A classic Chicano Literature of a young boy, Antonio and his growing knowledge of who he is to become as he grows older. Bless Me, Ultima follows a young boy named Antonio and his family who is visited by Ultima who's Curendera. A Curendera in Chino culture is a healer or a powerful being that can heal almost any illness or injury. Antonio is cast into the realm of Ultimia as she takes him under his wing. Antonio begins to experience a lot of different things as the arrival of Ultima begins. He experiences death in raw form by watching a deranged man become shot by the townspeople in his village. From the start Antonio was always an individual that was under a lot of pressure, both his parents came from different backgrounds and he really wanted to know who was to become. After experiencing another death through his friend Floerence. Antonio begins to question God. Ultimia cures his uncle from witchcraft, and that really began to put the icing on the cake on to the confusion of what God figure existed in the world that housed little Antonio. Miracle after miracle, Antonio is really on the brink of think Ultimia is God herself. However he is proven wrong as Ultimia squares off with a town drunk that is not her biggest fan. He believes Ultimia is a witch and plans to kill her after being embarrassed by the townspeople before. He ends up killing the owl that houses Ultimia's spirit, and poor Antonio has to witness yet another death in the woman that has given him the most leadership through his young years. He asks Ultimia to bless him before she dies, and she doe's that which really ends the story on a bittersweet note.
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Best part of story, including ending:
I really hated all the deaths that occurred in the story. I'm not a real big fan of death and dying in novels, and I felt like that was too much on the character of Antonio.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene was when the owl swooped in and took Tenorio's eye out. It showed how great Ultimia was and what kind of person she was to defend herself.
Opinion about the main character:
I didn't like how Antonio questioned EVERYTHING that was in his way. I think he should have rationalized just a little bit better. However I could understand where he was coming from as, he is again only a kid.
