Who Is Antonio In Bless Me Ultima

As Antonio goes from a regular childhood to a series of unexpected, appalling events in his life, he has several changes in his state of mind and becomes aware of the horrible things that happen in the world but also learns about the magic on it too. He witnesses several deaths learns about the beauty and magic in nature and lastly questions his faith after everything. These events can be quite surprising considering that Antonio is a seven-year-old boy already being pressured by his parents into making a decision that will guide his entire future. In the beginning of the story, Antonio is introduced as a person who comes from an extremely religious family, but is also connected with a side of ranch farmers by his father. This all has a big toll on him but throughout the entire story, he still manages to maintain a loving, curious and brave personality.

The first turning point in “Bless Me Ultima” occurs when Ultima moved in with the Marez family. This family has high appreciation for Ultima which they call “La Grande” for respect. Ultima is a curandera and uses herbs and natural resources for cures. She can be considered to be one with nature, and she feels the energy it gave off and holds it very close to her heart. She then passes this knowledge down to Antonio and teaches him not only to see, but to feel “the wild beauty of the hills and the magic of the green river.” He realizes for the first time the beauty in his land. “A cry came to my throat, and I wanted to shout it and run in the beauty I had found”. Later in the story, Ultima and Antonio are sent to treat a curse the Trementina sisters had laid on Antonio’s uncle. On this trip, he said, “Would the magic of Ultima be stronger than all the powers of the saints and the Holy Mother Church?” This portrays that Antonio now realizes that there is more power, and not only in god. That there could be stronger power in Ultima or anywhere else in the world.

The second turning point is all of the deaths that Antonio witnesses. The death that had a terrible impact on Antonio was Narciso’s. Narciso could be recognized as the peacemaker in the book. He finds himself in situations to make peace often in the book such as when the men were about to kill Lupito on the bridge. “Por dios hombres!, Let us act like men! That is not an animal down there, that is a man”. Narciso tried to make the men understand that Lupito was sick from war and that they could settle things in a different manner. Narciso played such an important role in the character’s lives, so when Tenorio shot and killed him over anger towards Ultima, (who is good) Antonio was truly devastated. After this he questioned why God allowed bad things to happen to good people, and why he let the bad people get away with it. This is where his belief started deteriorating even more. Antonio’s deepest impact was Ultima’s death. Shortly after this, Tenorio kills Ultima’s soul which is her owl. This would be the second time God allow evil to kill his closest friend and person in which he found “a great deal of solace and peace”. No matter how angry and confused he was, he remembered Ultima’s words which said, “Take life’s experiences and build strength from them, not weakness.”

The last impactful event in Antonio’s life was his Holy Communion. Where he would receive god and finally be one with him, “Soon he would be with me, in me, and he would answer all the questions I had to ask.” Shortly after, he didn’t feel relieved. He didn’t feel like God was with him at all and his disappointment grew quickly. “The God I so eagerly sought was not there, and the understanding i thought to gain was not there.” In a way, Antonio grows angry at God because he did allow evil. He was angry that his good friends had died in the hands of evil. He didn’t have faith God truly looked out for everybody or even cared about everybody. After the realization that god can’t protect, it kind of spikes his decision to lead more towards the Marez legacy.

Overall, Antonio, at last, found what he truly felt passionate about. After all of the unfortunate events, he realizes God isn’t dependable. He learns that you have to act and not wait around for God’s sign or help because most of the time, there is no help from him. He found the beauty in nature and found inner peace after all of the trauma, and he now knows religion to him is not too important. What you believe and what your heart feels is