As Antonio is fishing and thinking - wondering how Ultima could cure his uncle when the priest had failed - his friend Cico invites him to see the golden carp that Samuel had told him about and he had been hoping to see all summer. Cico asks if he believes the golden carp is a god and Antonio replies, "I am a Catholic...I can believe only in the God of the church....But I want to believe...it's just that I have to believe in Him?" Cico asks him to swear never to hunt or kill a carp and then they leave for the river.
They pass by Narciso's house and Antonio is amazed at the garden that seems magical with its abundance of fruits and vegetables. At Cico's urging, Antonio eats a carrot from the garden - the most delicious he had ever tasted - though he feels some guilt at taking it without permission. Later they encounter some of the kids rom school playing basketball, who accuse Ultima of being a bruja (witch). Disturbed by their comments, Antonio startles them by throwing up the carrot, and then he and Cico run off.
Finally Cico leads Antonio to a hidden pond and they see the huge golden carp. Antonio is "entranced...I felt my body trembling as I saw the bright golden form disappear. I knew I had witnessed a miraculous thing, the appearance of a pagan god, a thing as miraculous as the curing of my uncle Lucas." Cico tells him stories about a mermaid in the Hidden Lakes and a prophecy sent by the golden carp that the town would someday collapse under the weight of the people's sins and be swallowed by water! Antonio goes home and asks Ultima about the story, and she tells him, "I cannot tell you what to believe. Your father and your mother can tell you, because you are their blood, but I cannot. As you grow into manhood you must find your own truths--"
That night Antonio dreams of a great conflict between forces of nature: the lake, the golden carp and Antonio's father on one side; the moon and Antonio's father on the other. Antonio begs to know which he belongs to. Ultima appears, calming the storm and explaining that the two waters are one and them same, part of a larger cycle that binds both of them together. "Then there was peace in my dreams and I could rest."
Discussion Questions:
1. How does Antonio's perception of Ultima differ from the opinions of those in his town?
2. How does the legend of the Golden Carp resemble the New Testament story of Jesus Christ, or the Mexican story of the Virgin of Guadalupe?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Chapter 10
In this chapter, summer has arrived and Antonio is enjoying his time working in the garden with Ultima and wandering the river and llano. However, Antonio's mother is unhappy - her brother, Antonio's Uncle Lucas, has been sick all winter and is close to death because a bruja (witch) has put a curse on him. Antonio's other uncles have gone to the local doctor, the "great doctor in Las Vegas" and the priest, but none has been able to help. One morning, Antonio's Uncle Pedro visits the family to ask for Ultima's help, since she is a curandera (healer). She agrees, but with the warning that "You must understand that when anybody, bruja or curandera, priest or sinner, tampers with the fate of a man that sometimes a chain of events is set into motion over which no one will have ultimate control. You must be willing to accept any responsibility." Uncle Pedro and Antonio's mother agree, and Pedro tell the story of how Lucas fell sick shortly after he interrupted a "secret ceremony" by the three Trementina sisters, daughters of Tenorio, the owner of the town's saloon. Ultima asks that Antonio travel with her as she "has need of him", and the two of them leave with Pedro for El Puerto.
After their arrival, Ultima gives some instructions to Antonio's grandfather and he agrees, since "he knew that when a curandera was working a cure she was in charge." Ultima first goes to the saloon to try to "reason with" Tenorio, but he rejects her offer and tries to trample her and Antonio on his black horse. Ultima and Antonio return to the now-quiet and nearly empty house, where the grandfather leaves them alone in the small room where Lucas is. Ultima prepares a series of remedies for Lucas. Neither she nor Antonio are afraid, and Ultima says this is because "good is always stronger than evil....The smallest bit of good can stand against all the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant". A group of coyotes appears outside but they are driven off by Ultima's owl. Antonio begins to feel sick, as if he is bonded with his uncle and experiencing the same things that he does. Finally both Lucas and Antonio begin to recover. Ultima creates three clay dolls that seem to come to life after Lucas breathes on them, and he vomits and expels a ball of hair. Lucas has been cured, and Ultima goes to the grove of trees where he encountered the three sisters performing their ceremony and burns the hair ball and dirty linen. Finished with their work, she and Antonio return home to Guadalupe.
Discussion Questions
1. How do you respond to the elements of mystery and magic in Bless Me, Ultima - in this chapter in particular and in the book as a whole?
2. Do the events in this chapter suggest any possible dangers for any of the characters?
After their arrival, Ultima gives some instructions to Antonio's grandfather and he agrees, since "he knew that when a curandera was working a cure she was in charge." Ultima first goes to the saloon to try to "reason with" Tenorio, but he rejects her offer and tries to trample her and Antonio on his black horse. Ultima and Antonio return to the now-quiet and nearly empty house, where the grandfather leaves them alone in the small room where Lucas is. Ultima prepares a series of remedies for Lucas. Neither she nor Antonio are afraid, and Ultima says this is because "good is always stronger than evil....The smallest bit of good can stand against all the powers of evil in the world and it will emerge triumphant". A group of coyotes appears outside but they are driven off by Ultima's owl. Antonio begins to feel sick, as if he is bonded with his uncle and experiencing the same things that he does. Finally both Lucas and Antonio begin to recover. Ultima creates three clay dolls that seem to come to life after Lucas breathes on them, and he vomits and expels a ball of hair. Lucas has been cured, and Ultima goes to the grove of trees where he encountered the three sisters performing their ceremony and burns the hair ball and dirty linen. Finished with their work, she and Antonio return home to Guadalupe.
