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Ultima has her own journey, as well. Over the course of her struggles with Tenorio, she comes to understand that, even though she has always used her powers to help those in need, she has still meddled with the affairs of other men, and this has thrown the world out of balance. Before she dies, she says to Antonio, "With the passing away of Tenorio and myself the meddling will be done with, harmony will be reconstituted" And that turns out to be a key lesson for Antonio.

Sure, he's sad to see his Ultima go, but he also realizes that there's consolation in knowing that there's an end to all the strife the beef between Tenorio and Ultima has caused. Ultima seems to be from a time that is fading. In a way not a literal way, but a way , she's from a faraway place, and you can get the sense that she is the last of her kind—that when she is gone, the world will change and people like her will no longer exist.

There just doesn't seem to be a place for them anymore. Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By Rudolfo Anaya. Previous Next. Ultima a. As the Chapter 13 Trece. Pedro says their father forbade them to disrupt the town's harmony The dream awakens him and Antonio sees Ultima watching a funeral procession for the dead The Trementinas pass by, wailing, and Tenorio gives Ultima the evil eye.

When the work for harvest is completed Antonio's family prepares to return Chapter 14 Catorce. One of the boys, Ernie, calls Ultima a witch. Antonio starts to fight him and the other boys all pile on.

Tenorio says another of his daughters is dying, and again accuses Ultima. He threatens Narciso with death and then disappears. Narciso is distressed and intends to go warn Ultima that she is in danger. Antonio is also worried, and he follows Narciso. Narciso looks He slips into a reverie and then hears a gunshot. He comes upon Narciso and His parents are in shock but Ultima immediately carries Antonio to bed.

He falls into a fever and Ultima tends to him Antonio's brothers appears and ask him to bless and forgive them. Chapter 15 Quince. Narciso die, but Andrew doesn't know that Antonio saw him at Rosie's. Christmas comes and Ultima tells Antonio stories about Narciso when he was young and dignified.

Chapter 16 Dieciseis. Tenorio sees Antonio and curses at him, and again he vows to kill Ultima. He says his second daughter is dying now. When Antonio gets home and tells Ultima what happened, she makes sure Tenorio didn't hurt Antonio in any way but assures him Chapter 20 Veinte.

Antonio spends more time with Ultima and worries that Tenorio is still after her. Ultima explains the situation — the house is haunted by the spirits of three Comanche Indians They drive out to the llano and Gabriel and Ultima share their love for the freedom and beauty of the land.

Ultima has them build a platform and cover it with juniper branches, and places three bundles He casts their livers into the river and Chapter 22 Veintidos. Antonio wakes from the nightmare and Ultima gives him a potion. She says he has seen too much death for his age God does not give understanding — only experience does.

He adds that much of Ultima 's magic is just great empathy with other people and the earth. Antonio is not sure The Luna brothers decide to help Ultima this time, despite their father's wishes, as He vows to avenge his daughters, and says he has discovered Ultima 's secret — the owl is Ultima 's spirit, so it is the owl he must kill Antonio knows he must defend her because she is a symbol of good overcoming evil He points the gun at Antonio, but Ultima commands the owl to attack him and Tenorio shoots it.

The gunshot seems to shatter Antonio sees the owl is dead and looks frantically for Ultima. The others don't understand what the owl means, so they think the danger has passed Antonio enters Ultima 's room and sees she is dying. He pleads with her to live, but she accepts I closed my eyes and concentrated. I had just swallowed Him, He must be in there! A thousand questions pushed through my mind, but the Voice within me did not answer.

There was only silence. The Virgin of Guadalupe offers a more intimate version of Catholicism that bridges the personal and the supernatural. Antonio's mother has a beautiful two foot statue of this virgin on her altar. Antonio describes the statue. She wore a crown on her head because she was the queen of Heaven. There was no one I loved more than the Virgin. The Virgin wrought miracles. The Virgin interceded with God on behalf of man. Belief in her balanced an orthodoxy based on fear.

A third and even more resonant religious current was derived from the indigenous native culture. Antonio's friend Samuel repeats the myth of the huge Golden Carp that lives in the waterways surrounding the town. This story was passed on to his father by an Indian who lives in the hills.

According to the myth, the Carp was a god who chose to be transformed into a carp in sympathy for the humans who had been punished by the other gods for their wickedness. Cisco, another friend, leads him to the waterway that flows from the Hidden Lakes, where the Carp swims.

And I thought, the power of God failed where Ultima's worked; and then a sudden illumination of beauty and understanding flashed through my mind. This is what I had expected God to do at my first holy communion! She is the midwife who assisted at his birth. She gathers medicinal herbs from the Ilano, the open unsettled plains. She is also a skilled exorcist and had reversed a curse cast on Antonio's uncle by the daughters of the evil Tenario.

