"Bless Me, Ultima" 1-7 December 11, 2011

After reading 64 pages of "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya, I will admit that I am enjoying it. So far, it is not your typical school read. It was a little slow to get into as it started with Antonio as a grown man telling the story but once it switched back to Antonio as a child I fell into the story. Before Ultima arrived, I predicted that her and Antonio would have a close relationship because of the dream Antonio had about his birth. Ultima and Antonio definitely have some sort of connecting, most likely because of his birth and dream, that his sisters do not have. After reading the first seven chapters, I am still a little confused about Antonio's brothers. His sisters Deborah and Theresa are introduced and mentioned in a few chapters but his brothers are never referred to in name, except for in chapter 3 after Antonio meets Horse, who asked if he was Andrew's brother. I predict that we will slowly learn more about Antonio's brothers and that they have some type of history with Ultima as well. So far, my favorite characters are Antonio and Ultima. I also like the mother but am curious about the father. Antonio's parents both seem to come from very different backgrounds and beliefs and I am surprised at how they met and remain together. After learning that Antonio's father has a "cowboy" in his blood and his mother grew up on a farm, I was surprised to learn that they raised their children in a more farm like home rather than the freedom of a cowboys life. So far, Antonio's mother appears to have more of an influence on a children and holds their father on a very tight rope. She is very religious, unlike her husband, and hopes that one day Antonio will become a priest. Antonio appears to be a very innocent child but as Ultima says is a "man of learning." I think that Antonio will chose to follow his own path rather than following his mothers dreams. I think that Ultima will have a huge affect on Antonio's life and become almost a second mother or grandmother like figure.

Although many may not, I like how Rudolfo Anaya includes the spanish phrases throughout her novel. I think they bring a cultural aspect to it and help set the scene. She uses just enough to have a global influence on the novel without her readers being confused. In most instances, she used enough clue words in english that help non-spanish speakers understand what was going on. I think she made the right editorial choice to include spanish dialect. I am looking forward to reading the next set of chapters of "Bless Me, Ultima" to see if my predictions are true and also to see what else we will learn about the Marez family.