Discussion Questions
1. How do you respond to the elements of mystery and magic in Bless Me, Ultima - in this chapter in particular and in the book as a whole?
2. Do the events in this chapter suggest any possible dangers for any of the characters?
Friday, September 25, 2009
Chapter 9
Antonio has another dream of his brothers. In this dream, his brothers take him to Rosie's house, which is the town's brothel. They try to get him to enter. "No! I shouted in my dream, I cannot enter, I cannot think those thoughts. I am to be a priest." His brothers Eugene and Leon go into the brothel, though Antonio begs them not to. Antonio then begs his brother Andrew to stay with him. Andrew laughs and says, "I will make a deal with you my little brother, I will wait and not enter until you lose your innocence." Tony wonders where his innocence that he must never lose is and in answer Ultima points to Las Pasturas.
When Antonio awakens from this dream, he hears his brothers arguing with his parents. Eugene and Leon are going to leave Guadalupe and find jobs elsewhere. They tell their parents that they are now grown and must led their own lives.
Andrew stays in Guadalupe and works at the local grocery store. He explains to Antonio that he has his own dreams and cannot live his life for his parents. This makes Antonio think of his own situation. He wants to be a good son and follow his parents' wishes but which one? His mother wants him to be a priest while his father wants him to travel with him to the vineyards of California. He obviously cannot do both so he is torn between them. He thinks, "Oh, it was hard to grow up. I hoped that in a few years the taking of the first holy communion would bring me understanding."
On the last day of school, Antonio is proud that he has learned to read and write, he has learned the secret of the magic of letters. Since he is older than the other children in the first grade he is promoted to the third grade so that he will be with children his own age the following year.
Instead of going straight home after school, on that last day of first grade, he went fishing with his friend Samuel. "Samuel was only in the third grade, but he always seemed wise and old when he talked, kind of like my grandfather." There, on the banks of the river, as the two boys fished, Samuel told Antonio the legend of the golden carp.
The Story of the Golden Carp (as told to Antonio by Samuel)
Once there were the people who were sent to this valley by their gods. The land was fertile and the animals abundant. The gods gave all this to the people with only one condition: they were not to eat the carp of the river. The people obeyed and lived prosperous lives until there was a forty year drought. To survive the people caught and ate the carp. Their gods were angry, so, in punishment, the people were transformed into carp to live their lives in the river. One god wanted to stay with the people and care for them. He asked the other gods to transform him into a carp as well. "But because he was a god they made him very big and colored him the color of gold. And they made him the lord of all the waters of the valley."
Since Antonio looks up to Samuel he cannot disbelieve this story though it makes Antonio question his own Catholic faith.
When Antonio finally goes home, his mother is angry with him for coming home late. Her anger disappears when she learns that Antonio was promoted two grades in school. True to her faith, she has the family pray in thanks to the Virgin of Guadalupe. "My father arrived home late from work and was hungry. We were still praying and supper was late. He was angry."
When Antonio awakens from this dream, he hears his brothers arguing with his parents. Eugene and Leon are going to leave Guadalupe and find jobs elsewhere. They tell their parents that they are now grown and must led their own lives.
Andrew stays in Guadalupe and works at the local grocery store. He explains to Antonio that he has his own dreams and cannot live his life for his parents. This makes Antonio think of his own situation. He wants to be a good son and follow his parents' wishes but which one? His mother wants him to be a priest while his father wants him to travel with him to the vineyards of California. He obviously cannot do both so he is torn between them. He thinks, "Oh, it was hard to grow up. I hoped that in a few years the taking of the first holy communion would bring me understanding."
On the last day of school, Antonio is proud that he has learned to read and write, he has learned the secret of the magic of letters. Since he is older than the other children in the first grade he is promoted to the third grade so that he will be with children his own age the following year.
Instead of going straight home after school, on that last day of first grade, he went fishing with his friend Samuel. "Samuel was only in the third grade, but he always seemed wise and old when he talked, kind of like my grandfather." There, on the banks of the river, as the two boys fished, Samuel told Antonio the legend of the golden carp.
The Story of the Golden Carp (as told to Antonio by Samuel)
Once there were the people who were sent to this valley by their gods. The land was fertile and the animals abundant. The gods gave all this to the people with only one condition: they were not to eat the carp of the river. The people obeyed and lived prosperous lives until there was a forty year drought. To survive the people caught and ate the carp. Their gods were angry, so, in punishment, the people were transformed into carp to live their lives in the river. One god wanted to stay with the people and care for them. He asked the other gods to transform him into a carp as well. "But because he was a god they made him very big and colored him the color of gold. And they made him the lord of all the waters of the valley."
