Momcilo Latinovic
ENG 318
May 3, 2012
Daniel Martinez
Grown Little Man

Children in many countries and cultures are put in the situations that seem different to us. They are forced to grow up and mature much faster and make life long decisions. "The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt." This quote is by Max Lerner. The things that kids go through to enter maturity can be complicated. Their task is to come across themselves, and grow into the mature person they will become. There are facing some difficult journeys filled with new things, difficult situations, confusion, and a loss of childhood innocence. The novel Bless Me, Ultima, written by Rudolfo Anaya, is about Antonio Marez, a young boy who has to make his way into maturity and in doing so he deals with some things that are not common for a boy his age. Antonio becomes emotionally mature from crying about deaths to staying tough when he sees the decease, intellectually mature by showing how intelligent he becomes and physically mature by changing in size and strength. For example, Antonio is the reason for many of his parent’s arguments that occur. They fight over what Antonio would be when he is older. This is not something usual for a seven years old kid. Most kids his age are spoiled by their parents and family and all they do is play with the other kids and just have fun. However, Antonio is stuck between two fires and he is thinking about what he wants to become, due to his parents arguments.
Antonio’s mother wanted him to be extremely intelligent, and she wanted him to be a priest when he grows up. She said “An education will make him scholar, like-like the old Luna priest.”(57) The reason why she wanted that is because she wasn’t very educated so she tried to live her life through Antonio. Also, she always wanted someone to bring honor to the family, and that is where the priest idea came from. Reason why Antonio’s mother thought that the way to bring honor to the family would be for Antonio to become a priest is because she is very religious.
Antonio’s father on the other hand did not agree with the idea for education, or Antonio becoming a priest. He believes education is a waste of time and money. Antonio’s father grew up on the farm and less civilized and educated environment. His ambition is to own a vineyard, and have his sons work on it together. The education is not needed to juice grapes, and therefore it wasn’t important to him. Also, his father is not very religious so he thinks that it is pointless for Antonio to become a priest. “Then there was the thing about religion. My father was not a strong believer in religion. When he was drunk he called priests “women,” and made fun of the long skirts they wore.”(31) This is one way Antonios’ father showed how he did not want him to grow up to be a priest.
Antonio’s concern about his future definitely sets him on the higher level than other kids his age. Thinking about future, god, religion is not typical for seven year old boy and that is one of the reasons why Antonio is much smarter and more mature than everyone else his age or even older. In my opinion this is a disadvantage for Antonio because he never really gets to be a “kid”, and have a stress free environment. When people grow up, there is always stress in their lives whether it is trying to figure out how to pay the bills or what you are going to eat for dinner that night. My point is he will never know what it feels like to have no worries in his life which is usually what a kids life is like.
Antonio grows physically through the novel as well. He is so small in the beginning of the novel that he gets knocked over by wind. “The twister struck with such force that it knocked me off my feet and left me trembling on the ground.” (55) Antonio is very small and he seems extremely weak. However, when his brothers, Leon, Eugene and Andrew, came back home from the war they said that he looks different and he has changed. “Hey Toni, how are you? Man you’re big!” (62) Antonio seemed much bigger than before his brothers left for the war. He became physically stronger and grew in size. He is also able to lift some heavy objects. “I placed the owl in the grave and I put a large stone over it so the coyotes would not dig it out.” (261) This shows how Antonio has became much stronger and bigger than he was in the beginning of the novel. However, he gained is physical maturity over time, unlike the emotional maturity which he always had throughout the novel.
Maturity is more than physical maturity; it is also a state of mind. Unlike physical maturation, this mental portion does not have a time point. Physical development happens around the age of eighteen, but mental development can occur anytime. This is because everyone does not find the importance of responsibilities and fundamental characteristics, such as character, integrity, and morals, at the same time. For example, in high school I was seen as a very mature kid. Because of the way I dressed, approached my responsibilities and approached other people. No one would ever see me involved in the fights and arguments that many of the students found themselves in. However, I did go through a lot of those in middle school. Although, in high school I grew out of it and didn’t find any purpose in it because I saw that there will be stress and irritation that I would have if I did such things. I saw no purpose in the immature ways of getting attention, but lot of other kids did see it because they were doing it. I had more important things that concerned me, such as my grades, basketball, and college applications. That state of mind was a signal of maturity, concerning myself with more valuable things. That is exactly what Antonio is doing in the novel, but at the much younger age.
