Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
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The Setting: Mimics the conflicting emotions and ambiguity in the life of six year old Antonio Marez. Antonio lived in rural New Mexico during World War II. His home sits peacefully above the river on a juniper patched hill covered with yucca and mesquite brush. The hill was the beginning of the llano, which stretched as far as the eye could see. Down the slope of the hill were the green of the river and the town of Guadalupe. His father was a vaquero whose freedom covered the plains of the llano and his mother was the daughter of farmers from the fertile river valley. They live near the river and yet near the llano because of his mother's dreams for him to be a priest watching over the farmers of the valley and the wishes of his father for him to follow the ways of the vaquero on the open plain. He loves them both but feels he is neither.
The Climax: Tenorio's killing of Ultima's owl destroys Ultima's life force and quickly leads to her death. Antonio believes that when he buries the owl he is really burying Ultima...