Since Antonio looks up to Samuel he cannot disbelieve this story though it makes Antonio question his own Catholic faith.
When Antonio finally goes home, his mother is angry with him for coming home late. Her anger disappears when she learns that Antonio was promoted two grades in school. True to her faith, she has the family pray in thanks to the Virgin of Guadalupe. "My father arrived home late from work and was hungry. We were still praying and supper was late. He was angry."
Chapter 8
The joy of Antonio's brothers returning home after the end of the war in Chapter 7 begins to dissipate in Chapter 8, as the brothers fail to reassimilate into family life.
Antonio observes that he understands why the blood of spring is called "bad blood" -- he compares his brothers' growing restlessness with the rising of sap in trees dormant all winter, that begin to grow buds in the warmth of spring. His brothers sleep all day, and go out into town to gamble and drink all night. Their mother worries about them almost as much as she did when they were away at war, but says nothing because she is glad to at least have them home. Antonio wonders how much of their behavior, and the mechanical way they seem to be moving through the world since their return, is a way to forget about what they went through fighting in the war. One of the brothers, Leon, howls in the night in his sleep sometimes, and Antonio thinks of Lupito and the sickness war created in him. All the while, Antonio's father grows more insistent that his older sons plan a life with him in California, but the brothers do not listen. His dream begins to fade as the brothers gamble away all of their money in town.
As the weather warms, the brothers become more and more restless, and one day Antonio overhears them talk about leaving the town for good. They complain that they feel tied down in their parents' "hick town", and dream of saving up money and moving away to someplace more exciting. "All their lives, they had lived with the dreams of their father and mother haunting them, like they did me", thinks Antonio; as if in response, one brother tells the others "we can't build our lives on their dreams...we're not boys any longer...we can't be tied down to old dreams." Antonio worries about losing his brothers again, as they make plans to leave. As they grow more excited at the idea, they begin to tease Antonio, saying "Tony, you're going to be [mother's] priest!...Bless us, Tony!" Antonio, angered, says he will, and makes the sign of the cross over them. His older brothers laugh and toss Antonio onto the roof of the chicken coup, not taking his blessing seriously, and as they run off, he yells again "I will bless you!" His older brothers take off to town, saying they need to say goodbye to the girls at Rosie's, and Antonio is reminded of an incident where his father took their cow to mate with a neighbor's bull. While the bull mounted the cow, Antonio's father and the neighbor laughed, but Antonio was frightened. He remembers, also, when his brothers built the family house, and how they were like giants to him then, and starts to feel empty inside as he realizes he is losing them again.
Discussion Questions
1. How does the conversation Antonio overhears between his brothers echo the dream Antonio had in Chapter 2?
2. How does the imminent departure of Antonio's brothers affect his feelings about his obligation toward his parents?
Antonio observes that he understands why the blood of spring is called "bad blood" -- he compares his brothers' growing restlessness with the rising of sap in trees dormant all winter, that begin to grow buds in the warmth of spring. His brothers sleep all day, and go out into town to gamble and drink all night. Their mother worries about them almost as much as she did when they were away at war, but says nothing because she is glad to at least have them home. Antonio wonders how much of their behavior, and the mechanical way they seem to be moving through the world since their return, is a way to forget about what they went through fighting in the war. One of the brothers, Leon, howls in the night in his sleep sometimes, and Antonio thinks of Lupito and the sickness war created in him. All the while, Antonio's father grows more insistent that his older sons plan a life with him in California, but the brothers do not listen. His dream begins to fade as the brothers gamble away all of their money in town.
As the weather warms, the brothers become more and more restless, and one day Antonio overhears them talk about leaving the town for good. They complain that they feel tied down in their parents' "hick town", and dream of saving up money and moving away to someplace more exciting. "All their lives, they had lived with the dreams of their father and mother haunting them, like they did me", thinks Antonio; as if in response, one brother tells the others "we can't build our lives on their dreams...we're not boys any longer...we can't be tied down to old dreams." Antonio worries about losing his brothers again, as they make plans to leave. As they grow more excited at the idea, they begin to tease Antonio, saying "Tony, you're going to be [mother's] priest!...Bless us, Tony!" Antonio, angered, says he will, and makes the sign of the cross over them. His older brothers laugh and toss Antonio onto the roof of the chicken coup, not taking his blessing seriously, and as they run off, he yells again "I will bless you!" His older brothers take off to town, saying they need to say goodbye to the girls at Rosie's, and Antonio is reminded of an incident where his father took their cow to mate with a neighbor's bull. While the bull mounted the cow, Antonio's father and the neighbor laughed, but Antonio was frightened. He remembers, also, when his brothers built the family house, and how they were like giants to him then, and starts to feel empty inside as he realizes he is losing them again.
Discussion Questions
1. How does the conversation Antonio overhears between his brothers echo the dream Antonio had in Chapter 2?
2. How does the imminent departure of Antonio's brothers affect his feelings about his obligation toward his parents?
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Chapter 7
In this chapter, Antonio and his family receive the happy news that World War II is over and his three brothers are coming home. Antonio's teachers make the announcement to the students, Antonio yearns to see his brothers, and the family receives a letter from Andrew that he, León and Eugene will meet in San Diego and then travel home together.
