Death is everywhere, it affects all of us, directly and indirectly, and makes us into who we are in the future. In Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, the author, uses death to bring change, plus other symbols to convey the idea that death brings change to people and helps them transform into who they become in the future. The main deaths of Lupito, Narciso, Florence and finally Ultima bring change to many people. For Antonio, the main character, this causes him to evolve into a true man in the future.
Throughout the novel, Bless Me, Ultima, when there is a death that Antonio observes, it makes him change through the novel. Antonio is guided by Ultima until the end when he goes off to be with his mother’s family, the Luna, and becomes a true man. In the beginning, there is a death, the death of Lupito, he observes and …show more content…
First one is Lupito which he saw die in the river, an archetype for death. The second death is of Narciso, who he sees die under the juniper tree, a symbol of which Antonio has a connection with, by Tenorio, and finally Florence, a non-believer in faith, who he sees die from drowning in the river, where La Llorona’s spirit stays and wanders, also like she will not be able to enter heaven. “In his innocence he prayed the Act of Contrition for us who were the outcasts of the town. First I saw Narciso. He held his hands to the gaping, bloody wound at his chest. Behind him came the mangled body of Lupito, jerking crazily to the laughter of the townspeople. And finally I saw the body of Florence, floating motionlessly in the dark water…. These are the men I have seen die” (243). Part of life is also death, and each Act of Contrition leads him to question faith more and more; Growing up comes with new knowledge. All of these have brought change, and ultimately make Antonio leave his mentor, Ultima, in the final death of the