Reader's Notebook 2 Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

Feminist Lens

In Bless Me, Ultima there is a variety of 'Lenses' present. The one I would like to talk about is feminism. This novel is mostly based upon female characters. Tony's mother, the School teachers, Tony's three sisters, the women at whore house, Tenorio's three daughters and Ultima. Each female character is strong in their own manner yet some are as strong as some of the male roles in this novel. The opposite of the Feminist lens

Tony's mother is a strong individual, and I would say that in this novel she is equal to her partner. Her strong values and ties to religion are ever so strong. She is in charge of her household and doesn't let anyone besides Ultima stand up to her. She is the anti-feminist in her character.

Not so much as her two daughters. I would say that they have to follow the rules/roles that were made for them since their birth. They play with dolls, go to school, and they are traditional female aspects of life. The two speak the foreign language of english but Tony does not become aware of this until he goes to school and becomes lost in the waves of commotion.

Then Tony meets his first grade teacher, Ms. Maestas. She is a motherly figure to Tony, and she helps him understand the words of the complicated english language. At the end of his first year at school she promotes him to the third grade. Her name is Maestas and in the Spanish language the word for 'teacher' is Maestra, I believe that this tie to the language is very symbolic as she helps the children of the llano become more involved in school and understands where they from and their culture.

In this novel Tony is afraid of the women at the Brothel, because he believes that it represents sin and evil. When he finds out that his brothers visit this place is his devastated. In chapter nine Tony dreams of his brothers entering this place and when Andrew is about the enter he tells Tony that he will not go in until he loses his innocence. This is where the lens comes into play, the female charcters are seen as objects at the brothel, they share no interest to men yet the men in the town keep visiting them.

The town also sees Tenorio and his three daughters as gypsies who study the black book and place a curse on Tony's uncle Lucas. The three sisters are feared because they are different from the normality of the Catholic reglion and study the black book. In their case they hold the power because they are feared by the town and Tony. As Ultima is getting rid of the curse placed upon Lucas the three sisters are portrayed as coyotes, creatures of the night howling in the wind. Their role in this novel can be seen as the opposite to the feminist lens as well. Not only because they hold the power, but they were brought down by Ultima, a strong female character.

Ultima's character in this novel is important and largely the plot revolves around her and Tony. She helps Tony with his confusion about religion and faith. She plays a motherly role to Tony thus making the feministic lens true. Yet she finds a way to break that barrier, as a curandera she is an independant women leading her own life. And then making the feminist lens true again because she is doing what is traditionally a female job/role of taking care of people. Her character is hard to pinpoint a specific role.

Reader's Notebook 1 Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

Reader Response and Passage

This story was intriguing, beautiful and yet confusing in an odd manner. The characters were complex and the customs of the people were different from what I had expected. Ultima's character was strong yet she played a motherly role in directing Antonio's faith. Antonio's conflict with faith and religion was somewhat of a burden to understand. Throughout the novel Antonio struggled with his beliefs and his future and he was entirely open to understanding both sides. During his younger years his mother dreamt of him being a Priest while his father's family wanted him to be a farmer and intertwined with the land.

Early in the novel, Antonio dreams of his birth, this dream leads on to many dreams that tell the future or past experiences, or warns him of oncoming events. His dreams are beautiful and very descriptive. The motif of his dreams is apparent throughout the novel. Antonio’s dreams signify that he has great power and that he is well aware of his surroundings, past, and maybe even his future. They are full of mystery and poetry, my favorite one is when he dreams of his brothers. In chapter seven he dreams of his brothers after his family falls asleep at the foot of the Virgin’s statue. Tony dreams of the Marez sons afraid of the river and he knows when they come back they wouldn’t stay long.
In chapter nine he dreams of them again:

“The three dark figures silently beckoned me to follow them. They led me over to the goat path, across the bridge, to the house of the sinful women. We walked across the well-worn path in silence. The door to Rosie’s house opened and I caught a glimpse of the women who lived there. There was smoke in the air, sweet from the fragrance of perfume, and there was laughing. My brothers pointed for me to enter… Andrew, I begged to the last figure, do not enter. Andrew laughed. He paused at the gaily lit door and said, I will make a deal with you my little brother, I will wait and not enter until you lose your innocence. But innocence is forever, I cried.” (70-71)

This dream describes the ways of his brothers and the innocence that Tony possesses. Yet is innocence truly forever? Antonio’s mother and priest tell him that you are only innocent when you do not know; innocence is lost with the arrival of understanding.