The family begins a long prayer vigil that lasts until the children fall asleep and are carried to their beds. Antonio dreams of his three brothers returning and then awakens to find them approaching the house! The family has a tearful but joyous reunion, and the household is once again "complete".
Antonio's mother keeps busy caring for her three children who have returned, his father is "happy and full of life" thinking about moving to California in the summer with his three sons, and Antonio continues to work hard at school learning the mystery of the "magic letters".
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think the brothers will agree to travel to California with their father?
2. How important is the war to the story?
The family begins a long prayer vigil that lasts until the children fall asleep and are carried to their beds. Antonio dreams of his three brothers returning and then awakens to find them approaching the house! The family has a tearful but joyous reunion, and the household is once again "complete".
Antonio's mother keeps busy caring for her three children who have returned, his father is "happy and full of life" thinking about moving to California in the summer with his three sons, and Antonio continues to work hard at school learning the mystery of the "magic letters".
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think the brothers will agree to travel to California with their father?
2. How important is the war to the story?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Chapter 6
This chapter opens with Antonio waking on his first day of school. This will be the first time that Antonio will be away from his mother and he is both excited and sad.
Maria, Antonio's mother, ask Ultima to bless the children before they go off to school. When Ultima places her hand on Antonio's head, he feels as if he is caught up in a whirlwind. Once, Antonio had indeed been caught in a dust devil, which Antonio believed holds an evil spirit of a devil. He wonders, "how could the blessing of Ultima be like a whirlwind? Was the power of good and evil the same?"
Maria then begs Ultima to tell her what Antonio will become. Ultima sadly answers that "he will be a man of learning."
As Antonio is leaving the house he looks "at the three of them standing there, and I felt that I was seeing them for the last time: Ultima in her wisdom, my mother in her dream, and my father in his rebellion."
When Antonio gets to school he is lost and afraid; his sisters were suppose to take him to his teacher, Miss Maestas, but they are no where to be seen. An older boy, noticing Antonio's distress, leads him to the first grade classroom.
Antonio's friend has told him that letters have magic and when he meets Miss Maestas he want to immediately ask about this magic. but instead he quietly watches her as she writes his name on a piece of paper. Antonio spends the morning practicing and by noon is able to write his name.
The joy Antonio feels at this achievement is short lived however because when Miss Maestas introduces him to the class, the other children point and laugh at him. At lunch time the children again laugh at him when he takes out his lunch of beans, chilies and tortillas. Embarrassed, Antonio leaves the classroom and hides at the back of the school. He tries to eat, "but a huge lump seemed to form in my throat and tears came to my eyes. I yearned for my mother, and at the same time I understood that she had sent me to this place where I was an outcast. I had tried to learn and they laughed at me; I had opened my lunch and again they had laughed and pointed at me."
"The pain and sadness seemed to spread to my soul and I felt for the first time what the grown-ups call, la tritesa de la vida" [the sadness of life.]
Antonio then notices that two other boys, George and Willy, have also left the classroom. "We banded together and in our union found strength. We found a few others who were like us, different in language and custom, and a part of out loneliness was gone. When winter set in we moved into the auditoriou and there, although many a meal was eaten in complete silence, we felt we belonged. We struggled against the feeling of loneliness that gnawed at our soul and we overcame it."
Discussion questions:
1) Why is Ultima sad that Antonio will be a "man of learning?"
2) What do you think Antonio means when he says of his parents and Ultima, "I felt like I was seeing them for the last time?"
Maria, Antonio's mother, ask Ultima to bless the children before they go off to school. When Ultima places her hand on Antonio's head, he feels as if he is caught up in a whirlwind. Once, Antonio had indeed been caught in a dust devil, which Antonio believed holds an evil spirit of a devil. He wonders, "how could the blessing of Ultima be like a whirlwind? Was the power of good and evil the same?"
Maria then begs Ultima to tell her what Antonio will become. Ultima sadly answers that "he will be a man of learning."
As Antonio is leaving the house he looks "at the three of them standing there, and I felt that I was seeing them for the last time: Ultima in her wisdom, my mother in her dream, and my father in his rebellion."
When Antonio gets to school he is lost and afraid; his sisters were suppose to take him to his teacher, Miss Maestas, but they are no where to be seen. An older boy, noticing Antonio's distress, leads him to the first grade classroom.
Antonio's friend has told him that letters have magic and when he meets Miss Maestas he want to immediately ask about this magic. but instead he quietly watches her as she writes his name on a piece of paper. Antonio spends the morning practicing and by noon is able to write his name.
The joy Antonio feels at this achievement is short lived however because when Miss Maestas introduces him to the class, the other children point and laugh at him. At lunch time the children again laugh at him when he takes out his lunch of beans, chilies and tortillas. Embarrassed, Antonio leaves the classroom and hides at the back of the school. He tries to eat, "but a huge lump seemed to form in my throat and tears came to my eyes. I yearned for my mother, and at the same time I understood that she had sent me to this place where I was an outcast. I had tried to learn and they laughed at me; I had opened my lunch and again they had laughed and pointed at me."
