BLESS ME, ULTIMA BY RUDOLFO ANAYA Introduction and background information

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: RUDOLFO ANAYA Born October 30, 1937-Pastura, New Mexico Taught public school Albuquerque-7 years Became director of counseling at the University of Mexico-wrote his first, best-known novel-Bless Me, Ultima.

RUDOLFO ANAYA Has taught English and Writing at Yale, University of Michigan, and UCLA Called the “father of Chicano literature” and “poet of the *barrio” *(in Spain and countries colonized by Spain) one of the divisions into which a town or city, together with the contiguous rural territory, is divided. *a part of a large U.S. city, esp. a crowded inner-city area, inhabited chiefly by a Spanish speaking population.

RUDOLFO ANAYA Has written novels, one-act plays, short stories, an epic poem and a children’s story. Most of his stories center on the lives of Hispanics in the American southwest Themes focus on growing up and loss of faith.

RUDOLFO ANAYA Intrigued by the oral tradition of Spanish folktales. Anaya uses the literary approach called “mystical realism,” an integration or combination of the mythical and the realistic; the placement of naturalistic and supernatural details side by side in prose.

PLOT SUMMARY Set in New Mexico during World War II, this is the story of Antonio Marez’s coming of age. When Antonio is six, Ultima, an old woman who cures with herbs, comes to live with the family. There are those like the murderous Tenorio who consider this old woman and her magic to be evil, but it is Ultima’s love that helps young Tony face his confusion about God, his family, and his future.

MEXICO’S CATHOLICS 8.5 million Roman Catholics make up 90% of the country’s population. Of these 85 million Catholics, about 78% have an image of The Virgin of Guadalupe in their homes, denoting the high esteem many have for the dark- skinned Virgin. It is said The Virgin appeared to Indian peasant Juan Diego almost 500 years ago as the humble woodcutter was walking on a hillside near Mexico City. She told him she wanted a church built there to honor her, but when Diego told the bishop, he was not believed.

THE VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE

CONTINUED The Virgin appeared to Juan again and told him to gather roses in his cloak and take them to the bishop. When Diego opened his cloak to give them to the bishop, the cloak had been imprinted with a picture of the Virgin. The bishop recognized the miracle and ordered the first basilica to be built. Today the cloak can be seen in an elaborately secured, climate controlled display case with 4 moving sidewalks that circulate people by. Millions of the faithful visit the shrine in Mexico City each year to seek favors from the “mother of all Mexicans.” Many crawl the final 100 yards on their knees. The church’s recognition of the brown-skinned Virgin was important in influencing Mexican natives to convert to Catholicism.

LITERARY GENRE BILDUNGSROMANS A novel that deals with the development of a young person from adolescence to maturity; More often called a “coming-of- age” story.

Setting: New Mexico was originally inhabited by the Navajo, Pueblo, and Apache tribes. It was next settled by Spaniards and Mexicans who migrated from Mexico. New Mexico was ceded to the United States in It is the 47th state, admitted in The official languages are Spanish and English.

ANAYA INCLUDES MANY FOLKTALES FOLKTALE: a narrative form, like an epic, legend, myth, fable, etc., that is or has been retold within a culture for generations and is well known through repeated storytelling. a simple, timeless story that deals with the customs, traditions, and beliefs of ordinary people.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE The author uses numerous types of figurative language throughout the novel. Keep your eyes and mind alert for Personification-attributing or giving a “personal” nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions Hyperbole-obvious and intentional exaggeration Simile- a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in “she is like a rose” Metaphor-something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”

LITERARY TECHNIQUES Be on the look out for Anaya’s use of  Contrasts- to compare in order to show unlikeness or differences; note the opposite natures, purposes  Allusion- indirect reference  Suspense- a state or condition of mental uncertainty or excitement, as in awaiting a decision or outcome, usually accompanied by a degree of apprehension or anxiety  Foreshadowing-the organization and presentation of events and scenes in a work of fiction or drama so that the reader or observer is prepared to some degree for what occurs later in the work

ARCHETYPES Universal symbols, motifs or themes that may be found among many different cultures. Archetypes are everywhere!

WATER ARCHETYPE : Birth-death-resurrection; creation; purification and redemption; fertility and growth. Sea/ocean: the mother of all life; spiritual mystery; death and/or rebirth; timelessness and eternity. Rivers: death and rebirth (baptism); the flowing of time into eternity; transitional phases of the life cycle.

ROCK ARCHETYPE Can symbolize strength and power – may also show stability, hardness and endurance.

SUN ARCHETYPE Creative energy; thinking, enlightenment, wisdom, spiritual vision (fire and sky are closely related). Rising sun: birth, creation, enlightenment. Setting sun: death

WISE OLD MAN(OR WOMAN) ARCHETYPE : Savior, redeemer, guru, representing knowledge, reflection, insight, wisdom, intuition, and morality.

GARDEN ARCHETYPE Paradise, innocence, unspoiled beauty.

DESERT ARCHETYPE Spiritual aridity; death; hopelessness.

THE GREAT FISH ARCHETYPE Divine creation/life.

SYMBOLISM OF SEASONS Spring - rebirth; genre/comedy. Summer - life; genre/romance. Fall - death/dying; genre/tragedy. Winter - without life/death; genre/irony.