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BenjaminWasden
Ms.Gardner
HonorsEnglish10SixthPeriod
21October2015
DelvingIntoThemesandCriticism
"TheBigRead."
BlessMe,Ultima
.TheBigRead,2015.Web.09Nov.2015.

Thewebsitegoesindepthwithhimbyprovidingnotonlyasummary(biographyif
youwill)butalsoaninterview.Containedwithintheinterviewresidesseveraljewels
ofinformationaboutRudolfoAnaya,includingbutnotlimitedtothefactthathis
parentsonlyspokeSpanishfluently.HehadtoworkinschooltolearnEnglishheis
quitegratefulthatinsteadofalienatingus,[they]allowedustomakeatransition
intothatEnglishspeakingworld.

Interviewsaremuchmoreinterestingtoreadsimplybecausetheyprovideanangle
thatbiographieswrittenonthepersonsimplydonotoffer.Thisparticulararticle
allowsonetonotonlydelveintothehistoryofAnaya,butalsoprovideanemotional
depththathebringsout.Hewritesbecausehemust.

"CriticalEvaluation"CriticalSurveyofLiteratureforStudentsEd.LaurenceW.Mazzeno.
eNotes.com,Inc.2010eNotes.com22Oct,2015


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AnayasbookprovidesastorycrammedwithAntonios,themaincharacters,experience
ofmovingthroughlifetoadulthoodalongwithhimovercomingtraditionsboundaries.
AsAntoniosfathercomesfromafamilyofcowboysandhismothercomesfroma
familyoffarmers,theviewsthattheydesirefortheirchilddiffer,alongwiththe
traditionsthataresetforthbecauseofthat.

Thearticleexplorestheconceptofacquiringonesidentityaswellasthesymbolsthat
areassociatedinthebook.Symbolsareanincrediblymajorpartofthebook,andarea
commonthemeinthepassage.Theconstantuseofwateralongwithreligiousritualsis
bothcomplexandeffective.Theexplorationofthethemesaswellastheidentitystudy
makeallprovethisbooktonotjustbesometextonapage,butanexperiencethat
revealssomeoftherichliterarytraditionsoftheAmericanSouthwest.

Korfmacher,Carsten."PersonalIdentity."
InternetEncyclopediaofPhilosophy
.IEP,n.d.
Web.8Nov.2015.

CarstenKorfmacher,theauthorofthearticle,delvesintodeepandtroublingtopics
aboutPersonalIdentity.Hediscussestheissues,theories,andparadoxesrelatedto
identity.Themainpointsheattemptstogetacrosstheproblemofpersonal
identityalongwithanumberoftheoriesandargumentsforandagainstthem.


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PersonalIdentityisagiganticportionof
BlessMe,Ultima.
Antoniostrugglesto
becomewhohetrulydesires,ashisparentshavedifferingopinionsastowhathe

shouldbecome.Ultimahelpshimpersonallydiscoverhisidentityhowever,theissue
personalidentityisstilloneofthemostimportanttopicsinthebook.

LeBaron,Michelle."CultureandConflict|BeyondIntractability."
CultureandConflict|
BeyondIntractability
.BeyondIntractability,July2003.Web.09Nov.2015.

Thisarticletalksaboutcultureanditsproblems,includingwhycultureisthe
reasonwhythereisconflictinsociety.Itstatesthatcultureismultilayeredwhat
youseeonthesurfacemaymaskdifferencesbelowthesurface.Italsoprovides
waystocreateculturalharmony(communication,identities,etc.)aswellaswhat
occursinacollectivistsociety(cooperation,interdependence,etc.)aswellasinan
individualistsociety(competition,independence,etc.).

Cultureclashingisnotanewtopicintherealworld,anditcertainlyisntinRudolfo
Anayasnovel
BlessMe,Ultima.
BothofAntoniosparentscomefromdiffering
culturesanddifferentidealsfortheirchildren.Hisparents,andthereforehimself,
liveinanindividualistsociety,makingitincrediblydifficultforhimtodealwith
hisstruggleswithpersonalidentity.


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Olmos,MargariteF."BlessMe,Ultima."
LiteratureResourceCenter
.SonomaLibrary,1999.
Web.7Nov.2015.

Thisarticleexploresnearlyeveryaspectofthebook,discussingavarietyoftopicssuch
assetting,narrativestrategiesandmore.Whileittouchesonmanyoftheseaspectsofthe
book,itveryclearlyfocusesontheculturalcontextofthenovel.MarariteOlmos,the
articlesauthor,discussesthelanguage,traditions,andcultureingeneralinverygreat
depth,goingasfarastohavesevenparagraphssimplydiscussingthisaspectofthenovel.

Thearticleconnectsandexplainsseveraltopicsinthebook(suchashowMariaLunas
nameislinkedtoculture).ItalsodiscussestheimportanceofUltimaandhowsheis
associatedwithancienttraditionsandwisdom.

Schooner,Prairie."InterviewwithRudolfoAnaya."
LiteratureResourceCenter
.Sonoma
Library,7Apr.1992.Web.7Nov.2015.

ThisarticleistalkingaboutthesalesofhisbooksalongwithhisinfluenceinChicano
literature.Thisisalsoaninterview,albeitnotinthesameformatasthelastone.This
containsaveryshort,onesentencesummaryofthetopicsaswellastheinterview.


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ThearticlediscusseshowAnayaisoneoftheChicanopioneers,apersonwholeda
genretoitscurrentstate.ItalsotalksabouthowmuchAnayahonorsandrespects
tradition,referringtoitasahugestrengththatIndiahas.