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?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Ultima has a special bond with Antonio because she assisted with his birth, but I think the two would have bonded anyway. Maybe Tony feels drawn to Ultima because she doesn't have any personal expectations of him the way his parents do. She seems more willing to let him make his own decisions than his mother or father, who are pulling him in opposing directions. I think Antonio senses this and understands that Ultima has his best interests at heart.
ReplyDeleteI would add that Ultima treats Antonio as if he is already an adult, which I think allows him the freedom to seek answers to his questions without the fear of reproval by his mother.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Ultima doesn't have a home of her own...maybe the people she's helped through the years have offered her a place to live, but something happened and now she's been left homeless.
ReplyDeleteShe may see Tony as someone who she can mentor and teach. She doesn't seem to have any family or apprentices, and she realizes that's she's getting older and needs to pass along her knowledge and expertise before she dies.