How Does Tony Mature In Bless Me Ultima

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The Coming of Age Experience: How Tragedy is Catalyst for Maturity
In many cases, childhood and maturity are regarded as two concepts that are completely different from each other. This dichotomy between childhood innocence and adult maturity is also linked to the idea that children lack life experience. However, the events and emotions that occur during one's early years are catalyst to growing up and obtaining manhood.Throughout Anaya's novel, Bless Me, Ultima, young protagonist Tony goes through many tragic experiences. Diction is consistently utilized to display the impact the troubling experiences have on Tony's person. Though he portrays Tony's childhood as a time of tribulation and tragedy, Anaya suggests that these tragic events ultimately lead to maturity in Tony.
Certain experiences in childhood are bound to be tragic but this helps to mature a person. Throughout the novel Tony expercines many hardships but a particularly pivotal moment occurs when he has his first day of school. The “pain and sadness” that he feels after being outcasted is …show more content…
Antonio's constant exposure to death is one, if not the biggest, contributor to his personal development. Take the death of peacemaker Narciso for example. The events leading up to Narciso's ultimate demise are especially devastating to Tony because of the intimate moment he has with Narciso in his last dying seconds. His return to school only brings forth more attention to the incident when the children inquire about the details of the ordeal. Through his silence on the topic it is able to be forgotten by his peers while Tony on the other hand feels as if his "life had changed [and he] seemed older".(186) Through this quote Anaya implies that this feeling as if he had aged that Tony possesses is a direct correlation between the misfortune of Narciso's death and the coming of age in
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Bless Me Ultima Literary Analysis

all new experiences, the unknown can be confusing and frightening. Most children do not know what to expect following the death of someone. These calamities serve as a catalyst agent in Antonio’s growing and understanding process in the book Bless me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. No child at the age of 6 should be faced with such misfortune. All these questions and not a single answer, feelings of hopelessness, are all things that cause a premature loss of innocence in Antonio and overall make him question…

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