"The pain and sadness seemed to spread to my soul and I felt for the first time what the grown-ups call, la tritesa de la vida" [the sadness of life.]
Antonio then notices that two other boys, George and Willy, have also left the classroom. "We banded together and in our union found strength. We found a few others who were like us, different in language and custom, and a part of out loneliness was gone. When winter set in we moved into the auditoriou and there, although many a meal was eaten in complete silence, we felt we belonged. We struggled against the feeling of loneliness that gnawed at our soul and we overcame it."
Discussion questions:
1) Why is Ultima sad that Antonio will be a "man of learning?"
2) What do you think Antonio means when he says of his parents and Ultima, "I felt like I was seeing them for the last time?"
Monday, September 21, 2009
Chapter 5
Chapter 5 is a short one, but several important themes and characters that will become increasingly important in the story make their first appearance here.
Antonio is awakened by the arrival of his mother Maria's brother Pedro, who is Antonio's favorite uncle and has come to take Maria and the chldren to the Luna farm for the annual apple harvest. Pedro serves as Antonio's most comfortable connection to his mother's side of the family; Pedro, a widower with no children of his own, is much more open and talkative than his brothers, and is the only one of Maria's siblings to whom Antonio's father Gabriel can talk. Antonio's mother excitedly directs her children in their preparation for the trip; though the farm is only 10 miles away, it is the family's only vacation, and the only time during the year when Maria feels like a Luna again. This year's trip is particularly special to Antonio because it is the first time that Ultima will be joining them.
As the family travels to the Luna farm, Antonio and Ultima ride in the back of the truck and watch the landscape. Passing over the bridge that leads out of his town, Antonio sees many familiar landmarks recede into the expanse behind them: Rosie's house, the church, the El Rito bridge. In a foreshadowing of things to come, right after the family comes in view of El Puerto, the home of Antonio's maternal relatives, they pass by Tenorio's Bar.
Before going anywhere else, the family greets Prudencio, Maria's father, as dictated by custom. Maria rushes into her father's arms in her joy at seeing him, but the greeting between Prudencio and Ultima is much more subdued, like that between old friends; Prudencio tells Ultima it is "good to have you with us again".
Maria's father asks after her husband and older sons, and this leads to a conversation about how much death the war has brought, and how much evil there is in the world. The Luna family takes respite from this evil in their own world of farming where people are "happy, working, helping each other". Prudencio says of his grandson Antonio, "there is hope in that one", and Maria tells him oof her wish that he will join the priesthood. To that end, Prudencio tells Maria that she must send Antonio to the Luna farm after his first communion, before he is "lost" like his brothers. As Antonio listens, unknown, to this conversation, he thinks he sees witches, in the form of balls of light, dancing in the trees across the river.
Discussion Questions
1. What symbolism do you see in Antonio's journey from his town to his mother's family's farm?
2. Do you think, at this point in the story, that it is Antonio's responsibility to fulfill his mother's dream? Is he betraying that side of his family if he doesn't?
Antonio is awakened by the arrival of his mother Maria's brother Pedro, who is Antonio's favorite uncle and has come to take Maria and the chldren to the Luna farm for the annual apple harvest. Pedro serves as Antonio's most comfortable connection to his mother's side of the family; Pedro, a widower with no children of his own, is much more open and talkative than his brothers, and is the only one of Maria's siblings to whom Antonio's father Gabriel can talk. Antonio's mother excitedly directs her children in their preparation for the trip; though the farm is only 10 miles away, it is the family's only vacation, and the only time during the year when Maria feels like a Luna again. This year's trip is particularly special to Antonio because it is the first time that Ultima will be joining them.
As the family travels to the Luna farm, Antonio and Ultima ride in the back of the truck and watch the landscape. Passing over the bridge that leads out of his town, Antonio sees many familiar landmarks recede into the expanse behind them: Rosie's house, the church, the El Rito bridge. In a foreshadowing of things to come, right after the family comes in view of El Puerto, the home of Antonio's maternal relatives, they pass by Tenorio's Bar.
Before going anywhere else, the family greets Prudencio, Maria's father, as dictated by custom. Maria rushes into her father's arms in her joy at seeing him, but the greeting between Prudencio and Ultima is much more subdued, like that between old friends; Prudencio tells Ultima it is "good to have you with us again".
Maria's father asks after her husband and older sons, and this leads to a conversation about how much death the war has brought, and how much evil there is in the world. The Luna family takes respite from this evil in their own world of farming where people are "happy, working, helping each other". Prudencio says of his grandson Antonio, "there is hope in that one", and Maria tells him oof her wish that he will join the priesthood. To that end, Prudencio tells Maria that she must send Antonio to the Luna farm after his first communion, before he is "lost" like his brothers. As Antonio listens, unknown, to this conversation, he thinks he sees witches, in the form of balls of light, dancing in the trees across the river.
Discussion Questions
1. What symbolism do you see in Antonio's journey from his town to his mother's family's farm?
2. Do you think, at this point in the story, that it is Antonio's responsibility to fulfill his mother's dream? Is he betraying that side of his family if he doesn't?
