Motifs in Bless Me, Ultima Essay Example for Free

Motifs in Bless Me, Ultima Essay The novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya describes the maturation of a boy named Antonio, who witnesses more than his fair share of deaths at a young age. He struggles with the injustices of these deaths and thus begins to question his once-solid religious beliefs. During the conflict Antonio experiences many vivid dreams, which are considered motifs in the work. The dream motif is a catalyst for the theme of the importance of independent thinking to maturation, because through his subconscious Antonio finds the understanding he craves by facing his fears and questioning his future. In many of Tony’s dreams he encounters his fears. One of these fears is that his three older brothers will go to hell, because they gamble and spend their time at Rosie’s, which is considered the whore house. In his dreams, Tony tries to protect their innocence: â€Å"Do not enter [Rosie’s], I cried. It is written on the waters of the river that you shall lose your souls to hell if you enter† (70). He is terrified that they will go to hell and be punished for eternity. Tony’s begging is to no avail; his brothers enter anyway. His troubled thoughts then turn to his own innocence: â€Å"Oh, where is the innocence I must never lose† (71). He struggles with the concept of maturing and losing the innocence he feels he needs to become a priest. As the novel progresses, however, Tony loses his innocence because of the many deaths he sees. He realizes that this is a given part of maturation, and that he can still hold integrity without innocence. Another struggle of Tony’s is the fact that he is caught in the middle of his parents’ dreams. His mother wants him to become a farmer-priest, and his father wants him to become a vaquero. In his sleep he struggles with which dream he will follow, and often see his parents arguing about it: â€Å"Oh please tell me which is the water that runs through my veins, I moaned my mother crooned softly, it is the water the Church chooses to make holy and place in its front. It is the water of your baptism Lies, lies, my father laughed, through your body runs the salt water of the oceans. It is that water which makes you Marez and not Luna† (120). Tony cannot understand which parent’s blood runs in his veins, and becomes more confused when they argue over it. However, in his dreams Tony most often sees himself as a priest: â€Å"I swung the dark robe of the priest over my shoulders then lifted my hands in the air† (26). It seems like this is the profession he will most likely choose. Throughout the novel Antonio yearns for understanding. He wants to know why God allows evil o triumph over good, and why the innocent sometimes die. In waking he cannot find the answers, but in dreams they come to him. When he questions in his sleep where his innocence is, Ultima appears in the dream and tells him, â€Å"There in the land of the dancing plains and rolling hills, there in the land which is the eagle’s by day and the owl’s by night is innocence. There where the lonely wind of the llano sang to the lovers’ feat of your birth, there in those hills is your innocence† (71). This shows Tony that he can always find innocence in nature. When Tony cannot decide which parent’s water runs in his veins, Ultima tells him, â€Å"The waters are one, Antonio† (121). He realizes that Luna blood and Marez blood mix in his veins. The answers in his dreams allow Tony to lessen his questioning in his waking world. Antonio’s dreams allow him to face his fears and think them through, which helps to eventually resolve them. Letting go of certain problems, such as his loss of innocence, helps him to mature. He discovers through his dreams that he does not have the blood of a Luna or a Marez; he has the blood of both. He also realizes that it is more likely that he will become a priest than a vaquero. With this understanding he settles on his future and makes his own decisions rather than being torn between those of his mother and father. When he learns to make his own decisions he matures into a man. Tony’s dreams guide him towards the theme of the importance of independent thinking to maturation.

OManjos Last Waltz Essay -- Creative Writing Narrative Essays

O'Manjo's Last Waltz It was another long week, and I was looking forward to the usual summer rituals of mowing lawns and hammering a few nails into any place they seemed to fit. I usually closed the auto parts store at 5:30 and stayed doing paperwork for another hour or so, but not on Fridays. Fridays were the finish line of a usually marathon week of complaining customers and dissatisfied employees. At 5:31, the place would be empty, dark, and eager for an echo. The old man knew this ritual, and when he came on Fridays, he usually blew in the door around 5:15. He had been coming in every week for about a year. We didn't know Joe's last name, we only knew him as "Old Man Joe." We call him "O'Mango," and he didn't seem to know the difference. His hearing was the least of his problems. He peppered his weekly visits over different weekdays, but it was always Fridays that he waited until 5:15. He makes the usual remarks every time he sits his old, marshmallow behind down at the counter. "Well, boy?" He'd ask. "What the hell are you looking at?" "I'm looking at the ugliest, most disgusting, onriest son-of-a-bitch I've ever seen!" Was my usual reply. "That's right, and don't forget it!" He would hold his dry, cracked hands in fists and shake them at me. "Keep it up, boy, and I'll whoop your scrawny little but right here and now." At some time in O'Mango's life, he was a prizefighter. His nose looked like it had taken more than its share of beatings, so I tended to believe the story. All the talk was, of course, our way of greeting each other. If he did intend to come after me, I'd most likely have him pushed out the door before he could get his oxygen tank over his shoulder. O'Manjo didn't really need ... ...opened. The neighbors didn't want money for them; they were just trying to sort things through, and knew Joe well enough to guess at our credit arrangement. They said Joe died peacefully in his sleep, without pain. I wondered if he just laid in bed listening to that tape over and over like it was some kind of drug and he was a junky. This didn't seem wrong to me. At least I'd know that he died happy. I imagined him waking up in heaven wearing his best dance shoes, and bouncing across the ballroom floor. There will always be another customer to fill Joe's stool and fire remarks at us, but none will replace Joe. When I think about it, I kind of feel guilty that he paid me ten dollars a month to be his friend. It was not a difficult job, but was merely human interaction that somehow becomes precious when it's lost. I just pray O'Manjo got his money's worth.

