Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya Chapters: 17-End

    I've come to the end, but reluctantly I came. I have dreaded this last and final blog post since the beginning of break. Maybe it's because I'm lazy, or too preoccupied with other things, but I've been done for some time now and have been pushing this off to the last possible moment. I did like the book, I like what it had to say and I can barely close the book because of all the pages I have folded and marked which is a good sign. However it is not my favorite book, but it's a school book anyway, so I wasn't expecting it to be. My other posts have seemed painfully long, so I'll make this short and simple.
    Within these last final chapters Antonio really comes to term with his faith and with himself. He begins to make his own decisions, deciding what was right, what was wrong, and what to believe in. Antonio started the long journey of becoming a man, and he recognizes that the summer he spends with his uncles was the last summer he was still a true child. Antonio has so many questions, and looks to the God of the church to answer his questions. Why is life unfair? Why does evil exist? Why did Narciso die and Tenorio live? Antonio is so eager to receive communion and gain God's wisdom, understanding, and finally find some answers, but when the time comes, he is left with silence. "Sometimes, in moments of great anxiety and disappointment, I wondered if God was alive anymore, or if he had ever been." Antonio develops more of a conscience and moral awareness, he realizes life is unfair. "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me!" Ultima aids Antonio on his journey into manhood, "Life is full of sadness when a boy grows to be a man. But as you grow into manhood you must not despair of life, but gather strength to sustain you." Life for Antonio is changing, and Ultima teaches him to embrace that change. When Ultima dies, Antonio must look at it through her perspective and embrace it. He also learns to embrace  the harmony of life, and Antonio makes peace with his identity when he accepts both his Luna and Marez heritages. Death is just another change, and Antonio realizes that although change can bring grief, it can also bring wisdom and understanding. Understanding is also another important theme within the book. Antonio's conversation with his father showed the Marez in a different and surprising light, one full of insight. "We fear evil only because we do not understand it.....Understanding comes with life, as a man grows he sees life and death, he is happy and sad, he works, plays, meets people-sometime it takes a life time to acquire understanding, because in the end understanding simply means having sympathy for people." Like I've said before, this is a coming of age book. When children put away childish things and use the wisdom they have acquired from life and those around them to make decisions on how they should live their life. Antonio is changing, and learning to embrace the change.

LET'S CHECK OUT MY PREDICTIONS!

1.Ultima is going to die. Plain and simple. 2. I feel like something tragic is going to happen to his brothers. Maybe the war changed them,  maybe their family is not the same, maybe they go crazy or get hurt or whatever. 3. I think Ultima calls Antonio "Juan" not simply because it is his middle name, but because it has something to do with his magical abilities and potential. Perhaps she is also a "Juan". Or maybe those who have the ability to see the golden carp are "juans".      4. Tenorio is going to die/be killed, but not before he harms/kills another character.      5. The river will flood....duh. 6. The brothers won't come back (thank god).  7. I believe Antonio's Luna uncles will have knowledge that Ultima's saftey is in jeopardy, but will once again show cowardice and not warn them. 1. We have a winner! 2. Define tragic... 3. Couldn't be more wrong 2419 4. Yeahhhh baby 5. Swing and a miss 6. Ding Ding Ding! 7. :(