Bless Me, Ultima: The Cultural Distress Of A Young Society
An answer to the discussion question of whether or not there is a
defined border culture would need a great number of years in field research, but
we can also observe a few of the characteristics of such border culture just by
looking at scholastic essays and books related to the topic. Within the
research that I did, I found a number of scholars who, while defining the border,
mention all the specific or special characteristics of this new emerging society,
but who also very few times defined it as such. In the book that I researched,
Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo A. Anaya, we find many of those characteristics.
There is already much work on this piece of literature, therefore, I ...
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Literary Award in
1971.
The main characters of the novel are Antonio, his father, mother, two
sisters, three brothers, Tenorio and his three daughters, and Ultima. The
argument presents how a child, (Antonio), matures in one year, thanks to the
different episodes that he goes through. Antonio, a seven year old child,
narrates in first person, and describes the events that changed his life from
the moment that Ultima arrived at his house. During the beginning of the book,
his thoughts and actions are typical of such age, but as the events take place,
Antonio changes and matures incredible fast through the text. It is even hard
to find where the changes in his behavior take place, due to Rudolfo's smooth
literary transitions.
Carl and Paula Shirley condense their presentation of Bless Me, Ultima
by simply mentioning the story line of the book:
She (Ultima) is present from the boy's earliest experiences growing
up, family conflict, school, religion, evil and ...
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In the same way, Anaya's description of Antonio's life represents
ironies and contradictions, first in a main cultural collision of Mexican and
Anglo culture, family structure and language; and then, in more deep levels of
religion, and basic understanding of oneself. Inner fights and double realities
are present through out Antonio's development. Ramon Saldivar does an extensive
study of Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima, and as well as Shirley and Shirley, he seems
to be afraid of calling or recognizing a representation of a border culture.
Saldivar says:
Bless Me, Ultima thus can be said to capture in the form of romance
critical and complex transition period in ...
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"Bless Me, Ultima: The Cultural Distress Of A Young Society." Essayworld.com. September 18, 2007. Accessed April 20, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bless-Me-Ultima-Cultural-Distress-Young/71379.
"Bless Me, Ultima: The Cultural Distress Of A Young Society." Essayworld.com. September 18, 2007. Accessed April 20, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Bless-Me-Ultima-Cultural-Distress-Young/71379.
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