Good Literature can be considered a book that contains unique characters, intriguing plots, universal themes, excellent language, and a good life lesson. Bless Me, Ultima is good literature because it has unique characters and the universal theme of the coming of age. The main character, Antonio, experiences different types of people with different perspectives on life. Antonio’s own parents have conflicting views as his mother is a Catholic and his father is a Spanish cowboy, also known as a vaquero.
Antonio is a six-year-old boy living in New Mexico in the 1940s. Ultima is a curandera, a healer that uses herbs, who stays with Tony’s family at their house. She forms a unique relationship with Antonio and begins to guide him, spiritually. Also, Ultima’s owl becomes a comforting presence for Tony and is actually the embodiment of Ultima’s soul. This is extremely unique because as Tony questions the world and the afterlife, Ultima acts as his mentor to guide him. In addition, there are points in the book where Antonio questions his own religion when he is told about the golden carp and when a priest fails to cure Tony’s uncle of a witch’s curse. He also starts to think about punishment in the afterlife. This shows Antonio’s coming of age since he can not understand his religion nor has any set beliefs yet.
In conclusion, Good Literature can be considered a book that contains unique characters, intriguing plots, universal themes, excellent language, and a good life lesson. Bless Me, Ultima can be considered Good Literature because of its unique characters and “coming of age” theme. Antonio, the main character, forms a deep connection with Ultima, an old healer. Antonio also starts to doubt his religion when he hears about the golden carp “god” and when a priest could not lift a curse from one of Tony’s uncles. This really shows his coming of age since he is not able to form his own beliefs or fully grasp his religion. Therefore, Bless Me, Ultima can indeed be considered Good Literature.