In Ultima's presence, Antonio feels a mystical Presence that inhabits nature. Ultima's knowledge harmonizes the competing cultures of the past into a palimpsest of historical tradition. She spoke of the ancient medicines of other tribes, the Aztecas, Mayas, and even of those in the old, old country, the Moors.

His father rhapsodizes with morose nostalgia about the freedom of the vaqueros who roamed the Ilano on horseback before the tejanos and Anglos came with their fences and machines to desecrate the land.

His ineffectual mother looks to the productive labor of her brothers. They are farmers. They follow the predictable seasonal cycle of planting, tending and harvesting marked by the periodic phases of the moon. His parents argue almost constantly. Which bloodline will prevail in Antonio? An early conflict is the secular code of revenge against the sacred commandment against murder. Advancing secular values are also represented by the town. Antonio and his closest friends live across the river just outside of the town.

Their isolation suggests a protected innocence. The patriarchal structure of families in this novel is another focal point. During the excorcism that cures his uncle, Ultima performs a harrowing transmigration of bodies between Antonio and the dying uncle. Antonio puzzles over disturbing dreams and struggles to reconcile them with the truth rather than dismiss them. At one point, he comes to understand that he can make his own decisions.

In the end, he is the one whom Ultima entrusts with her secret and whom she invests with the authority to carry out her wishes. Anaya is a gifted storyteller.

The manhunt for Lupito, the exorcism and the dream sequences are horrific and portentous. Descriptions of the land, the river, and the Golden Carp myth are lyrical. He skillfully inserts suggestive parallels. Antonio's three lost brothers, doomed to wander and guided only by their own appetites and whims are the counterpoint of the Biblical three wise men guided by the divine light of the star. Tenorio's three daughters form an unholy trinity. The curse at the Agua Negra ranch involves the defiled ghosts of three lynched Comanches.

One of Antonio's uncles admits he failed to warn Ultima of danger because he was afraid. It is certainly no accident that the character's name is Pedro referencing the apostle Peter who denied association with Christ three times out of fear. Unfortunately, the book as a whole failed to capture my heart. It is a coming-of-age story about Antonio's understanding of independence through Ultima's courage.

However, the flaws of the culture — an acceptance of superstition as knowledge, the dismissive role of women, and the patriarchal assumptions of authority — are never really resolved. No doubt someone raised in this culture would have a deeper interpretation.

Antonio's experiences are obviously meant to resonate with the reality of someone who grew up in this culture. Mar 02, Ed Pattison rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Everyone. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Reaction: I thought that was a wonderfully creative novel. Also, I felt like I got lucky when I picked this from the A.

God's reading list, beacuse it was a very moving book. Usually when I read a novel I tend to not finish them on account of a schedule filled with numerous other things. As for this book, I actually was engaged and determined to finish.

As a whole the book was a rather quick one to finish and easy on the brain in terms of comprehension for following the stroy, plot, etc. Theme,Plot, etc: The basis for this novel is faith. It is based on the life of a little mexican boy named Antonio, who is surrounded by a strict Spanish Catholic family and lifestyle.

But things begin to change in Antnio's life when an old family friend, Ultima the curandera or healer, comes to stay with him and his family. Basically, Antonio has only seen life through the Catholic eye, but then Ultima who is seen as a witch and evil spirit, shows Antonio a different perspective on life. In a way she lays a grandmother figure role to him and uses her wisdom and knowledge to guide him.

Also, when Antonio is going through bad times and violent things around him, Ultima shows him the light to find his way. Overall, the basis of the novel moved me as a reader and inspired me. View 2 comments. I found this to be one of those books where the ending was stronger than the beginning. But it could also be argued that the narrator, Tony matured and thus the depth of his storytelling developed as well. A quick trip to New Mexico prompted me to dust-off this shelf sitter. Glad I had it on hand.

There's nothing like being able to mesh your reading with your vacation. Can't say I experienced Tony's culture, but I was certainly able to place myself in the setting and love that child character mo I found this to be one of those books where the ending was stronger than the beginning. Can't say I experienced Tony's culture, but I was certainly able to place myself in the setting and love that child character more. If only we could all have an elder like Ultima to provide us with their wisdom.

And, if only all children were able to absorb their teachings as Tony did. But, no. That's just not the way it is. Tony is his mother's last chance for raising a child of the faith. The curandura Ultima is his chance to become a man of wisdom, whether religious or secular. And Tony is special. Tony symbolizes the potential in us all. But there are forces at work, forces beyond our control, evil threats that can only be overcome by methods beyond our human understanding.

Only when Tony has grasped his father's hope, that he become a tender of plants, is he able to mature and face his future. To let go of Ultima and trust his own abilities. This book is steeped both in Catholicism and Latino mysticism. It is also a boy's story - pecking order, fights, competition, loyalty, secrecy, etc.

