Bless Me, Ultima

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “Antonio’s Dream”

In this activity, students will use images and experiences from the book to create a work of art that shows how they would answer Antonio’s question: “What dream would form to guide my life as a man?”

After Ultima’s death and funeral, Antonio thinks of the upcoming schoolyear and remarks: “Sometime in the future I would have to build my own dream out of those things that were so much a part of my childhood.” Using imagery, quotes, and the advice/wisdom of the various characters who have impacted Antonio from the novel, create a piece of art that incorporates all the parts into a single representative dream of who you think Antonio will become. Then, in an artist’s statement that directly references the novel, write a short explanation of the elements you chose to incorporate and how they inform your art piece.

• Analyze: Build a list of the qualities, characteristics, and beliefs Antonio’s character displays that you believe he will bring into his adulthood. Then, search the novel for any imagery, symbols, advice, or experiences you think instilled those qualities, beliefs, and characteristics in Antonio and list them next to the characteristics you have identified.
• Plan: Use the information in your lists to plan and sketch/draft your art piece, incorporating imagery and symbols from the text.
• Create: Using an accessible medium of your choice, create your art piece.
• Reflect: Think about the choices you made with your art piece and why you made them. Write a formal artist’s statement that explains your choices, making sure to highlight what aspects you have borrowed from the novel and how they work in the context of your artwork.

Artwork may be showcased to the class the class and/or displayed publicly.

Teaching Suggestion: Students may benefit from a quick activity in which they read a passage in which Antonio describes a dream and then draw or sketch the dream as practice connecting text to art before creating their own visions for Antonio. Students may also benefit from class brainstorming and public listing of all the many concrete possibilities for Antonio’s future, such as the occupation they think he will choose.

Differentiation Suggestion: English language learners, emerging readers, and students with attentional or executive functioning differences may benefit from graphic organizers at each phase of the activity and pre-highlighted or annotated sections of the novel. To include more learning and expression styles, preferences, and talents, consider expanding the definition of artwork to include spoken, performative, and written art forms such as poetry, drama, dance, or film, in addition to visual art mediums.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The reality of magic and its power recurs throughout Bless Me, Ultima, often with a message relating to proper use and morality.

• What kinds of magic does Antonio encounter, and what do they teach him about power? (topic sentence)
• Compare and contrast at least two contradictory sources of magic from the novel, such as curanderismo or brujería, or the golden carp and the black bass. How do they differ, and what does their power show Antonio about proper use of power?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how Antonio’s encounters with magic shape his understanding of morality.

2. As he comes of age, Antonio awakens to the contradictions in the teachings he receives from various mentors, role models, and experiences, creating a sense of anxiety about who he is supposed to be in the process.

• In what ways does Antonio struggle to make himself whole out of the contradictory expectations, traditions, and beliefs around him? (topic sentence)
• Compare at least one set of contradictory beliefs, traditions, or expectations that Antonio must reconcile for himself. What conflicts arise for him as he becomes aware of the implications of each belief and how they conflict with others?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how Antonio attempts to resolve the conflict, noting which mentors or friends help him navigate this attempt at reconciliation.

3. Throughout the story, Antonio receives various forms of education, both formal and informal, that make a lasting impression on him. For this essay, choose only one aspect of Antonio’s education as your focus.

• How does this aspect of education influence Antonio’s sense of identity, and in what ways is it incomplete? (topic sentence)
• Explain what knowledge Antonio learns from this form of education and how both the knowledge and the teacher impact his sense of who he is or who he might become. What remains missing from these lessons that Antonio must learn elsewhere?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain what message Anaya might be sending regarding knowledge and education.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. As a motif, dreams serve a sophisticated and multilayered role in the novel. How does the concept of dreams serve the novel both stylistically and in terms of plot, character, and conflict? What overall messages or lessons might this multilayered motif support?

2. The interplay between masculine and feminine elements both creates and resolves tension within the scope of the novel. Locate a passage in which the interplay of masculine and feminine elements or the absence of an element either creates or resolves tension. Where do these elements occur, how do they play out in the passage, and what deeper message might they reveal regarding the Masculine and Feminine Influences on Antonio’s journey to manhood?

3. The varied geography of the land in the setting plays a subtle but powerful role in the novel, lending both strength and wisdom to various characters, including Antonio. Explore the ways in which the characters derive their strength and knowledge from the land, noting differences in character and tradition based on their affinity with specific geographic features and areas where they can all agree. What might the novel reveal about the role of the physical landscape on Multiplicity­­ Within Chicanx Identity?

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What does his standing up for Lupito reveal about Narciso’s character?

A) Narciso is the town drunk and cannot be trusted to think clearly.

