant when he said to Antonio "your curse is that you know too much"? How does this tie in with the overall theme of the novel, thus far?
2. Why do you think Tenorio has returned to the juniper tree where Antonio finds him -- is he seeking absolution, feeling regret for what he's done, waiting to ambush Ultima, or something else?
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