When I first started reading this book one of the ideas that interested me was the idea of two distinct beliefs mixing together in a young boy’s life. In this book we find a young boy, Antonio trying to navigate the independence that is given to him to choose the path he wants to follow. Though his mother, the Luna side of the family has this hope of her son becoming a priest and creating a connection with the field and the surroundings and building a sense of community and family, Antonio also struggles with the option of following the identity that his father instilled in the other sons. The values of the Márez family, being a true hombre, an hombre of the llano with independence and freedom of mobility. Within Antonio he encounters two distinct lifestyles. He keeps on questioning his path and which to follow, we encounter a young boy maturing and growing. Thoughts and questions drive Antonio, his questioning and his curiosity sets a distinct tone to this book. One of the first questions that sets this kind of tone in the book is when Antonio asks his mother if Ultima was present at his birth. Through this question what Antonio really wants to understand and get an answer to is about his destiny of who he is to become. In his dream, Antonio sees his mother’s family and father’s family arguing over his future, and he believes that the woman who helped deliver him which seems to be Ultima, may be the only one who can help him know what lies ahead of him. With this sense of questioning to help fulfill his curiosity, we get a sense that this book is going to take us through the life of an innocent boy whose curiosity and willingness to know and learn leads him to another way of viewing his surroundings and life through his relationship with Ultima. I also want to briefly touch on one aspect that seemed to remind me to other texts that we have read so far in this semester, which is the concept of language. I have noticed how though this text is mostly written in English, the author has some sentences in Spanish. Young Antonio shares with us that he does not know how to speak English and he will learn it until he starts school. This shows the reader how language plays an important part in Antonio’s upbringing and identity.
Hey Stephanie,
Good observations. What really interests me is Antonio’s curiosity. He is never content with staying at home or wholeheartedly believing in a dogma pushed onto him by his mother or father. Antonio’s desire to ask questions and not take things at face values really differentiates him from the other kids. He’s wise beyond his years and is not content with being someone who believes what those tell him to. It will be interesting to see how he matures, whether he will become the priest his mother dreams about or someone more like the one his father wishes. Who knows, maybe the way of life of Ultima will continue to resonate with him and he will become a curandero.
Take care,
-Curtis HR
Hi Stephanie,
As you point out, Antonio’s fate is at the center of the book. On the one hand, his parents want him to follow predetermined paths regardless of the fact that Antonio has his own agency. On the other hand, Antonio questions the validity of these destinies because of his curiosity and becomes aware that he can make his own decisions. Even more interesting is the role played by Ultima. On the one hand, she represents a first option according to which the individual has a preconfigured destiny. On the other hand, she is presented as the only one who knows Antonio’s identity and refused to tell his parents. Therefore, it could also represent the path according to which the individual has the ability to forge his own destiny.
Aurélien