Friday, September 18, 2009
Chapter 4
This chapter marks a transition for Antonio and his family, as summer is about to end and the family will travel to visit his uncles on his mother's side of the family, who are farmers in the village of El Puerto, about ten miles away.
Antonio has been spending time with Ultima walking in the hills of the llano, helping her collect the wild herbs and roots she uses in her medicines. Ultima teaches Antonio about plants - where they grow and what they look like - and about the natural world. "For Ultima, even the plants had a spirit, and before I dug she made me speak to the plant and tell it why we pulled it from its home in the earth. 'You that grow well here in the arroyo by the dampness of the river, we lift you to make good medicine,' Ultima intoned softly and I found myself repeating after her." Ultima is happy in the hills, and when Antonio watches her and imitates her walk, "I found that I was no longer lost in the enormous landscape of hills and sky. I was a very important part of the teeming life of the llano and the river." Antonio again senses the presence of the river.
As Antonio asks Ultima about his uncles whom they will soon visit, he thinks about the two very different sides of his family - the "strange and quiet" Lunas on his mother's side and the "loud and wild" Márez family on his father's side. Ultima compares them to the forces of nature for which they are named - the Lunas like the moon and the Márez like the ocean. Antonio loves both and wonders which he will choose. Ultima suggests that he not trouble himself with these thoughts, reminding him that he has plenty of time to find himself.
Later that day, after dinner, the family prays the Rosario and Antonio describes the statue of Virgen de Guadalupe at his mother's altar. Antonio loves the Virgin best of all the Catholic saints. Having been taught about sin and the punishment of hell, he feels that "God was not always forgiving. He made laws to follow and if you broke them you were punished. The Virgin always forgave....But He was a giant man, and she was a woman. She could go to Him and ask Him to forgive you. her voice was sweet and gentle and with the help of her Son they could persuade the powerful Father to change His mind."
That night, Antonio dreams of his brothers, about whom he had been thinking that day, and about his mother's prayer to the Virgin that he will become a priest. In his dream, the Virgin is "in mourning" for him, the fourth son.
Discussion Questions
1. How do the events of this chapter illustrate the conflicts and choices Antonio faces?
2. What is the meaning of Antonio's most recent dream?
Antonio has been spending time with Ultima walking in the hills of the llano, helping her collect the wild herbs and roots she uses in her medicines. Ultima teaches Antonio about plants - where they grow and what they look like - and about the natural world. "For Ultima, even the plants had a spirit, and before I dug she made me speak to the plant and tell it why we pulled it from its home in the earth. 'You that grow well here in the arroyo by the dampness of the river, we lift you to make good medicine,' Ultima intoned softly and I found myself repeating after her." Ultima is happy in the hills, and when Antonio watches her and imitates her walk, "I found that I was no longer lost in the enormous landscape of hills and sky. I was a very important part of the teeming life of the llano and the river." Antonio again senses the presence of the river.
As Antonio asks Ultima about his uncles whom they will soon visit, he thinks about the two very different sides of his family - the "strange and quiet" Lunas on his mother's side and the "loud and wild" Márez family on his father's side. Ultima compares them to the forces of nature for which they are named - the Lunas like the moon and the Márez like the ocean. Antonio loves both and wonders which he will choose. Ultima suggests that he not trouble himself with these thoughts, reminding him that he has plenty of time to find himself.
Later that day, after dinner, the family prays the Rosario and Antonio describes the statue of Virgen de Guadalupe at his mother's altar. Antonio loves the Virgin best of all the Catholic saints. Having been taught about sin and the punishment of hell, he feels that "God was not always forgiving. He made laws to follow and if you broke them you were punished. The Virgin always forgave....But He was a giant man, and she was a woman. She could go to Him and ask Him to forgive you. her voice was sweet and gentle and with the help of her Son they could persuade the powerful Father to change His mind."
That night, Antonio dreams of his brothers, about whom he had been thinking that day, and about his mother's prayer to the Virgin that he will become a priest. In his dream, the Virgin is "in mourning" for him, the fourth son.
Discussion Questions
1. How do the events of this chapter illustrate the conflicts and choices Antonio faces?
2. What is the meaning of Antonio's most recent dream?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 opens with the Márez family waking up and preparing to go to Mass. Antonio, still in his bed, listens to the familiar and comforting sounds of Sunday morning. This comfort is somewhat overshadowed by his knowledge of the events of the previous evening. He is worried about his father’s soul as well as Lupito’s and the other men who were on the bridge.
As the family is preparing to go to church Antonio wonders how his mother and father, who are so very different ever got together and married. His mother is a very devout Catholic while his father makes fun of priests and calls them women.” His mother will not break her fast until after she receives the Holy Communion while his father and Ultima, however drink coffee. Antonio muses that they are the only people he knows who will eat before receiving the Eucharist.
The family walks together to the church, where the men and women segregate themselves and do not mingle together. At the church Antonio goes around to the back, where the older boys play around, wrestle, curse and spit. We are introduced to the children with whom he will soon be attending school; Ernie, Horse, Bones, Samuel, The Vitamin Kid, Abel, Florence, and Lloyd. Even though Tony has never before spoken to these boys, he knows a lot about them from observing them at Mass.
