Bless Me Ultima
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“Bless Me Ultima” Essay
The terrain around Antonios house, affects whom he grows up to be. The lake with the golden carp affects his faith, and helps shape his religious self. Antonios experience with the golden carp enlightened him and gave him a feeling that he had a connection to a supernatural being, that was previously unknown. “The orange of the golden carp appeared at the edge of the pond. . . . We watched in silence at the beauty and grandeur of the great fish”. This quote, really describes the sort of radiating power, and its divine beauty, and really shows how god-like this great carp is. The carp also shows him that you can believe in god and still experience alternate religious encounters. This broadens his perspective on religion and changes his point of view on Christianity.
The style of living in his house is conflicting with Luna and Marez tradition. This shows Antonio two things. First it shows him that religion/ethnicity/ traditions/ etc. can live together and that people can put there differences behind them and live in harmony. It also brings the idea of what group he wants to be part of. His father says that he must be a Marez because he was baptized in the salt water, and that this binds him to the Marez traditions. Though when he speaks to Ultima, She says that all water is the same, and at one point the salt water will be pure water and the pure water will be salt. This idea shows Antonio that the past does not matter, and that it is his choice of which group he wants to be. I believe this is symbolic to the world wide discrimination, and Ultima is saying that water is water it doesnt matter whether it has salt or not, I believe this is another hint that can be tied to the discrimination, saying that people are people and their color/race/religion etc. doesnt matter. This recurring idea of equality is important to Antonios decision of what group he wants to choose, because it allows him to make a decision without the pressure of his family, and pressure from peers.