Riley Paredes, Trevor Denney, Jack Regalado

Mrs. Jobst
English II Acc.
10 December 2014
Bless Me Ultima Group Essay
Dreams, they can translate the past and predict the future. Bless Me Ultima is a novel
about a young boy named Antonio who relies on his dreams to guide his life. He is faced with
many obstacles, but is always able to overcome these problems with answers that are given to
him in his dreams. In Rudolfo Anayas novel, Bless Me Ultima, Antonios dreams give him
insight on events that eventually guide him through the future, warp his religious beliefs, and
effect his relationships with friends and family.
Antonios dreams provide him with the ability to see aspects of the past and future which
directly effect his decisions throughout his life. In Antonios first dream he discovers that
Ultima carefully wrapped [his umbilical cord] and the afterbirth and laid the package at the feet
of the Virgin (5). This dream allows him to understand that his life will heavily revolve around
Catholicism. Knowing this, Antonio is given a good understanding of what his future will most
likely consist of, which is becoming a priest. This serves as a perfect example of how Antonios
dreams guide his future by giving him insight on past events. In Antonios fifth dream, he learns
from his father that he was baptized in the water of the pagan god of Cico, the golden carp,
this giving him more of a connection with the golden carp than with god (120). The new idea
regarding the supernatural fish, causes Antonio to view the golden carp as a more realistic idol.
Therefore, Antonio begins to sway his religious beliefs toward the golden carp. This proves that

Antonio learns valid and insightful information from his dreams that eventually reconstructs his
future.
Not only do Antonios dreams alter his future, they also warp his religious beliefs. It
appears in one of Antonios dreams that God embodies traits of jealousy and unfairness while the
golden carp appears to be good and pure. With the understanding that his dreams interpret very
significant ideas, Antonio takes what his dreams are telling him and applies them to real life.
Soon after, Antonio begins to lean more toward believing in the golden carp than in god. This
confirming that Antonios dreams provide him with knowledge that assists him in making
decisions involving his religion. Although Antonio temporarily sways toward presuming the
golden carp as a kind and reliable god, his faith in god is revived when he dreams that Ultima
and the golden carp have died. In his dream Antonio exclaims, My God, My God, why have
you forsaken me!(244). The events that occurred in Antonios dream cause him to come to the
realization that even though all things are dead, god is still with him. Antonio takes what he
learned in his dream and uses it to help him make decisions regarding his religious beliefs. This
proves how strong of an impact Antonios dreams have on his decisions and how they ultimately
guide him through his life. Through his dreams, Antonio learns things that cause him to reevaluate his religious beliefs along with many other things.
In conjunction with guiding his future and warping his religious beliefs, Antonios
dreams also play a crucial role in the way he views his friends and family. This is most
obviously seen in Antonios dream involving his brother visiting Rosies. In the dream, Antonio
walks along the path toward town, when suddenly the door to Rosies opens and his brothers
point for [him] to enter(70). Following this dream, Antonio views his brothers as more of a
negative influence. Knowing his dreams are accurate and reliable sources of information,

Antonio begins to drift away from what used to be three positive role models. Here, Antonio is
using events that occured in his dream to re-evaluate his relationships. In Antonios first dream,
his birth takes place and just after this Ultima exclaims Only I will know his destiny(6). This
dream allows Antonio to understand the relationship that he and Ultima share, before they even
meet. If it werent for Antonios unique ability to see into the past and back to the future, then he
would live his entire life and never understand quite how powerful their relationship really is.
However, Antonio does know, and therefore his relationship with Ultima is enhanced. Whether
it is Ultima or his brothers, Antonios dreams possess the prodigious ability to change his
relationships and his life.
Antonios dreams provide insight into the future, change his relationships and sway his
religious beliefs. Without his dreams, Antonio would be lost in a sea of unmade decisions. His
dreams provide him with insight and clarity on past and future events; this knowledge assists
Antonio in making decisions that have an enormous effect on his life. It is understood through
Antonios experiences that dreams can play a crucial role in ones development, and must be
taken seriously.