Rudolfo Anay, "Bless Me, Ultima" (Part Deux)

Joe and Simon ("Simon Birch")

November 13th, 2012

     With one week's worth of reading, I have made a substantial amount of progress with Bless Me, Ultima and will go as far as deeming it the best novel that I have read in my short, but reading-filled collegiate career. That's high praise coming from someone who has never been a huge fan of reading. In today's class anlysis, we focused primarily on the sensory aspect of Anaya's Chicano classic. To be honest with you, that connection was one that I had never made and was one that really didn't appeal to me all that much. Antonio's battle to decypher the happy medium between satisfying his young, Catholic ideals and newfound, "seeing is believing" pagan beliefs is nothing short of incredible and connects with me, as the reader, on a personal level. Take for example the brief conversation between Antonion and his new "pagan-priest" of sorts, Samuel:

     "The golden carp," I said to myself, "a new god?" I could not believe this strange story, and yet I could not disbelieve Samuel, "Is the golden carp still here?"
     "Yes," Samuel answered. His voice was strong with faith. It made me shiver, not because it was cold but because the roots of everything I had ever believed in seemed shaken. If the golden carp was a god, who was the man on the cross? The Virgin? Was my mother praying to the wrong God?

(Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, 81)

 



     It seems like everyone is able to tie in our assigned readings into movies like "Avatar" or "Inception." Neither of those movies have I seen and I'm not really a huge fan of movie watching. That being said, this novel makes me think so much of my favorite movie, "Simon Birch." "Simon Birch" is the story of two boyhood friends, Joe and Simon, who are considered by the other citizens of their small New England town to be outcasts. Simon is plagued by a peculiar bone disease that makes him greatly smaller than the rest of his peers. As if the teasing and jeers of those that surround him aren't enough, one Summer day in 1964, Simon accidentally hits a foul ball that strikes Joe's mother in the head, killing her on impact. The movie tells the tale of how both boys, with age, begin to lose their innocence and even go as far to discover that Joe is an illegitimate child, fathered by the town's very own priest. Both Simon and Joe question their identities as they discover more about where they have come and begin to negatively view the faith in which they have matured over the years. Simon's continual source of peace is a firm belief that God has put him on earth to be a hero and fulfill his destiny. 

     Just as Antonio struggled to find the balance between Catholicism and paganism, Simon Birch and Joe attempted to justify who they in the eyes of God despite what others say about where they had come from. Simon clings to the belief that God has a special purpose for him on earth and has given him a small frame specifically so that he can fulfill his life's calling, even when the town priest continually attempts to tear down Simon's faith. Likewise, Antonio finds solace in the unseen powers of Ultima, even though her methods often bring him confusion in regards to the power of a God that appears to be powerless under the authority of the Catholic church.

     Mother Teresa of Calcutta had a similar "trial of faith" or life-altering doubt that caused a great deal of turmoil within her personal thoughts. Mother Teresa died the 5th of September, 1997 and after several months investigating her private journals it became public knowledge that for a number of decades Mother Teresa experienced a crisis of faith. In her own words, "Jesus has a very special love for you," she assured a fellow christian. "[But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand." Very similar feelings were felt by both Antonio and Simon. For me, both the novel and the movie propose an interesting question: Is doubt an essential step in the path leading to true faith?

 

(Simon's foul ball kills Joe's mother)