B) Narciso is friends with Lupito.

C) Narciso is sympathetic and willing to oppose wrongful violence.

D) Narciso is just creating a distraction so that Lupito can get away.

2. How does Antonio know so much about the town’s kids despite living outside of town?

A) Antonio’s dreams give him premonitions of the future.

B) Antonio is observant and learns by watching them interact.

C) Antonio’s mother has told him which kids are good influences and which are not.

D) Antonio’s older siblings have told him what to expect.

3. In what fundamental way does Antonio see that God and la Virgen differ?

A) Antonio notices that la Virgen always forgives, but God cannot.

B) Antonio notices that God is all powerful, but la Virgen has no power.

C) Antonio associates la Virgen with the Earth and God with the moon.

D) Antonio believes that prayers to both matter, even though they are different.

4. Why is Antonio’s brothers’ return from WWII more upsetting than joyful?

A) They have war sickness and drink too much, causing gossip and shame.

B) They are now men and constantly fight with their father to prove they are free.

C) After seeing the world, they feel restless in tiny Guadalupe and decide to leave.

D) They have been injured so badly they cannot do the work they used to.

5. Why does Antonio refer to his brothers as giants?

A) His brothers are incredibly tall, towering over most of the townsfolk.

B) His brothers defy the mighty word of their father and refuse to go to California.

C) They have gone to war and seen more of the world than even Antonio’s father.

D) To him they are mythic beings who built his home, and he looks up to them.

6. What does Ultima warn may happen if she attempts to heal uncle Lucas?

A) She may become ill from the power of the brujas’ curse.

B) The family may be in more danger by tampering with a bruja’s magic.

C) An uncontrollable chain of events may follow.

D) The brujas will attack the family as coyotes, and they must be ready.

7. What reason does Ultima give to Antonio for his lack of fear of Tenorio and his daughters?

A) He is a brave boy with strong Márez blood.

B) In his dreams, Antonio has already seen Tenorio fall.

C) His middle name, Juan, aligns with the patron saint of courage.

D) Good is always stronger than evil.

8. How does Ultima settle the dispute between his Luna blood and his Márez blood in Antonio’s dreams?

A) By reminding him that all water flows from the river to the sea and becomes rain again

B) By telling Antonio’s mother that his blood is the river valley waters of the Luna family

C) By telling Antonio’s father that his blood is the salt water of the Márez family

D) By reminding Antonio’s parents that he will have to decide for himself

9. How does the fallen cross Antonio finds after the witchcraft test create ambiguity regarding Ultima’s powers?

A) Not knowing if it fell before, during, or after Ultima passed casts doubt on the result.

B) It proves that Ultima cheated the test and is a witch, too.

C) It shows how confused the mob was since they left such a holy object behind.

D) It proves that even Ultima must listen to the Catholic Church.

10. What do the memory of his uncles’ inaction regarding the witch hunt and Narciso’s action lead Antonio to choose to do on the first day of school?

A) To hang his head in shame.

B) To promise to do well in school so he can become a priest and protect Ultima.

C) To stand up against the gang’s rumors and punch Ernie in the nose.

D) To reject his Luna blood in favor of the Márez blood.

11. Why does Antonio not call Andrew or Narciso during the storm?

A) His fever makes his throat too sore.

B) He fears he is tainted by knowledge of their sins.

C) He has a premonition that he will die by Tenorio’s hand if anyone sees him.

D) He is afraid he will be in trouble for coming home so late.

12. Why does Ultima want to send Antonio to El Puerto to heal from Florence’s death?

A) He needs to get away from the town’s rumors.

B) She thinks the Lunas will help calm his restless Márez blood.

C) She thinks he must spend time with men to learn to get over his grief.

D) He has learned enough from death and should be taught about life by growing things.

13. In what ways do Antonio and Florence mirror each other?

A) In their lack of faith and desire for truth

B) In their suffering and loss of innocence

C) In their reticence and courage

D) In their cherubic curls and angelic faces

14. How does Ultima ease the fury of the bultos at Agua Negra ranch?

A) By giving the souls a proper cremation ceremony

B) By first dismembering and then scattering the ghosts to the winds of the llano

C) By turning them from the family and back onto the brujas

D) By kindly asking them to leave

15. How does Ultima explain her passing to Antonio?

A) That now there will be no more meddling in fate, restoring harmony

B) That her death was inevitable, but she lived a good life

C) That she saw this death in a dream and has no regrets

D) That evil always turns back on the evildoer

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. In what ways does death impact Antonio’s sense of the world?

2. In what ways does the setting itself, in 1940s New Mexico, provide a sympathetic backdrop for a coming-of-age story?