Bless Me, Ultima Study Guide If you are able to answer these questions well, you have a good understanding of the chapters. If not, you should go back and re-read for better comprehension. Uno 1. Define the following words from this chapter: Curandera, llano, vaquero, brujas, cuentos 2. Briefly describe Ultima. Why do Antonio s family call her la Grande? 3. Critics praise this novel because it explores the culture of Mexican-Americans living in the Southwest. What is revealed about Mexican-American culture when Antonio s family decides to provide a home for Ultima? 4. State the conflict concerning Antonio s future that he describes in his dream. How does Ultima resolve the debate? 5. How does Antonio feel about his mother s wish that he become a priest? 6. What evidence is there that Ultima thinks Antonio is a special boy? 7. Why are Deborah and Theresa afraid of Ultima s owl? How does Antonio s dream about the owl help him to accept it as a good omen? Dos 1. What is the Act of Contrition in the Catholic Church? 2. What is Gabriel s dream? (not the kind when you re sleeping) 3. How does Ultima help Antonio overcome his fear of the presence, or the soul, of the river? 4. The story of la Llorona is a legend and part of the Mexican-American culture. She is a woman who drowns her children and because of this, she is said to haunt rivers and lakes, seeking the souls of her dead children. In what ways are la Llorona and Lupito similar? 5. I swung the dark robe of the priest over my shoulders then lifted my hands in the air. The mist swirled around me and sparks flew when I spoke. It is the presence of the river!... I spoke to the presence of the river and it allowed my brothers to cross with their carpenter tools to build our castle on the hill. What does the above passage suggest to the reader about whether or not Antonio will someday become a priest? 6. What do you think Anaya (the author) is saying about the lasting impact the war has on returning soldiers? 7. What are Lupito s last words? Do you believe these words are directed at Antonio? Cite incidents from the story to support your answer. Tres 1. Why do Antonio s parents quarrel every Sunday morning? 2. For what reason does Antonio s mother say, and what a sin it is dor a boy to grow into a man? What is Gabriel s definition of a man? 3. Why is Antonio worried about going to school for the first time?
4. For what reasons is Antonio worried about his father s soul? How does Ultima help Antonio overcome this fear? 5. Briefly identify the following members of the gang of boys Antonio joins: Horse, the Vitamin Kid, Florence Cuatro 1. What is special about the yerba del manso? Describe the proper was to dig up a plant that is going to be used for Ultima s medicines. 2. For what reasons is the Virgin Mary (or Virgen de Guadalupe) an important symbol for the Mexican people? Why does Antonio like praying to the Virgin? 3. Why does Antonio believe it is important to take communion? 4. In what ways do you think Antonio s dream about the Virgin foreshadows events yet to happen in the story? Cinco 1. Why are Antonio and his mother going to El Puerto? How far away is the farm? 2. Find a passage in this chapter that expresses how Antonio feels when he is at El Puerto. Seis 1. I looked at the three of them sitting there, and I felt that I was seeing them for the last time: Ultima in her wisdom, my mother in her dream, and my father in his rebellion. In the above passage, why do you think Antonio feels that he is seeing his family for the last time when he is only going to school for the day? How does his description of the three of them epitomize each one s dominant characteristic? 2. Ultima s owl is present to comfort Antonio when he was staying at his grandfather s farm in the previous chapter. Find a passage in this chapter where Ultima s owl is again a source of comfort for Antonio. 3. After crossing the bridge that leads to town, Antonio leaves his family, where he only speaks Spanish, to enter the English-speaking world. List two ways Antonio s first day of school begins to erode his Mexican heritage. 4. How does Antonio cope with the loneliness and homesickness he feels his first day of school? Siete 1. In this chapter, Antonio s brothers return from the war. In what ways does their return make everyone in the Márez household happy? Ocho 1. At the end of this chapter, Antonio s brothers decide to leave home again. Why is Antonio worried that they will be lost again as they were when they were away at war? 2. Antonio is growing up and is beginning to understand the power of men s sexual desires. Find two passages in this chapter which illustrate Antonio s budding awareness of sex.
