Week Twelve

"'Is that how long eternity is?' Agnes asked bravely. 'Is that how long the souls have to burn?'

'No,' Father Byrnes said softly, and we looked to him for help, but instead he finished by saying, 'when the little bird has moved that mountain of sand across the ocean, that is only the first day of eternity!'"(Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, 202.)

The context of this quote is that the Priest is trying to explain eternal suffering in Purgatory to Antonio and his friends. He uses the analogy of a small bird moving a mountain of sand, one piece at a time. Although it is a fitting analogy, the Priest is using scare tactics to frighten the children from making mistakes that could lead them to Purgatory.

How else do people use scare tactics to promote reform? 

Politicians are notorious for using intimidation to dissuade people from following their opponents. More often than not, a political ad is usually composed of misrepresentations. For example, this attack ad about women's rights sheds a frightfully bad light on President Obama. Although there is truth in this video, there is also more there that is not being acknowledged.

For the Catholics in Bless Me, Ultima, God seems to be like a politician in this regard. God is not merciful. He is not kind. He is not gracious. He punishes those that need to be punished. His purpose is to be intimidating to keep His people righteous. He makes it clear that, if you choose to follow his opponent, you'll end up suffering in Purgatory for eternity. And quite frankly, this scare tactic is effective. Fear is a great motivator.

Although the Priest has good intentions- he wants the children to stay righteous- creating fear is not always helpful.

But there is hope. For the people in Bless Me, Ultima, this hope comes from Mary. She is the merciful protector that will ultimately prevent us from suffering. This would also be like the kind politician that simply states his agenda and moves on without attacking his opponents. (Okay, there aren't actually any American politicians like that. Let's pretend.)

Ultimately, we just have to remember to hope.

Week Eleven

"'You are to bring honor to your family,' my mother cautioned. 'Do nothing that will bring disrespect on our good name.'" (Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, 53)

Why are names so important? I have theories, but I don't feel they adequately delve into the subject. However, for the sake of this post, my main theory is simply this:

Names create a sense of individual identity. Within a group, they create a sense of unity.

This is a crucial component of Bless Me, Ultima. Although I have only read a portion of the novel, it's clear that the Márez and Luna families place much emphasis on their name. This is something we discussed in class. But I want to take it a step further.

Why do we need a name to identify who we are?
Antonio is not simply Antonio. He is Antonio Juan Márez y Luna. He has his father's name and his mother's name. He is identified as an individual (Antonio) but within an established group- in his case, two established groups. He is a culmination of everyone that has come before. Expectations, behaviors, everything is based off of who preceded him in his family.

 We are a product of what has come before. Whether or not we were raised by biological parents, aunts, uncles, adoptive parents, whoever, the idea is the same.

We were raised by someone who was raised by someone else, who was raised by someone else, who was raised by someone else. I could go on, but you get the point.

Our names connect us to the chain. Maybe they aren't actually important when it really comes down to it. But the symbolism of a name, that identifiable, connecting component, is important.

Does this make sense?