Term Paper on "Analytic on Bless Me Ultima"

Term Paper 4 pages (1174 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Bless Me, Ultima

"Ultima came to stay with us the summer I was almost seven. When she came the beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes...The magical time of childhood stood still, and the pulse of the living earth pressed its mystery into my living blood," (1). The magic of childhood is one of the recurring themes in Rudolpho Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima. However, when Anthony begins school he learns quickly that childhood can a tumultuous and challenging time. Anthony proves himself to be the "man of learning" as Ultima predicts him to be, but his classmates also make Anthony painfully aware of the role of ethnicity on social integration and identity formation. The school children in Bless Me Ultima represent the dominant culture, especially its suppression of individuality and diversity.

Through the school children, Anthony first encounters the conflict between his culture and the dominant Anglo society. Moreover, Anthony had already been struggling with the multiple facets of his own ethnic identity. Even before Anthony started school, Ultima had a tremendous impact on him and his self-concept. Anthony's internal struggles are later played out in the school. His awareness of being different and distinct from the majority of his classmates is enhanced when at the end of the school year Anthony is allowed to skip a grade. Skipping a grade symbolizes Anthony's being detached from the majority of his peers. He learns to rely on those friends who think independently and who do not readily conform to the Anglo social norms. Language remains the main barrier between Anthony and his classmates. However, language is only one facet of Anthony's identity. Even if Anthony spoke English, his radical ideas about religion, the self, and the universe would make it difficult for him to communicate with his classmates. Language only serves as a reminder that Anthony is qualitatively different from most other children his age.

Not all of the school children represent the dominant culture and conformity. For example, Cico is one of Anthony's friends whose vision of the world enhances diversity and independence. Cico becomes a key figure in Anthony's life, especially when he shows Anthony the golden carp. Soon after viewing the magical fish, Cico and Anthony return to the school yard where they are taunted by the other children. This scene, in Chapter Once (11), underscores the differences between the school children and Anthony. Anthony appreciates the magical universe that Ultima and Cico have helped unfold for him. The fact that the other school children do not appreciate alternative points-of-view teaches Anthony a lesson more difficult than any he will learn in class: People can be cruel.

The school children are in some ways portrayed as victims of their own culture. Unlike Anthony and Cico, the other children do not think independently. They base their thoughts, ideas, and opinions on those that are propagated by the dominant culture. For example, children like Ernie and Horse tease Anthony in Chapter 11. They tease Anthony partly to create a social hierarchy that mirrors the one in mainstream American culture. White people and their Christian culture are at the top of that social hierarchy. Yet the school children also tease Red for being a Protestant without fully understanding the theological differences between Catholicism and Protestantism. The school children demonstrate that in the real world there is little room for people who think outside of the dominant culture paradigm.

Children like Ernie serve as ambassadors for the dominant culture. The children have, in fact, inherited the dominant culture's… READ MORE

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