tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905999029910896908.post4908377043988150240..comments2023-07-19T10:02:33.750-04:00Comments on Chican@ Literature: A Mosaic, A Weaving, A Puzzle: Bless Me Ultima: The ChoiceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905999029910896908.post-74129668268679961512011-02-07T13:18:33.040-05:002011-02-07T13:18:33.040-05:00In response to what Alexandra and Henry wrote abou...In response to what Alexandra and Henry wrote about the brothers: yes, the brothers do choose an alternative path that is neither mother/indigena or father/Spaniard, but that path is ultimately self-destructive. Can Chican@s exist without embracing either/both?Deborah A. Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04136626366265702694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905999029910896908.post-1084867347403155912011-02-07T13:16:19.969-05:002011-02-07T13:16:19.969-05:00Excellent conversation here! Your comments make m...Excellent conversation here! Your comments make me question whether or not Anaya's intent in creating a character who feels pulled in two directions - both essential, both part of his very essence and physical being - is about creating a metaphor for contemporary Chican@ identity. At the end of Emily's post, she writes, "...a single, pure identity can be composed of many different selves." This sounds suspiciously like a mestiza identity, one which acknowledges both the Spanish colonizing "father" and the indigenous, land-based "mother." Interesting that for Anaya, the mother/indigena is Catholic, and the father/Spaniard is wild and godless.Deborah A. Mirandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04136626366265702694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905999029910896908.post-12204513547997363052011-02-02T20:26:49.954-05:002011-02-02T20:26:49.954-05:00Tony's choice between the two factions within ...Tony's choice between the two factions within his blood definitely raises the question of whether he is destined to be a priest or a wanderer. After Ultima comes to him in a dream Tony realizes that blood is not destiny, but this revelation does not free him from the choice of what he will do later in life. Eugene and Leon face this same dilemma, but their third path seems to speak more toward the consequences of defying destiny rather than forming their own. Ultima warns of the danger faced by those who alter fate, and it Tony's brothers seem to be punished by their choice to leave home. They cut off their roots and without any attachment to the past the brothers lose their identities to chaos.Henry Benedicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13653546731425033280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8905999029910896908.post-81656351308610236292011-02-02T16:03:21.010-05:002011-02-02T16:03:21.010-05:00Antonio's brothers have experienced a similar,...Antonio's brothers have experienced a similar, albeit not quite the same, crisis of identity. After their return home from a war that expanded their understanding of a world beyond Las Pasturas, they suffer from the claustrophobic Marez home. Antonio's eldest brothers, Eugene and Leon, cannot fathom living at home nor moving to California with their father. Their resolution comes not from an outside force like Ultima, but an inner sense of belonging to a greater destiny and a desperate need for something different. They prove that it is possible to choose a different path, even if that path has unintended consequences.Alexandra Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03338847097786087706noreply@blogger.com