The book, Bless Me Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya is a bildungsroman. A bildungsroman is the German word for "novel of education," which is a story where the protagonist learns something about him or herself. Tony Marez, the protagonist of Bless Me Ultima learns about who he is, his family, and his future throughout the story.
Early in the novel, the author describes Tony's conflict. In Tony's first dream, the Marez family wipes the dirt off his forehead placed by the Lunas. This shows that the two families have disparate expectations for Tony's future. Additionally, this demonstrates that Tony is torn between two worlds, the vaqueros and the farmers. Later in the novel, Tony says, "Now we have come to live near the river, and yet near the llano. I love them both, yet I am of neither." This statement made by Tony shows that he had no idea yet of what he wanted to be. He does not want to disappoint either family. This is a big conflict for Tony because not only will his decision affect him, but also both families.
Three important people in Tony's life are his mother, Maria Luna; his father, Gabriel Marez; and Ultima; and they all affect his struggle. Tony's mother wants him to be a priest or a farm, and to help him accomplish that, she wants him to do well in school. This shows that Maria wanted only one future for Antonio. It is almost as if she was willing to do everything in her power to make Tony a priest. Tony's father wanted his youngest son to follow in his footsteps and become a vaquero. This shows that Gabriel did not want the family tradition of vaqueros to end. This also shows that just like Maria, Gabriel doesn't let Tony make his own decisions. Unlike Maria and Gabriel, Ultima let Tony decide by himself and she shows this when she asks Tony if he would like to help her cure his uncle (90). This shows that Ultima respects Tony's ability to make his own decisions. It also shows that Tony has a different relationship with Ultima than he does with his parents. These and other people are important in Tony's life and they affect his struggle.
Tony's outcome about choosing his future is the most important part of his life, and it was something tough for him. For example, Miss Violet asks Tony if he wants to be a farmer and he answers, "I don't know, it's part of the thing I must learn about myself."(222) Tony is not too sure of what he wanted to be. It also shows that he still had a lot to learn about himself. Another example is when Tony says, "after that I did not depend on my mother to tell me what was right or wrong. I decided on my own."(246) This shows that Tony no longer wanted his mother to treat him like a baby. It also shows that he did not want his mother to decide his future for him. In the end, Tony realizes that he can't decide his future yet and for time being he will be a Marez and Luna. Tony is not letting either family down because he was going to be part of both. He showed that he loved both families because he did not want to be more like one family and less like the other one. Tony's outcome was definitely good for everyone, especially himself.
In this novel, Tony learned who he is, who his families are and what he wants to be, a Marez and a Luna. This story is a good example for people who want to learn who they really are. Just like Tony, everyone can use guidance from somebody else to truly discover what they are capable of doing, and what they really want their future to be like.
