Bless Me Ultima :: essays research papers

Bless Me Ultima   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children in many cultures are forced into awkward situations, such as they are expected to make life long decision. Some children (usually boys) are forced to chose a bride at the very early ages. Others are to rule kingdoms, and palaces, and some even countries. In the novel Bless Me Ultima, Antonio experiences many difficult situations that are beyond his years and force him to mature much faster then other children his age.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For example Antonio is the cause of many of his parents fights that occur. They quarrel over what Antonio would be when he is older. Antonio’s mother wanted Antonio to be extremely intelligent, and she wanted him to grow up to be a priest. His mother once said â€Å"An education will make him a scholar, like–like the old Luna priest.†(54) His mother was not very educated, and tried to live her life through Antonio. She also talked a lot about bringing honor to the family. This is where the priest part comes in. Due to Tony’s mother being very religious she wanted Antonio to become a priest to bring honor to the family, and for him to have more of a relationship with â€Å"god†. Antonio’s father on the other hand did not agree with education, or Antonio becoming a priest. He thinks education is a waste of time and money. Antonio’s father grew up wandering on a horse back threw fields and meadows, never having any for mal education. His fathers dream is to own a vineyard, and to have his sons work on it together, and make it thrive. You did not need an education to juice grapes, and therefore it was not important to him. His father is not religous, and thinks its pointless for him to become a priests. His father did not have respect for priest, due to--------------. Antonio is towrn between his parents and searches for answers. He turns to Ultima for comfort â€Å"She understood that as I grew I would have to chose to be my mothers priest or my fathers son†(41). Although Ultima does not give Antonio straight answers on what he will grow to be she does help him through. Which is what he was longing for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another situation that Antonio was put in, was the witnessing of the many deaths that occurred during the novel and his young life. The first death Antonio witnessed was the death of Lupito.