Dreams and Nightmares in Bless Me, Ultima Essay

Bless Me, Ultima: Essay

Have you ever had a strange dream that seems to have little or nothing to do with your life? It turns out that dreams are very symbolic of what you're thinking, of your memories, or of your fears, but may not have anything to do with the actual image or feeling in the dream. Instead they might be about things or feelings you associate in your mind to be the same as this image or feeling. In the novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rodolfo Anaya, a young boy named Antonio living with his family in the small town of Guadalupe, New Mexico in the 1940's experiences many dreams and nightmares that have to do with his life but aren't always exactly what he has experienced or thought about. Instead, the dreams incorporate other thoughts and images that are unrelated to, but are symbolic of the main idea of the dreams. In one particular nightmare, Antonio finds himself stuck between three worlds: that of his mother's hopes, his father's dreams, and the mysterious golden carp. In Antonio's nightmare, his mind uses its own symbolism to portray images and thoughts that relate to the conflict in his life about religion, to his many fears, and to his trust and admiration of a character called Ultima.

In Antonio's nightmare, many themes are present that relate to a conflict in religion. In his nightmare, Antonio's parents are arguing over what Antonio's religion and way of life should be like. Antonio's mother portrayed standing on the moon with the holy water of the church, wants him to become a priest and respect the one and only God. His father, portrayed standing on the barren shore of the lake, wants him to let the llano and the will to wander like the water of the sea control his life. Also, the mysterious golden carp, portrayed swimming in the lake with the people it has saved from the evil Mermaid of the lake, is not trying to persuade Antonio to be a believer in him but is present because of the question in Antonio's mind of, Am I a believer in the story? (119). Antonio is confused about which religion or path in life to take after hearing the story of the golden carp from his friend Cico previously and knowing that his father and mother are believers in different ideals. Oh please tell me which is the water that runs through my veins (120). This nightmare also shows many of Antonio's deep dark fears.

This nightmare also proves that there are many things haunting Antonio's mind. Antonio is afraid of the deep depths of the water because he is afraid of the Mermaid that lies within. It is common for people to be afraid of deep water because people are afraid of what they cannot see. In this case, Antonio is afraid of where the Mermaid might be swimming around in the lake killing innocent souls that she has lured in with her calling melody. This is likely present in Antonio's dream also because of Cico's story of the mermaid which was about how, Last summer the mermaid took a shepherd (116). Along the shores of the lake, there are dead, rotting, corpses which are probably a sign of Antonio's fear coming from his having witnessed the death of a man named Lupito. Also, the ghosts that were wandering the shore in his nightmare are a common thing to see in haunted dreams because people associate ghosts with haunted or spooky places.

Finally, this nightmare shows that Antonio has a lot of trust in a woman called Ultima and admires her greatly. At the end of Antonio's nightmare, Ultima comes out and resolves everything by ending the argument between Antonio's parents. She stops the storm and saves Antonio and the world. Cease! She cried to the raging powers, and the power from the heavens and the power from the earth obeyed her. The storm abated (120). Having a person in a dream with this much power must mean that this person is extremely special or influential in Antonio's life. In addition, there was lighting in the dream right before Ultima came in. This signifies that there was a great awareness or understanding to come in the near future. When Ultima came she explained to Antonio, the sweet water of the moon which falls as rain is the same water that gathers into the rivers and flows to fill the seas (121). Antonio looks up to Ultima to teach and help him throughout the book and is showing this through his nightmare.

In Antonio's nightmare, there is great symbolism showing his confusion about religion and how to live, his many fears in life, and how much he truly cares about and respects Ultima. In Antonio's nightmare, three forces are competing for his approval. There are many things and ideas in this nightmare that haunt Antonio and there is also a struggle between good and evil trying to win Antonio's trust. Antonio believes that his world is going to end until finally his savior, Ultima, appears and saves the day with her mighty wisdom. Dreams are very symbolic of what a person's life is presently like and show what haunts and pleases him in the deep depths of his internal conscience.

Bibliography

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