What the Dreams Foreshadow in Bless Me, Ultima 

There would be a great relief in knowing what the future has in store for us. While we don’t know what lies ahead of us the novel Bless Me, Ultima written by Rudolfo Anaya explains the dreams that Tony experienced and how they helped foreshadow future events. The dreams brought him back to past events that happened in his life. Tony is full of ambition as well as questions about his potential, and what he should be. The dreams were able to give answers to the concerns he had.

During the journey that Tony goes through he is given the direction he needs to help him along the way.

Arguing Families

One of the first dreams that Tony experiences about the future is about his own birth. In his dream both sides of his families are there. The Luna side as well as the Marez side are speaking of Tony’s future and what it has in store for him.

The two sides of the family start to argue about who he will become. The disagreement focuses on whether he will become more like his father or his mother. Tony’s mother was a Luna and the Luna side said that,” This one will be a Luna, the old man said, he will be a farmer and keep our customs and traditions” (5). Tony’s mother wishes and believes that one day Tony will be a very good priest. On the other hand, the Marez side of the family has another opinion.

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“These are the people of my father, the vaqueros of the llano” (6). The Marez’s believe that “He is a Marez, the vaqueros shouted. His forefathers were conquistadores, men as restless as the seas they sailed and as free as the land they conquered. He is his father’s blood” (6). His fathers ‘side of the family know that Tony is capable of becoming a vaquero and that is who he should be. Tony’s dream reveals his difficulty to discover who he will grow up to be. His future feels undecided leaving him curious for answers on who he should be. Then, there is another person that appears in Tony’s dream. It is Ultima, “La Grande” (12). Tony’s family call her “La Grande” because the name is more respectful and makes her feel more appreciated and admired by others. Ultima is a Curandera who is a big help in changing Tony’s life.

Ultima’s Words

As the families argued about Tony’s forthcoming. Ultima delivered the baby. “the clash was stopped by the woman who delivered the baby” (6). She stopped all the yelling with one word, “Cease! she cried, and the men were quiet” (6). Ultima then says that she is the only one that knows who Tony will become. The dream foreshadows how powerful Ultima is and the impact she will have on Tony in his life. When Ultima speaks in the dream, her words are very powerful in a way that she overpowers everyone around her and they the family has no words to speak. Since the dream that Tony had happened before the meeting of Ultima, it gives him an idea of what she will be like when they meet. Ultima is powerful in a way that no one understands. Later, Tony discovers that Ultima has the power to heal and help others. And Ultima and Tony develop a very strong relationship. She has the power to see who Tony can be.

Dream about Brothers

Later in the novel, Tony experiences another dream, he had a dream of his brothers in war. Tony was worrying about them thinking that something wasn’t going well. In his dream his brothers called to him, “Give us your hand, our sweet brother. Give us your saving hand” (61). When Tony’s brothers said that in the dream it was meaning that his brothers were done in the war and ready to return home to their family. “Oh, our sweet baby, we are coming home to you” (61). When Tony awoke from his dream, he, “heard the owl in alarm” (62). The owl represents the spirit of Ultima. Tony ran outside hoping to see his brothers, and their coming over the slope of the hill were three dark figures. “I was gathered into the arms of the giants of my dreams” (62). In his dream this expressed the love Tony has for his brothers and the examples they are to him. His dream was another example of how it foretells a future event such as his brothers returning home from war.

Although Tony was so glad to have his brothers’ home, he has another foreshadowing dream that shows another future event. Tony is afraid to see his three brothers enter a brothel. The brothel is not a good place to be in it’s a place of evil. His brothers want Tony to enter with them, but Tony knows his worth and value and chooses that he shouldn’t enter. And if he will become a priest one day, it wouldn’t be acceptable for him to enter. Antonio is so disappointed to see two of his brothers enter and then he pleads with his third brother Andrew to not go in. Andrew chooses not to enter. He told Tony, “I will make a deal with you my little brother, I will wait and not enter until you lose your innocence” (71). Tony then becomes confused because he thought that innocence is forever. Later, the priest explains to him, “You are innocent until you understand… and you will understand good and evil when the communion is placed in your mouth and god fills your body” (71). The priest explains to Tony that not one can stay innocent forever. And one day will feel the persuasion of evil overcome them. Evil may overcome people, but it overcomes others in little ways, such as the evil woman persuaded Andrew to enter the brothel with there words and actions. The evil surrounds others to make little mistakes one at a time.

Following, Tony discovers Andrew entering the brothel. He remembers the promise Andrew made, which was he would only enter once Tony lost his innocence. He then becomes confused because he didn’t think he lost his innocence, “How had I sinned?” (165). Tony didn’t know what he had done wrong. When he watches Andrew enter, he reflects on what he could’ve done wrong. Even seeing his brother enter the brothel can add to his loss of innocence. It breaks his heart to see his idol, example, and best friend enter inside a horrible place. Antonio is sad knowing his brothers had lost their innocence and he had too even though he wasn’t quite sure how he did in the first place.

The dreams that Tony experiences tell the future. They give detail for the event that is going to happen in Tony’s life later. The author uses this strategy in a way to keep the reader on their toes. It allows the readers to be intrigued on whether his dream is going to happen in real life when he awakes. His dreams focus on events that happen such as who he is going to become and how he loses his innocence. They add importance to the story and keep the reader wanting to see what’s going to happen next.