This book was very interesting to me. I saw some things that were similar to my life. Antonio’s mother is a Catholic who is really into her faith tradition. She wants Antonio to be a priest. This sounds like my mother. My mother is always at church and she really is into the Catholic faith. She has told me numerous times that she had a dream about me being a priest. She always brings it up every time I talk to her and that it is a sign. I always respond back saying that I do not want to be a priest. Another similarity I saw was the character Antonio. Antonio was a child who thought, thought, and thought. He always questioned his faith, his parents, life, and his destiny. He just seemed like an emotional kid who would think about the situations around himself. For a kid to do this surprises me a little bit. Antonio worried about many aspects of his faith and questioned everything. I feel like kids should not be like this. They should live as they should not care about the struggles around their lives. Antonio is a special kid to be like this. I have a nephew similar to Antonio. His name actually is Antonio so I made that connection quickly. Both act the same way. They think about everything and seem to be emotional kids. That is really what made me like this book. I saw my nephew through Antonio and I couldn’t stop thinking about how similar these two are.
Ultima was a character who I liked and didn’t like. All her knowledge and magical ways made me think she was a witch in some way. I thought about it throughout the whole book. Is she a witch, even though it says she wasn’t, or she a worker for God? I personally feel like this is not Christian and it bothered me. She was a great character but her “curandera” ways is something that I struggled with.
As far as the book presentation, I thought Mandy and Zachary presented the information. They brought in great details about the background of the book. The discussions were good and the picture activity in the end was fun. As far as the novel, it was a great read. It is one of the few books I have read that had connections to my own life. Antonio reminded me of my nephew. It made me miss home and my nephew.
First of all, it's really neat that you could relate to this book in such a direct way, I'm sure it changed the way you related to characters, events, and Anaya's writing in general.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your acknowledgment of your struggles with the character of Ultima. This was interesting for me to read about because I had a completely different experience with this character. You said you couldn't help thinking about her as a witch since she had magical powers. I tended to view her magic not as a witch's magic, but as an intense connection with the spiritual. Not god/s necessarily - something more vague than that, something intangible.
Overall, the qualities in Ultima that made her seem like a witch, I thought to be gifts that she shared with the world.
You ask a really important and insightful question though. Does Ultima's curandera ways make her "un-christian?" How can she work for God, be human, and have magical powers? Interesting questions to ask.
I think it is really great how much you can identify in a direct way with the Catholic aspects of this book. That is something I was not able to identify with. I grew up in a non-denominational church. However, I did have a little experience with the Catholic church. My father's parents are Catholic. When we went to visit them, we used to attend mass with them. Since I had such a different church experience, the Catholic church seemed very strange to me. I did not, and still do not, understand the ways of the religion and so for me, it was just going through the motions while I was there as to not stick out.
ReplyDeleteI also find it interesting how you struggle with the character of Ultima. The more I think about the book, the more I can identify with your struggles as well. While I was reading, I was more focused on Antonio's journey instead of Ultima's. However, Ultima does have an interesting role. Does it ever say that she is a christian? Or catholic? I don't find her ways to be reflecting that of a christian in some ways. This is a very interesting point to think about. There were many things that make you think about whether she was a witch or not. The most challenging for me was when she was first accused, she walked through the door marked with a cross. However, Antonio noticed that the cross had been broken and didn't know if it was before or after she passed through. I find it interesting and wish there was a clear cut answer.
I agree with what you said about how kids should not have to act like grown-ups, especially when they are only seven years old. In "Bless Me, Ultima," Antonio does not act like a kid, but seriously contemplates what his future role in life is going to be. When I was seven years old, my biggest problem was finishing all my vegetables at lunch!
ReplyDeleteThe character of Ultima was also hard for me to comprehend. She was a good person who was only interested in helping others, but at the same time she seemed to have the characteristics of some good sorceress. I would kind of compare her to Glinda the Good Witch of the North from the Wizard of Oz. My perception of Ultima, though, stems from former interactions with witches and ghosts. Do things like this actually exist? In this way, the character of Ultima was a window for me into an unfamiliar culture with unfamiliar traditions.
I also thought the questioning done by Antonio was interesting. As I was reading the book I kept thinking about what concerned me when I was his age and I can’t remember thinking about the difficult issues he was dealing with thought out the book. Anaya gives Antonio a more adult voice, which contrasts with his desire to not lose his innocence, since adults are assumed to have lost their innocence at an earlier time.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that you could make a personal connection with the book, I find this often makes understanding a book easier and more enjoyable.
It's really an interesting coincidence that you have a nephew Antonio who reminds you of the title character in the book. I think some people are born with this extra sensitivity to others and to spiritual things--a special gift. But it can be difficult to handle as a child when people around you don't understand. We'll talk more about Ultima in class. She represents the Native American element in Anaya's New Mexican heritage, but I think she also stands for love and caring for the earth that transcends boundaries. I can understand how she brings out ambivalent feelings in you.
ReplyDelete