1. Identify the three major turning points in Antonio’s life. Why are they turning points, and how is he changed from those points forward? 2. Cultural conflict is evident throughout most of the novel. Identify the different manifestations of cultural conflict and how they impinge on Antonio’s life. 3. In […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsStudy Help Full Glossary for Bless Me, Ultima
abrazo embrace, or hug. acequia an irrigation ditch. ?Adios! Goodbye! adobe large bricks made of mud and straw. Agua Negra Black Water. ?Ah la veca! code, or slang, referring to the penis. Ah la verga — a reference to the penis. alamos cottonwood trees, which bloom in late May and […]
Read more Study Help Full Glossary for Bless Me, UltimaCritical Essays The Structure of Bless Me, Ultima
Antonio is caught between the competing lifestyles of his paternal and maternal families, and this conflict is embedded in the broader tension between Chicano/a and American cultures. His quest to understand takes him from a naive, innocent view of the world to one of increased knowledge and self-understanding. In the […]
Read more Critical Essays The Structure of Bless Me, UltimaCritical Essays Witchery in the Southwest
Nevertheless, the Spanish reflected the views of the European Middle Ages and divided the universe into opposing forces of good and evil. They believed in monsters, giants, wild men, and dragons, and tended to associate witchery with women. For the explorers of the sixteenth century, the Devil had an earthly […]
Read more Critical Essays Witchery in the SouthwestCritical Essays A Brief History of New Mexico
The earliest Europeans in the region wandered through it for years, after having been enslaved by natives near present-day Galveston, Texas. In 1527, Panfilo de Narvaez set out with an expedition of 300 men to conquer the provinces between the Rio Grande and the cape of Florida. Early in 1528, […]
Read more Critical Essays A Brief History of New MexicoRudolfo Anaya Biography
In 1952, Rudolfo’s family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Already a teenager, Rudolfo found the city exciting and adapted quickly. Barrio life in the Barelas section of the city swept him into the fold of the urban life of Chicano/as. In 1954, a swimming accident left Rudolfo temporarily paralyzed and […]
Read more Rudolfo Anaya BiographyCharacter Analysis Tenorio
Tenorio is a determined man who carries out his threats. He is tenacious and holds on to his evil aims despite having to invest lots of time to realize them. Tenorio has a thin, hunched body. His face is thin and drawn, with tufts of beard on it. His lips […]
Read more Character Analysis TenorioCharacter Analysis Ultima
Ultima is a strong, confident woman who uses her knowledge and power to do good in the world. Her character combines elements of indigenous and European cultures (that is, paganism and Catholicism) into a coherent unity that provides an alternative to the Church and to the rational, scientific knowledge of […]
Read more Character Analysis UltimaSummary and Analysis Chapter 22
Before Antonio leaves, Maria asks Ultima to bless them both. Antonio kisses Ultima and, driving away with his father, knows that he will never again see his sisters, his mother, nor Ultima in the same beauty of that sunny morning. On the journey, Gabriel tells his son that he himself […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 22Summary and Analysis Chapter 21
Arriving at the creek, they witness the arrival of the golden carp. To Antonio, it seems to be the embodiment of beauty, the god of here and now. He tells Cico that they must tell Florence about the golden carp. Florence needs at least one god, one that can bring […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 21