The boys finally notice Antonio. Horse beckons Tony to him and Tony knows that Horse wants to wrestle him. Tony does not want to wrestle with Horse, since he is so much bigger than Antonio. But Antonio‘s father said “a man of the llano does not run from a fight.” Antonio ends up flipping Horse and thereby earning the respect of Horse and the other boys. The chapter ends with Antonio become one of the gang.
Discussion questions:
1. Is it significant that Antonio chooses this day to join the other boys?
2. Why do you think the men and women don't mingle before Mass?
As the family is preparing to go to church Antonio wonders how his mother and father, who are so very different ever got together and married. His mother is a very devout Catholic while his father makes fun of priests and calls them women.” His mother will not break her fast until after she receives the Holy Communion while his father and Ultima, however drink coffee. Antonio muses that they are the only people he knows who will eat before receiving the Eucharist.
The family walks together to the church, where the men and women segregate themselves and do not mingle together. At the church Antonio goes around to the back, where the older boys play around, wrestle, curse and spit. We are introduced to the children with whom he will soon be attending school; Ernie, Horse, Bones, Samuel, The Vitamin Kid, Abel, Florence, and Lloyd. Even though Tony has never before spoken to these boys, he knows a lot about them from observing them at Mass.
The boys finally notice Antonio. Horse beckons Tony to him and Tony knows that Horse wants to wrestle him. Tony does not want to wrestle with Horse, since he is so much bigger than Antonio. But Antonio‘s father said “a man of the llano does not run from a fight.” Antonio ends up flipping Horse and thereby earning the respect of Horse and the other boys. The chapter ends with Antonio become one of the gang.
Discussion questions:
1. Is it significant that Antonio chooses this day to join the other boys?
2. Why do you think the men and women don't mingle before Mass?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Chapter 2
Chapter 2 begins peacefully, with Antonio recounting how Ultima became a part of his family's daily lives after moving into their home. He helps her gather her medicinal herbs and she teaches him their names and to appreciate the beauty of nature. But the story quickly turns to violence in an act that will have a profound affect on the young narrator.
On a Saturday night, after the family has retired early so they can go to mass the next day, their neighbor Chávez runs to their house and awakens them with frantic yelling. Chávez's brother, the town sheriff, has been killed by a man named Lupito. Lupito is known in the town to be psychologically damaged since his return from fighting in World War II. Chávez recruits Antonio's father Gabriel, as well as several other men from town, to hunt down and punish Lupito. Antonio secretly follows the party of angry men to the river, were he hides in the tall grass along the banks. While hidden in the grass, Antonio see Lupito hiding there as well, and sees the look in Lupito's eyes -- that of a "trapped, savage animal". Most of the men in the party are bent on revenge, and wish to shoot Lupito, but Gabriel tries to persuade them not to do it. Narciso, the town drunk but also a friend of the Márez family, joins Gabriel's plea for mercy, and tells the band of men to "act like men", reminding them that Lupito is not an animal, but a man made sick by his time in the war. But Lupito stands, revealing himself, and begins shooting into the air as if he has given up and is purposely trying to draw the fire of the men hunting him. The men shoot Lupito, and Antonio, who has witnessed it all, begins to pray and continues to do so as he runs home.
Antonio fears for the fate of his father's soul for being party to a murder, and for the soul of Lupito, and imagines that the river will now forever be stained with Lupito's blood. Antonio's fear is allayed when he hears Ultima's owl singing to him as he comes home, and he realizes that the owl has been with him the entire night. Ultima greets him in the dark as he slips back into his house, and he knows that she knew he was gone and where he had been but will keep his secret. When Antonio asks her if Lupito will go to hell for what he has done, Ultima tells him that it is not for them to say, and that Lupito was sick. Of the men who shot him, she only says "men will do what they must do".
Ultima tends to the scratches Antonio received running through tree branches on the way home from the river, and gives him medicine to help him sleep. That night, Antonio dreams of his brothers, who are away at war, and in his dream he argues with them about whether he belongs to the Lunas of his mother's side of the family, and will become a farmer and priest, or if he belongs to the Márezs of his father's side, and belongs to the llanos. A cry is heard near the river in his dream, and his brothers think it is La Llorona, the Weeping Woman of the river, or the tormented soul of Lupito, but Antonio tells them that it is the presence of the river itself. Antonio, dressed in a priest's robe, intercedes with the river on behalf of his brothers, and the river lets them pass to the opposite bank where they build a castle. Antonio's dream ends with his mother crying and moaning because each day her young son is growing older.
Discussion Questions:
1. What is the role of dreams in the novel?
2. Do you think that Antonio's dreams are glimpses of the future, or just his subconscious mind trying to work through the conflicts he is experiencing as he begins to mature?
