Chicano literature- Bless Me, Ultima - Character analysis

Character Analysis - Bless me, Ultima

Ultima

           Ultima's character is the most complex, and although the deuteragonist,she can be seen as the heroine of the story. Ultima is a person of action, the one who performs the healings and provides guidance to others. She is the one who nurtures Antonio's spiritual awakening. She is the mentor and guide of little boy Antonio. She came to live with Marez family.

            Ultima is a practical and helpful person. She has been a midwife, she is a healer, and she helps María with daily chores around the house

           Ultima is a strong, confident woman who uses her knowledge and power to do good in the world. Her character combines elements of indigenous and European cultures (that is, paganism and Catholicism) into a coherent unity that provides an alternative to the Church and to the rational, scientific knowledge of the Anglo Americans. Ultima can be seen as the scapegoat of a cosmic struggle between good and evil.

           Ultima is described in detail by Anaya. She is very old and wrinkled. She has a brown face, black hair, withered hands, and brown teeth. She has clear, brown, laughing eyes that sparkle like those of a child. She has the sweet fragrance of herbs about her, dresses in black, with a shawl about her shoulders. She keeps her possessions in a large blue tin trunk.

           Ultima's owl is a good owl, in contrast with the usual alignment in the culture of the owl with the dark side of life. Her owl acts as a protector which embodiment of soul, so she dies when it does.

           Ultima is a practical and helpful person. She has been a midwife, she is a healer, and she helps María with daily chores around the house.

 Antonio

          He is the protagonist and narrator of the novel. He is a six- years old Chicano boy.  The youngest of six children of Gabriel and María Márez. Six-year-old Antonio is a precocious boy who is intrigued by the events in his life and torn by several dilemmas that he faces during this period of his life. " The day dawned, and already the time of youth was fleeing the house which the three giants of my dream had built." He is caught between the opposing destinies envisioned for him by his parents, and he struggles to find his own path. His mother Maria, the devoutly Catholic daughter of a farmer, she wants Antonio to follow her Luna family tradition by becoming a priest. Antonio's father Gabriel is the son of vaqueros, or cowboys, and he prefers that Antonio follow the Márez tradition of restless wandering across the llano, or plains. His search for understanding is precipitated by several events in his life. He is searching for models to follow as he embarks on a quest for his destiny. Although many clues to the answers to his questions are provided in his dreams and in his life, he has difficulties in understanding the world around him. "Ultima's spirit bathed me with its strong resolution".  In the process, he serves as an "apprentice" to Ultima, adapts to going to school, makes his first holy communion, and witnesses several fatal events. 

Tenorio

            Tenorio is the embodiment of evil. He is a man of action who serves as the antagonist against Ultima and Antonio. He owns saloon in El Puerto. He practices witchcraft.  He has three  daughters who were known by the name, brujas means witches. Little is known about him except that the villagers believe that his wife was, and that his daughters are, black witches. "For what you have said to shame my daughters and my good name in front of those men, I will see you dead!".

             Tenorio is a determined man who carries out his threats. He is tenacious and holds on to his evil aims despite having to invest lots of time to realize them. He kills Narciso for defending Ultima and kills ultima's owl because it made him blind. "Your evil bird blinded me! he cried. For that I curse you! I will see you dead! And you, Narciso, I swear to kill you!"

             Tenorio has a thin, hunched body. His face is thin and drawn, with tufts of beard on it. His lips are thin, and his eyes are dark and narrow, with an evil glint emanating from them. Finally, he was shot by Antonio's uncle Pedro Luna.