Bless Me, Ultima Some things to know…

Warning!  This book is definitely rated PG-13!  There are a lot of bad words…mostly in Spanish.  There are some “sexual situations,” as MPAA calls them.  Advice:  Don’t be offended: Anaya’s characters have some very strong feelings about people, religion, etc. He’s just trying to make his novel realistic.  Just go with it. It’s not gratuitous; it makes sense in context. For example...  Be the mature high schooler I know you are.

Spanish ahead!  There are a lot of Spanish words and phrases (duh! It takes place in New Mexico, and the characters are all Chicanos)  The fact that Anaya does not directly incorporate an English translation is a strategy  It reflects the linguistic and cultural reality of Mexican- Americans living in the Southwestern United States.  While not providing a direct translation, Anaya provides a subtle translation in the context of the reading as a whole.  For those who are not familiar with Spanish, I’ve provided you a handout (use it as a bookmark!).

 NOTE: “The vast majority of Chicano were taught to be afraid of a certain type of English: the language of Anglos who initiated and sustained their social and economic disenfranchisement, who consciously or unconsciously instigated their traumatic experiences in monolingual Anglo schools, and who subscribed to and exacerbated the racism under which they have always lived in the United States even though they are U.S. citizens. At the same time, Chicano/as were equally intimidated by the Spanish spoken by people of middle-class or higher economic strata who come from Latin America. For how could a language of those so different experientially from Chicano/as, speak for those who have so long been denied a sense of belonging, a sense of historical ties to this nation, and indeed, to any nation?” (Ana Castillo, Massacre of the Dreamers, p. 167)

Misc. help  Reading schedule:  Scan the handout  It’s do-able. There are some times when it may seem fast to some people. However, at this pace, we will finish the novel AND an essay before Winter Break, which means…  No homework over break!  Write your name in the front of your book  Unless you speak Spanish fluently, translate the chapter numbers. For example…