I couldn't relate to most of this but I recommend this to anyone who would. Jun 07, Jamie rated it it was ok Shelves: childrens-ya , did-not-finish-it. Also, it's from the POV of a 7-year old child at first but it is written in a formal and adult voice, and so felt disconnected from his actual experience. Are you a good witch or a bad witch This beautiful book is about rejecting the binaries we cling to, and opening up to the nuanced mystery that is life. The argument for nuance begins with a bang.

When Lupito shoots the sheriff, Antonio's father and Narciso both argue for a more complex, open-ended empathy — or at least due process — for him. But a swift and definitive vigilante justice prevails. We like easy, eye for an eye equations where murderers get what they deserve. But this is Are you a good witch or a bad witch But this is a veteran suffering PTSD.

Is eye for an eye ever really simple? No, says this book, it is not. Our Antonio is pushed and pulled by binary choices a bunch. Or is he to be a rooted-down farmer priest and community leader, like his mother's powerful Luna clan?

Antonio's coming of age involves heavy contemplation on ways both can be true. How we can rue the closing of the west, yearn for adventure, and long to revel in the beauty of the here and now — and at the same time, how we can be motivated to honor tradition, labor to promote health and welfare, and pile up resources against an uncertain future.

The moon is a weighty constant. The sea is in constant motion. But the more subtle truth is that one's gravity makes waves in the other. Yin and yang, always parted yet always connected. Ultima begins to show Antonio a way to see through binary traps.

The curandera way walks between worlds of nature and spirituality to embrace a more nuanced truth. To accept the cyclical nature of all things. To recognize the interconnection of all things. She teaches Antonio that what's important is to take responsibility for all you do within the web of life.

When you need a plant's healing power, you take it's life. But in doing so, you recognize the damage you do, consciously articulating your reasons for removing a living thing from the earth. To own the actions you take in the world is to recognize the connectedness of the world — and to ultimately accept that good and bad depend on point of view. Ultima is a curandera, not a bruja — but the difference may be a matter of perspective. Perspectives change. The "samenesses" we try to create within a changing world are merely anchors of our own invention.

We need them, but even as we need them, our needs change. And so, even our anchors must be in motion. In truth, the moon is a huge and solid constant, but even this anchor is in motion — and as it moves, it spurs motion in the sea.

Motion is life. Non-motion is death. Antonio begins to see that things change as you change. The Vitamin Kid never loses a race, until the day he refuses to run.

Antonio seems to have to choose between branches of his family, which rests on choosing between the eternal god of the church and the ephemeral beauty of the here and now.

But to purport faith in god without question or doubt is to reject motion, to reject life. In essence, to abdicate your responsibility, your perspective, to the church is to believe in magic — to reject change and worship constants, to fall under the thrall of ALWAYS — and to become inflexible.

Whereas to practice natural magic is to accept responsibility for yourself, to grapple with ongoing questions of perspective, to embrace change, and to reject the artifice of human control over destiny. Antonio is a watcher who notices artifice, and questions until he finds his non-binary reality. He makes his family proud during a visit to the Lunas farms, and is invited back to labor with them, anytime. He can participate in both worlds, eternal vows not required. Somehow, he evades the fear that if he doesn't commit, the Lunas' way will die out.

He is able to accept that it will certainly change over time, but believe that it will never truly die. Just as Ultima tells him that she will die, and yet be with him. This is the ultimate human reality. Our lives are finite, but our interconnections are infinite. Our impacts on others let us live on beyond physical life. No matter if we are good, evil, or somewhere in between, our actions will influence those lives that we touch — and those we touch directly will in turn mark those who come after.

This is how we weave the web of life. The only question is what ripples, rents, or strong weavings will we leave for others?

The best answer may be an ability to appreciate the eternal non-binary mystery of this world. Acceptance of life's mysteries leads to optimism, ongoing attempts to foster more flexible connections, and celebration of those connections that endure despite life's waves. Despair leads to over-reaching attempts to control the flow of life, of destiny — to come out always on top. This is the way of imbalance, and imbalance is the only thing truly against god.

The closing of the west brought near total destruction of vaquero culture, but not total. The free flow of life can never be fully subverted. As well, it also created longstanding new cultures and communities, like those that empower the Lunas. Forget whether Antonio will be a vaquero or a farmer-priest. Ultima's character is the most complex, and although the deuteragonist, or the character second in importance, she can be seen as the heroine of the story.

Ultima is a person of action, the one who performs the healings and provides guidance to others. She is the one who nurtures Antonio's spiritual awakening. Ultima is a strong, confident woman who uses her knowledge and power to do good in the world. Her character combines elements of indigenous and European cultures that is, paganism and Catholicism into a coherent unity that provides an alternative to the Church and to the rational, scientific knowledge of the Anglo Americans.