Nueve 1. In Antonio s dream, how do Antonio s mother, the priest, and Ultima define Antonio s innocence? What does Andrew tell him? 2. What does Mexican-American folklore say about the curse a parent can place on a son or daughter for disobedience? 3. List two things Antonio learns from Andrew when they walk together to school. 4. What evidence is there in this chapter that Antonio is beginning to make decisions for himself? 5. Why does Antonio think the struggle of the carp to swim upstream is a beautiful sight? State a theme (author s message, lesson to be learned) for this novel based on the story of the carp. 6. What is the legend of the Golden Carp? Diez 1. What is the cause of Uncle Lucas s illness? 2. Why do the Lunas come to Ultima for help to cure Lucas instead of turning to their priest? 3. What danger does Ultima warn the family about if she agrees to cure Lucas? 4. List three forms or disguises witches might assume. What do you think about the community s belief in witches and its willingness to condemn Tenorio s daughters just because Lucas is ill? For what reasons might this belief in witches be a dangerous one for the people of the community? 5. It is part of Mexican-American folklore that a man with the name of Juan is a powerful weapon when fighting witchcraft. Speculate on why Ultima wants Antonio to accompany her when she tries to cure Lucas. 6. List the instructions Ultima gives to grandfather after agreeing to cure Lucas. 7. Why does Ultima go to the bar to talk to Tenorio before she cures Lucas? 8. For what reason does Tenorio make the sign of the cross in Ultima s face? What does her reaction to this action tell Tenorio about Ultima? 9. What prophetic warning does Ultima give Antonio concerning Tenorio? 10. What is the folklore concerning the blue corn meal? Why is Ultima confident she can cure Lucas? 11. How does Ultima use Antonio to cure Lucas? 12. Find an example of foreshadowing in this chapter which foretells of a link between Ultima s life and the Lunas. Once 1. Why do you think Antonio, who is a Catholic and trained to accept only one God, wants to believe that the Golden Carp is a god? 2. What is the magic of Narciso? Who are the magic people Cico talks about in the following passage? Why does Narciso drink? I asked. To forget, Cico answered. Does he know about the golden carp? I asked. The magic people all know about the coming day of the golden carp, Cico answered.
3. What do you think the golden carp and the black bass might symbolize? 4. An epiphany is defines as a revelatory personal experience that leads to gaining insight into people or the world. Find the passage in this chapter illustrating the idea that Antonio experiences an epiphany when he sees the golden carp. Why is it an epiphany? 5. What is the legend of the Hidden Lakes? 6. What is the prophecy of the golden carp? 7. What does Antonio learn from Ultima in his dream? Doce 1. Define scapular. Why do you think Ultima gives Antonio her scapular? How is it different from a Catholic scapular? 2. Why did the people of the llano become migrants who move from place to place? 3. When Tenorio comes to the Márez home to accuse Ultima of witchcraft, Ultima refuses to hide. She says, A man does not flee from the truth. What is this truth? 4. What evidence is there that the men from the bar believe in and are afraid of witchcraft? Do you agree or disagree with them that Ultima is a witch? 5. What test does Narciso propose to prove that Ultima is not a witch? What evidence is there that Ultima does or does not pass this test? Trece 1. Why does Antonio think it might be best if God were a woman? 2. Describe the funeral preparations the village believes Tenorio s daughters will make for their dead sister. 3. Why does Tenorio want his daughter buried in holy ground? Why is he upset when the priest turns them away from the church? 4. What does Anaya (the author) say about how fate works? Catorce 1. One of the themes in this story is the importance of education to help decide on the path of one s life. Cite four events from this story to support this theme. 2. State a theme for this story based on the following passage from this chapter: I don t know sometimes I get the feeling that I will come home, and it will all be changed. It won t be the same any more I could not tell him [Andrew] that I wanted the castle of the giants to stand forever, that I wanted the goat path and the hill to be for always. But I had misgivings, I was beginning to learn that things wouldn t always be the same. 3. Why is Narciso worried about Ultima s safety? Why does Andrew refuse to warn his family that Ultima is in danger? 4. For what reasons does Antonio believe that I had somehow lost my innocence and let sin enter into my soul, and the knowledge of God, the saving grace, was far away. 5. Why does Narciso make his last confession to Antonio? 6. Cite incidents from Antonio s fream to support the following theme: Forgiveness is necessary for everyone, even sinners.
