Bless_Me_Ultima

Bless Me Ultima Bless Me Ultima Bless Me Ultima, a book by Rudolfo A. Anaya, is about a young boy named Antonio who comes of age through troubling ordeals throughout the book. He is aided in this journey by a curandera named Ultima, who teaches Tony many life lessons. Anaya uses animals to symbolize intangible attributes such as good and evil. Representing Ultima, he uses the owl, which serves as the good character, while the coyote represents evil, portrayed by Tenorio. The Golden Carp is a symbol of Tony’s uncertainty toward religion and morality. Anaya’s portrayal of these mystical characteristics shapes Tony’s ascent into manhood. The need for good is represented by the owl, which symbolizes Ultima. The symbolic value of the owl is seen early in the story when Tony calls it “Ultima’s owl”. Tony is aware of the presence of the owl because he “heard the owl cry its warning” before the death of Lupito. This foreshadowing of events occurs throughout the book, and shows the magical powers Tony believed to belong to the owl / Ultima. Because of these powers Tony’s life is confusing and unstable. The owl also proves to be a savior to Antonio’s family when it “pounced on bless, ultima, tony, owl, tony’s, coyotes, story, life, evil, carp, through, tenorio, good, book, animals, young, while, toward, religion, others, must, help, golden, god, even, death, anaya, age, unique, throughout, tenorio’s, shows, short, represents, questions, powers, perspective