Bless Me Ultima

Bless Me Ultima: Themes Notes

Ultima:

* She was known to be a "curandera" (herb lady), also known as "hechicera", "bruja" which refers to a witch; Ultima was also referred to as "La Grande". In the eyes of many Ultima was seen as an evil woman, and to others they spoke of her with great respect. She had a reputation to cure people from the claws of evil by conducting exorcisms and using natural plants. She was full of secrets that intrigued many, perhaps to believe that she had never sin before in her life.

War:

* The war took place and Antonio's bothers: Leon, Eugenio, and Andres had served their nation. The family of the three individuals was miserable because the war had taken three brothers and sons away from the Marez- Luna family. Rafael, Antonio's father blamed the war for his misery, the war had separated his family. Therefore, this was the reason to why Rafael had a drinking problem.

* After the three brothers got back from war they were different, they wanted to leave Guadalupe (the pueblo) and leave to Vegas. They did not want to fulfill their parent's dreams, because they wanted to travel. The three brothers wanted to experience new events and adventures in their lives.

* Maria and Rafael were disappointed with their son's due to the fact they had other plans in their lives.

My man of learning:

* Antonio's mother, Maria Marez seen Antonio has a person who would grow up and become a wise man and become educated. Maria's dream was for Antonio to become a priest, honor the Luna's, become a person of good judgment and seek the salvation through the Holy Mother Church.

* Antonio became Ultima's helper from the day she entered the Marez and Luna household. He would always be out in the llano looking for plants that would allow Ultima to cure people with such remedies.

* Ultima taught Antonio everything he needed to know about Mother Nature, she had given him her advice whenever Antonio needed it, and she had a great appreciation for Antonio.

* The things I have seen or heard about:

Antonio experienced different events that marked him throughout his life. He experienced the:

Death of Lupito: A friend of the Marez and of the people from the village. He had returned from the war, and the experiences he encountered during the war made him lose his mind. One day he went up to a sheriff and killed him without any reason. Lupito knew what he had done and run to the river to escape. Once the news had spread throughout the village, a relative of the sheriff went to Antonio's house to tell Rafael (Antonio's father) what had happened, and gathered other friends to go in search of the lunatic to kill him. Antonio heard the catastrophe and had run to the river to make sure nothing wrong was going to happen to his