Research Paper on:
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya and Unity

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
called left-brained and logical, versus a vision that is right-brained and intuitive. The storys young protagonist, Antonio, strives to shape his own identity out of the different strands of his  Spanish and Indian cultural roots, in a contemporary United States that seems strangely far away. Anaya explores both the mythical, regional, psychological, and supernatural elements of his heritage, in addition  to exploring relevant issues in the social fabric of his community. These competing interpretations ultimately converge in the persona of Ultima, the woman who served as midwife at Antonios birth,  and helps him unify and make sense of the difficult circumstances of his life. From his family and his schooling, Antonio learns the Roman Catholicism that is the official  religion of his people. But through the old curandera Ultima -- her name itself a code for her syncretic healing power-- Antonio also learns the magical stories and legends of  his pagan ancestors, which stir something in his blood. Throughout the novel, Anaya emphasizes a type of "blood knowledge," as Antonio struggles to read and interpret both Ultimas stories, which  he transmutes into his "dream-fates." Antonio, even as a child, is extremely psychic, and early in the book a flashback to the night of his birth does much to explain  why. Antonios mother is the daughter of Indian farmers, who are closely tied to the land and tend to look at things from a magical viewpoint. His father, who  is a Marez, is the descendent of the Spanish conquistadors who claimed the land for themselves hundreds of years ago. On the night of Antonios birth, his mothers friends and  relatives -- including, of course, the midwife Ultima -- "rubbed the dark earth of the river valley on the babys forehead, and they surrounded the bed with the fruits of