Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya Book Analysis Essay

Throughout our lives we witness death, some witness it at a young and vulnerable and others have already learned how the world is a brutal and unforgiving place. In the novel Bless me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, which guides us through Antonios struggles with faith and family growing up. At the beginning of the story Antonio is six years old and quickly learns the devastation of death. In his youth he does not understand that the world is not fair which leads him to question everything. Through the deaths of Lupito and Narciso, Antonio discovers the cruelty of the world and struggles with his faith.

Growing up Antonio was exposed to death frequently, the first death he witnessed was when Lupito was shot. The trauma caused Antonio to lose part of his innocence, most young children view the world as fair and just, but Antonio is realizing that the future is at times out of our control. His mother has encouraged him to become a priest and have faith, Antonio struggles with religion “A priest could have saved Lupito. Oh why did my mother dream for me to be a priest! How would I ever wash away the stain of blood from the sweet waters of my river”(23). Antonio is suffering and cannot find the good in the world after such a devastating moment. He has been raised Catholic and has been taught that God has come to save the world, but God did not save Lupito. Later in his life Antonio is recollecting his memories of Lupitos death he remembers Narciso on the bridge “He had tried to reason with the men; he had tried to save Lupitos life. He had been called a drunk”(108). Narciso repeats “he had tried” and juxtaposes the last line “he had” this emphasizes the idea of being defeated and helps the reader understand just how unfair the situation was. When Antonio heard “He had been called a drunk” it shows him that our society puts different values on people's life based on class. In Catholicism it is taught everyone is equal under God which leads Antonio into religious questioning when he sees how Lupito was not treated as an equal. Lupitos death took a part of Antonio's innocence and caused him to question the world for years after the incident. 

The world seems to get darker as we grow up, Antonio's view on the world continues to get more realistic throughout his journey. When Antonio sees Narciso get shot by Tenerio therefore Antonio acts as a priest he explains “I wanted to cry out into the storm that it was not fair that Narciso die for doing good, that it was not fair for a mere boy to be at the dying of a man”(170). Antonio has lost another part of his innocence when he watched another person die. He has to take the part of priest even though he was questioning his faith, this shows how Antonio is learning that we must put our wants aside for others needs. He has found another example that life is not fair and bad things happen to good people which causes him to question his faith even further. When Narciso’s death is ruled as an accident or self-inflicted Antonio is left confused about how little people care, he explains “He had the magic of growth in his hands and he passed it into the earth. Now his house was deserted and his garden withered away, and few people remembered anything good about Narciso”(177). Antonio is given another example how people are not valued equally in society, even though Narciso does have his strengths such as gardening and being fiercely loyal, he is not important to society. In this world not all lives matter which leaves Antonio questioning his faith. The tragedies of this world show us how unfair it truly is, and death reminds people of this injustice.

In conclusion, the trauma we experience with death shapes us and causes us to lose not only our innocence but also our faith in this world and beyond it. Life is not fair and all lives on this globe are not treated equally. Although we learn to treat others as equals sometimes through faith and others through tradition we still use biases which causes a divide. Through Antonio we understand, death is complicated and can change people's view on the world.