Antonio also matures emotionally throughout the novel. A good example of that is his witnessing all the deaths and how he reacts to them. Death is something that children are very afraid of. However, Antonio handles it very well because Ultima is there to help him. Death of Lupito is the first death that Antonio witnessed. In the book this is described as Antonio’s loss of innocence. After experiencing such thing Antonio had nowhere else to turn but to god, he was afraid that Lupito would not be accepted in heaven. “Over and over through my mind ran the words of the Act of Contrition.”(24) The reason why he said that is because there was no priest to take his confession or say the Act of Contrition. This confused Antonio, “Did God listen? Would he hear?”(24) These are just some of the questions that went through his head. In the beginning of the novel Antonio runs away from the death of Lupito, not because he is scared of what happened but scared he might get in trouble. “I turned and ran. The dark shadows of the river enveloped me as I raced for the safety of home.” (22) Antonio cried because he got scared his parents would get mad at him and didn’t want to get in trouble like a typical seven year old. Another death that Antonio witnessed was Narcisco’s death. Antonio felt extreme emotional pain; he couldn’t stop thinking about it. “I thought of Narcisco, standing alone against the dark figures on the bridge.”(30) When Antonio saw Narciso die, he stayed and hesitated to bless Narciso. “I knew I had to pray. I had to pray an Act of Contrition for his departing soul, like I prayed for Lupito. But I had not held Lupito while his body went cold.” (170) Antonio is still scared but now he knows that he has to bless Narciso, not like when Lupito died. For the kid his age seeing all that is really hard to deal with. Although, that wasn’t all for Antonio witnessing people losing lives, he witnessed two more. The third death that Antonio witnessed was Florences death. Florence was Antonio’s close friend, even though he doesn’t believe in God. There are many reasons why Florence doesn’t believe in God. Some of them are his mother dying when he was young, his father drinking to his death and his sisters being whores. Florence didn’t understand how if there is a god all this could let this happen to him. When Florence died, by crashing in the lake, Antonio was worried about whether God would forgive him and if he would go to heaven. Antonio worried about that because Florence did not believe in God and Antonio did. The author has purposely set deaths in this order. It starts from the less important person’s death to the most important ones and because closer people to Antonio died later it allowed him to handle it much better due to his emotional maturity. The last death that probably had the most effect on Antonio was the death of Ultima. Ultima was not just a grandmother to Antonio, but his mentor as well. He cared about her very much and they were very close. She taught Antonio everything he needed to know about life. Ultima also took care of him, “And always Ultima was near me, caring for every turn I made in the process of that hideous journey.”(174) Ultima changed Antonio’s life more than anyone ever would and losing her was the worst thing Antonio had to experience emotionally. Antonio took her death better than everyone else’s but probably felt more pain. The reason why he was able to take her death well is because he matured a lot emotionally. Even though, Ultima passed away, she was still there with Antonio in his dream and helping him when he needed her. Towards the end of novel, Antonio takes control over his mom when Ultima died. “It was the first time I had ever spoken to my mom as a man; she nodded and obeyed.” (259) Antonio knows what he is doing and that he is being in charge of the situation. By doing this he responds and seems like a man.
Maturity is a simple but confusing word. It’s simple in the sense that its definition is easily understandable. However, maturity is confusing because no one is certain when it begins to happen. People believe it begins when adolescent hits puberty, while other would argue that it begins once an adolescent becomes the age of eighteen, the age in which they are considered liable for their actions. These ideas and beliefs just touch the subject of this confusing term. However, I believe that maturity doesn’t come at certain age or time, but once the certain mindset is reached. Some people could be immature for their whole life, based on their mindset and decision that they make. This is also proven in the novel Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, where Antonio at such young age has the mind of the wise grown man. He thinks and reacts to certain things way different than any other kid his age would, he also strives to become smarter and better educated.
Antonio matures intellectually in the novel as well. He wants to know so much about letters and want to know how to read and write. “I wanted to as her immediately about the magic in the letters, but that would be rude and so I was quiet.” (59) He is very happy when he learns how to write his name. He gets so excited that he starts bragging to his mother. “And that year I learned how to read and write. Miss Maestas was very pleased with me.” (76) He reads perfect and this shows another step of intelligence. Antonio knows stuff that not an average nine year old would know. He knows that the owl is Ultima;s spirit and an average nine year old will not know what that would mean. “It was true that the owl was Ultima’s spirit. It had come with Ultimas, and as men brought evil to our hills the owl had hovered over us, protecting us.” (256) Antonio is very intelligent and he knows things even some grown up wouldn’t know.