3. What do you think Antonio's dream the night of Lupito's murder means?
On a Saturday night, after the family has retired early so they can go to mass the next day, their neighbor Chávez runs to their house and awakens them with frantic yelling. Chávez's brother, the town sheriff, has been killed by a man named Lupito. Lupito is known in the town to be psychologically damaged since his return from fighting in World War II. Chávez recruits Antonio's father Gabriel, as well as several other men from town, to hunt down and punish Lupito. Antonio secretly follows the party of angry men to the river, were he hides in the tall grass along the banks. While hidden in the grass, Antonio see Lupito hiding there as well, and sees the look in Lupito's eyes -- that of a "trapped, savage animal". Most of the men in the party are bent on revenge, and wish to shoot Lupito, but Gabriel tries to persuade them not to do it. Narciso, the town drunk but also a friend of the Márez family, joins Gabriel's plea for mercy, and tells the band of men to "act like men", reminding them that Lupito is not an animal, but a man made sick by his time in the war. But Lupito stands, revealing himself, and begins shooting into the air as if he has given up and is purposely trying to draw the fire of the men hunting him. The men shoot Lupito, and Antonio, who has witnessed it all, begins to pray and continues to do so as he runs home.
Antonio fears for the fate of his father's soul for being party to a murder, and for the soul of Lupito, and imagines that the river will now forever be stained with Lupito's blood. Antonio's fear is allayed when he hears Ultima's owl singing to him as he comes home, and he realizes that the owl has been with him the entire night. Ultima greets him in the dark as he slips back into his house, and he knows that she knew he was gone and where he had been but will keep his secret. When Antonio asks her if Lupito will go to hell for what he has done, Ultima tells him that it is not for them to say, and that Lupito was sick. Of the men who shot him, she only says "men will do what they must do".
Ultima tends to the scratches Antonio received running through tree branches on the way home from the river, and gives him medicine to help him sleep. That night, Antonio dreams of his brothers, who are away at war, and in his dream he argues with them about whether he belongs to the Lunas of his mother's side of the family, and will become a farmer and priest, or if he belongs to the Márezs of his father's side, and belongs to the llanos. A cry is heard near the river in his dream, and his brothers think it is La Llorona, the Weeping Woman of the river, or the tormented soul of Lupito, but Antonio tells them that it is the presence of the river itself. Antonio, dressed in a priest's robe, intercedes with the river on behalf of his brothers, and the river lets them pass to the opposite bank where they build a castle. Antonio's dream ends with his mother crying and moaning because each day her young son is growing older.
Discussion Questions:
1. What is the role of dreams in the novel?
2. Do you think that Antonio's dreams are glimpses of the future, or just his subconscious mind trying to work through the conflicts he is experiencing as he begins to mature?
3. What do you think Antonio's dream the night of Lupito's murder means?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Welcome to the Big Read 2009 blog! Today on the first day of our monthlong celebration of Rudolfo Anaya's book Bless Me, Ultima, Rancho Library staff will begin a series of posts talking about one chapter of the book each weekday. We invite you to read along with us and add your comments!
Chapter 1 begins by introducing the book's setting and main characters. The narrator is six-year-old Antonio Juan Márez y Luna who lives with his mother, father and two younger sisters in Guadalupe, New Mexico. Antonio has three older brothers who are away from home fighting in World War II. Antonio's story begins with the arrival of Ultima, a curandera or traditional healer who is rumored to have the magical abilities to heal the sick and lift curses. Ultima, now an old woman, has come to stay with Márez y Luna family during the last years of her life.
Antonio's father, Gabriel Márez, is a former vaquero or cowboy who still loves the llano, the open land that he and his old compadres used to wander. Antonio's mother, María Luna Márez, is the daughter of farmers and a devout Catholic who hopes that her youngest son will one day become a priest. The family home is located on the border between the town and the llano, and we see how Antonio feels the pull of both sides of his family when he dreams of his own birth, in which Ultima served as the midwife.
At the end of the chapter Ultima arrives and meets each member of the Márez y Luna family and we are introduced to Ultima's owl, her constant companion who is never far away.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why does the Márez y Luna family ask Ultima to live with them?
2. Why does she think Antonio is special?
Chapter 1 begins by introducing the book's setting and main characters. The narrator is six-year-old Antonio Juan Márez y Luna who lives with his mother, father and two younger sisters in Guadalupe, New Mexico. Antonio has three older brothers who are away from home fighting in World War II. Antonio's story begins with the arrival of Ultima, a curandera or traditional healer who is rumored to have the magical abilities to heal the sick and lift curses. Ultima, now an old woman, has come to stay with Márez y Luna family during the last years of her life.
Antonio's father, Gabriel Márez, is a former vaquero or cowboy who still loves the llano, the open land that he and his old compadres used to wander. Antonio's mother, María Luna Márez, is the daughter of farmers and a devout Catholic who hopes that her youngest son will one day become a priest. The family home is located on the border between the town and the llano, and we see how Antonio feels the pull of both sides of his family when he dreams of his own birth, in which Ultima served as the midwife.
At the end of the chapter Ultima arrives and meets each member of the Márez y Luna family and we are introduced to Ultima's owl, her constant companion who is never far away.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why does the Márez y Luna family ask Ultima to live with them?
2. Why does she think Antonio is special?
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