Character Analysis of Antonio in Bless Me, Ultima - Essay Example

Character Analysis of Antonio in Bless Me, Ultima Rudolfo Alfonso Anaya’s novel Bless me, Ultima deals with the coming of age phase of its protagonist Antonio. It could be observed that Antonio represents Anaya’s alter ego. The growing up of Antonio in New Mexico is interspersed with the real-life experiences Anaya had there after his family migrated to Albuquerque when he was fifteen years old. However, the portrayal of Antonio is rather from the inside – since he is a passive spectator who happens to be deeply introspective.

The fact that Anaya had a swimming accident which left him partly paralyzed when he was seventeen years old had led him to pertinent philosophical questions regarding life. The philosophical bend of mind that Antonio exhibits can be transference of this element in the author’s own life. Antonio is presented in the novel as someone recounting the early development of his psyche. He is six years old when the narrative takes shape, but his conscience is filled with many existential queries.

He keeps questioning everything around him and tried to relate the ostensibly disconnected events of life to the greater patterns assigned to human life on the face of the earth. He experiences the tug of war between tradition and modernity from his early childhood. His mother Maria is a staunch Catholic and needs him to follow the family tradition and become a priest. His father, Gabriel, was a vaquero, or a cowboy, and though he allows Antonio greater freedom of thought and action, would like him to ride the Ilano open prairie to attain these.

The presence of Ultima, the old healer who spends the final days of her life with his family, is the most influential part of his growing up. Ultima served as the midwife for Antonio’s birth and she is considered responsible for his future as she buried his afterbirth. She initiates him to a direct confrontation of the harsh realities of life which makes him a thoughtful child who cares for the miseries that surround him. Antonio strikes a deep contrast to the hyperactive, insensitive friends during his childhood years.

He is evoked to the moral questions of life from the very first years of his life, perhaps because of the presence of Ultima in his family. He is seen as a brooding character, much more serious in nature than his peers. It is Ultima that brings together his confused little mind and prepares him for what future holds in store for him. Antonio happens to witness the death of Lupito and this leaves deep wound in his heart. He becomes all the more troubled and starts thinking intensely about the meaning of human life and the moral issues attendant to it.

He is unsure of the validity of Catholic faith after this incident. Questions that abound in his mind at this phase were related to sin, innocence, death, the after life, forgiveness and the nature of God. It is Ultima who teaches him to be responsible of his own moral choices. With her optimistic belief in everything positive, she shows respect towards Catholic faith even as those who claim to be Catholics denounce her practice of folk healing. Antonio is torn between questions regarding the power and moral issues of Catholic faith and folk healing.

He is disillusioned by the hypocrisy and prejudices of organized religion are drawn to the pagan elements of faith associated with folk healing practiced by Ultima. He learns to live in harmony with nature thanks to Ultima’s early influence in his life. And he tries to understand from her life and death how he has to accommodate all traditions even when the beliefs perpetuated by them contrast with his personal belief. Ultima’s prediction that Antonio’s destiny is to be a “man of learning” leaves a significant clue to what his specific mindset would lead him to in his future, though the novel does not depict his adult identity.

His childhood experiences and the ways in which he reacts to them are capable of making him a man of learning. He learns his lessons from his experiences and deep bonding with nature. Ultima’s death could have a left a profound impression in his mind, and he is truly up to the demand of being her heir as he buries her owl. He may not become a folk healer in the real sense, but he would be able to lead a life in harmony with nature and different thought processes that surround him, as advocated by Ultima.

References Anaya, Rudolfo Alfonso. Bless Me, Ultima. New York: Grand Central, 1994.