Maturity can be easily confused and misunderstood. Even though a person could have went through the phase that many people believe that maturity is supposed to happen, they could still easily act in a very immature manner. For example, college students, we are good example of misunderstanding of maturity. Alot of us come to college and think because we are by ourselves and are finally experiencing a sense of independence, we are mature. That group of students has this sense that they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and however they want to do it. They stay up partying all night and not studying, but somehow expect to have a 4.0 GPA. Then become unexpectedly surprised when they receive their midterm, or final grades. Then, instead of finding the causes for their low grades, they place fault on the professors or GA’s lack of assistance. That lack of responsibility is where the lack of maturity comes into play. Even though they are considered being mature because of their age, they don’t really have that state of mind that a mature person does. However, in the novel Bless Me, Ultima, Anaya never shows any kind of irresponsibility by Antonio. He always acts and thinks as a very mature person and the reader gets the sense of him as never being immature. Also, another reason why Antonio had very mature mind state is because he always had someone to guide him and teach him to think as a mature individual. That person was Ultima.
When he was being pulled to two different sides by his parents, regarding his future, Antonio was searching for answers. Therefore, he turned to Ultima for help “She understood that as I grew I would have to choose to be my mother’s priest or my father’s son.” (45) Ultima is one of the biggest reasons why Antonio became so mature. She taught him that there is good and evil out there in the world and she taught him how to see the difference between the two. Also, Antonio learned how to think as a good person due to Ultima’s influence on him. Even though Ultima didn’t always tell Antonio exactly what to do, she did help him and guided him through everything. Antonio’s maturity for the most part came from Ulima and her guidance. Having someone in your life to guide you and teach you about life at a very young age is important. It affects the way you look at the world and decisions you make. In the novel Bless Me Ultima, Antonio has a mentor, his grandma Ultima, who teaches him about life. She was the biggest reason why he became so smart and looked at the world through the eyes of an adult. She taught him everything and helped him overcome every obstacle he was facing. If it wasn’t for her, Antonio would be just like every other kid his age. Antonio’s relationship with Ultima made him become very close to her and turned him into a better person. I believe that maturity comes, for the most part, from the environment and influence of other people. If a kid is growing up around irresponsible parents, or has irresponsible friends, the chances are very good that that kid is going to become irresponsible as well. On the other hand, if a kid is growing up around responsible people, having his/her parents watching over them and making them do their homework and other responsibilities, that kid has better chance on becoming mature much sooner. That is exactly what happened in the novel Bless Me, Ultima. Antonio was very well taken care of by his grandmother Ultima, and due to her influence on him he became very mature at young age. Antonio’s maturity is not only presented thought the ways he handles certain situations, but also thorough the things that he does. Typical seven year old kid is just playing with their toys, their friends, video games and things of that nature. On the other hand, Antonio does some things that are very unusual for someone his age. For example, he questions the flaws of the religion. He has done that a lot when he witnessed people dying. He was wondering why God didn’t do anything about it. “Did God listen? Would he hear?”(24) That is what Antonio said after he witnessed Lupito’s death.
According to Wikipedia, religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature.
Each person’s definition of religion is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared their beliefs, and who feel that their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from the outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action, in the form of love, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. However, certain religions can be very complex and strict, and they are definitely not something that should be questioned by seven year old kid. Therefore, by doing that Antonio proves again how mature he is and how his mind can’t even be compared to any other seven year old.
Antonio has dealt with alot of things that are definitely not common for a seven year old. Although, Antonio is not a common seven year old kid either. The reason why he is so mature is because he has someone who is watching over him and helping him to make right decision and handle all those things he was dealing with. Throughout the novel Antonio matures physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Physical maturity is changing in size, strength and force. Antonio’s physical maturity comes over the years, which is normal. Emotional maturity is feeling and acting different toward things, responsibilities and understanding when something needs to happen in life. Some people take longer time to mature emotionally, but that was not the case with Antonio. He became emotionally mature very early, due to all the things he was facing and Ultima being there for him to teach him and guide him though those hard times. Intellectual maturity is becoming more intelligent, knowing and understanding certain things. Throughout the novel Antonio strives for intellectual maturity and wants to learn as much as possible. He does that by reading and learning from his mentor Ultima. However, emotional maturity truly demonstrates when someone becomes mature because it shows they know something and understand what life is all about. In the novel Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, the main character Antonio is shown as a very mature at very young age. Throughout the novel Antonio matures physically over time, strives for the intellectual knowledge, but he is never presented as emotionally immature. He does become more mature over time when it comes to being able to handle certain distractions but he is never shown as immature. Therefore, being emotionally mature at such young age Antonio could have been considered as “grown little man.”