Quince 1. State a generalization about life that Antonio learns from the community s reaction to Narciso s death. 2. Gabriel knows his sons are leaving home again, finishing forever Gabriel s dreams of traveling with his sons to California. After reminiscing about working with his sons, Gabriel goes out alone to fix the windmill. In the following passage from the story, explain why Gabriel experiences a sense of fulfillment from repairing the windmill: When he came back into the kitchen his hands and face were frozen white and he was dripping with the sweat of exhaustion, but there was a look of satisfaction on his face. Dieciseis 1. What question does Antonio ask God to answer when he prays in the afternoon after school? In what way does Antonio hope God will answer his questions? 2. For what reason is Tenorio determined to kill Ultima? In the following paragraphs, Tenorio implies that Antonio has given him a way to hunt Ultima. What information does Antonio unintentionally give Tenorio? You are a murderer! I shouted with defiance. My father will stop you if you try to harm Ultima, and the owl will scratch out your other eye. He crouched as if to pounce on me, but he remained motionless, thinking. I braced to ward off his blow, but it did not come. Instead he straightened up and smiled, as if a thought had crossed his mind, and he said, Ay cabroncito, your curse is that you know too much! 3. What piece of wisdom does Ultima reveal to Antonio about forgiveness when she tries to explain to him why Tenorio returns to the tree where he killed Narciso? Diecisiete 1. Gabriel gives the following advice to Antonio: It is not manly to blame our mistakes on the bomb, or any other thing. It is we who misuse the earth and must pay for our sins What sins is Gabriel referring to in the above passage? According to Antonio s father, what must a sinner do if he wants to get into heaven? 2. What is Florence s definition of hell? Briefly summarize Florence s reasons for rejecting God. 3. Why is the following statement from Antonio to Florence considered a moment of blasphemy : What if the Virgin Mary or the golden carp ruled instead of! 4. Define the difference between mortal and venial sins according to Father Byrnes. 5. For what reasons might Florence be considered a Christ-like figure? Dieciocho 1. Antonio s friends make him pretend to be a priest. They make confessions to him and ask him for penance. For what reasons does Florence conclude that Antonio can never be their priest? Find an example of verbal irony in this incident.
Diecinueve 1. How does Antonio feel after receiving communion for the first time? What was he expecting? Veinte 1. How does Ultima define a man s destiny? 2. What evidence is there that Antonio and his friends are growing and changing? 3. Define bulto. Why does the bulto haunt the Tellez home? List two ways the bultos terrorize Tellez and his family. 4. At the end of this chapter, Antonio, in his dream, throws the livers from his three brothers into the River of the Carp. What do you think this action might symbolize or represent in this story? Veintiuno 1. Why do Cico and Antonio want to tell Florence about the golden carp? What is the objection to telling him? 2. What causes Florence s death? Veintidos 1. What explanation does Gabriel give Antonio for the existence of evil? 2. How does Gabriel help Antonio understand why God did not answer Antonio s questions after Antonio s first communion? 3. What, according to Gabriel, is the source of Ultima s magic? 4. The rest of the summer was good for me, good in the sense that I was filled with its richness and I made strength from everything that had happened to me, so that in the end the final tragedy could not defeat me. And that is what Ultima tried to teach me, that the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart. Using the above passage, state a theme for this story. What is the final tragedy? 5. Why does Tenorio threaten to kill Ultima s owl? 6. What evidence is there at the end of this story that Antonio is no longer a child?