Qualities of a good leader Essay

Whenever and wherever human beings are gathered together in large numbers, they need leadership. Even children need their school prefects and schools captains ! Armies need Generals. Civilians need governments, captains of industry and intellectual leaders of thought as well. Men whether of the East or the West, require to be led and each group ‘throws up’ its own leaders in each succeeding generation. Whether in the school-room, or on the battlefield or in governmental deliberations, people who are natural leaders and who are chosen to lead, always have the same qualities of character and of outlook. In the first place, it is the personal qualities that count for most, in other words, the personality. A leader, in any location, must be someone who can be looked up to and respected. His personal judgment must be trusted and he must be able to evoke love and warmth from those he leads. So the, the first quality of a leader is that he must have the ability to win over men’s hearts. Secondly, he must have intellectual control over his followers and a mind that is capable of assimilating what is true and what is right and then of exerting this over others. It is useless, no matter what personal qualities or what intellectual prowess a man may have, if he lacks the initiative and the will to lead and to rally men around him. He must also, in his search for truth, have great powers of concentration. Again, a leader must possess this mysterious thing we call â€Å"character† or strength of will, clarity of mind, tenacity and determination. In other words â€Å"character† is knowing what you want to do and being ruthlessly determined to do it. Men and women will not follow a gloomy person! Therefore a kind sense of humor and a sense of optimism are two other essential qualities of a good leader. He must also, not only be a good judge of thins and of events, but of people too, so that he can select good subordinates. He must also show and practice such virtues as self-control, temperance and moderation, so that not only his body, but also his mind are always at their best, healthy  and sharpened like finely tempered steel. There is, too the good leader and the bad leader, of which Hitler, is a striking example of bad leader because it is possible to have all the qualities of leadership without the most important one of all. This is a moral sense of right and wrong and the right kind of â€Å"love† which is emphasized in many of the world’s great religions. This is true not only of international figures like Adolf Hitler, but also in smaller figures. The â€Å"gangs† of youths, typical of both East and West, whose members are led to violence and lawlessness are invariably led and inspired by leaders without a moral sense of right and wrong. The final test of a good leader is, of course, the question: â€Å"Do men follow him?† The answer will be â€Å"Yes† if, combined with strength of character, the ability to evoke love, a clear brain and a fair minded outlook, he also has a knowledge and respect for truth, honesty and fair play. Such a man surely possesses the spark of leadership and men will look up to him and follow him.

Family - 7546 Words

Sociology Revision What is the family? â€Å"The family are a close group of people, usually related not always. Who support each other and at some point in their lives tend to live in the same household.† There is no correct definition on the family, Sociologists do not agree on a definition, broadly there are two types of definition; †¢ Exclusive definitions – These focus on the specific relationships within the family unit i.e. marriage †¢ Inclusive definitions – These focus on the functions of the unit e.g. support. The Cereal Packet Family A popular image of the family in Britain in the late twentieth century has been described as the cereal packet family. The ‘happy family’ image gives the impression that most people live†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Consequently half of Caribbean families with children are now single parents. Marriage Patterns for Asians †¢ Marriage in Asian families whether Muslim, Hindu or Sikh is mainly arranged and consequently there is little inter-marriage with other religions or cultures. †¢ Asian children tend to respect religious and cultural traditions and they feel a strong sense of duty to their families and especially their elders. Divorce Patterns †¢ There has been an increase in divorce rates †¢ From 1971 to 1996 the number of divorces has more than doubled. Patterns in Marriage and Divorce Feminist sociologists see the trends as a sign of the lack of satisfaction provided by traditional patriarchal marriage, with individuals seeking alternative types of relationships and living arrangements. New Right thinkers have seen the trends as a sign of the breakdown of the family and have argued for a return to ‘traditional values’. They suggest that because of the easy availability of divorce, people are no longer as committed to the family as they were in the past. Changes in legislation which have made divorce easier but also social changes in which the law reflect are seen as the main causes of the increase in divorce rates. Have Women Broken up the Family? The position of women has changed in a number of ways, such as the wife does not have to put upShow MoreRelatedFamily : Family With Family Essay1444 Words   |  6 PagesFamily Interview Family Therapy is a great way to open up and really get concerns and issues out in the open with families. The assignment was to have a non-clinical family interview, it was not like a therapy session, but it gave great insight of have a family session could go, it was a great experience. It allowed me to be the interviewer and ask questions about a family. It was a really interesting assignment. It consisted of selecting a family, asking questions, observing, and forming my thoughtsRead MoreFamily Of Family And Family Essay940 Words   |  4 PagesFamily! Family! Family! Family can be a wonderful thing. 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