In chapter 16 Antonio arrives at his knowledge. During their catechism, Florence turns away from religion leaving Antonio to arrive at one of his crossroads. Tony explains that the apple contains knowledge that would make them posses knowledge, but would the knowledge of the answers make him share the original sin of Adam and Eve? This is Tony’s struggle, the question that he must answer for himself, his parents and even Ultima. Would knowledge ultimately lead him to religion or faith? Would he be a priest or a free Marez man?

In his last dream Antonio dreams of three dark figures, Tony believes that these are his brothers, yet to his dismay it is the three people that he witnessed the deaths of, Narciso, Lupito and Florence. He sees Ultima’s death and is left with the constant question of religion.

He comes to the conclusion that man is of the earth, that his clay feet are party of the ground that nourishes him, and that it is this inextricable mixture that gives man his measure of safety and security…the greater immortality is in the freedom of man, and that freedom is best nourished by the noble expanse of land and air and pure, white sky. He dreaded to think of a time when he could not walk upon the llano and feel like the eagle that floats on it’s skies: free, immortal, limitless.

2nd Post Love Medicine By Louse Erdrich

Biographical Information
&
Critical Lenses

"Karen Louise Erdrich, known as Louise Erdrich, (born June 7, 1954) is a Native American author of novels, poetry, and children's books. She is an enrolled member of the Anishinaabe nation (also known as Ojibwa and Chippewa) and also has German, French and American ancestry. She is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant Native writers of the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance. The eldest of seven children, Erdrich was born to Ralph and Rita Erdrich in Little Falls, Minnesota. Her father was German-American while her mother was French and Anishinaabe (Ojibwa). Her grandfather Patrick Gourneau served as a tribal chairman for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. Erdrich grew up in Wahpeton, North Dakota where her parents taught at the Bureau of Indian Affairs school." Wikipedia.

I believe that Erdrich grew up in a time where it was not okay to know culture. There was alot of things going on at the time of her younger years such as the Vietnam war. I believe that growing up in the time of war has shaped her bias of those individuals that went and fought for their country. It was a scary time for those old enough for the draft and voluntary sign up. I think this is why her character Lipsha Morrisey ran away from signing up for the army. Her involvment growing up on the rez has helped her gain information on being in "outside world" or the cities.

There are many lenses that one can apply to this novel, and there is an endless amount of information that Erdrich reveals. You can apply the feminist lens through Erdrich being a Native American woman, writing this novel. She portrays most of the women in this book as strong individuals that are 'trash' or 'useless' in the "outside world" but play key roles on the reservation. In Native American culture the women are the stronger individuals who hold the powers to heal, love and bear life. They are the drum keepers, bringers of the sacred pipe, and are too strong during their 'moon' or menstrual cycle. (Sorry if this is too much info) In Love Medicine, Lulu Nanapush is seen as a woman of the night, a lover of all sorts. The town sees her as a threat, when she speaks at the Council meeting people make remarks about how there is not one father of all her children but then she says she can nzme all the fathers and paternity suits all around and that shuts the town up. She has the power in this situation and morphs the town into her beliefs.

Another lens that can be Cultural/Post-Colonial lens, Erdrich supplies evidence of 'othering' throughout her entire text. She talks about the cities and the "outside world" as if they were an entirely different country. Such as in Smoke Signals when Victor and Thomas were leaving to pick up Victor's dad in Arizona, the two girls in the car said, "Hope you got your vaccinations... you might as well be leaving to another country." In a way the movie Smoke Signals and Love Medicine play an equal part in showing the differences between reservation life and city life. Love Medicine shares an insight to what it is like to live the traditional indian way, through the man on the island, Moses Pillager. He lives by himself and the cats until Lulu decides that she is going to live with him. The portrayal of his everday life is an example how Erdrich articulates and celebrates her own cultural identity. During the novel there was alot of involvement of alcohol, after the introduction of alcohol to Native American tribes is when most indians shyed away from their own cultural beliefs. It made men into crazed individuals and broke families apart. Erdrich makes this apparent when Marie found Gordie drunk sleeping and dirty, she locked him in the room to sober up.

Love Medicine By Louise Erdrich

Reader Response
Love Medicine

After reading Love Medicine I was not sure how to feel about the book. It was an easy read and kind of hard to put together each of the fourteen different stories. After thinking about it I like this book, it was interesting to read about their lives and things that happened to them along their journey of life. Each family member is a strong individual with tiny flaws that haunt them. Either it's alcoholism or not being able to cope with love.

Both families have their differences and problems with love. Being in the Native world and living on the reservation can be tough and difficult at times. Dealing with violence, gossip, alcoholism and poverty make it hard to live out ones life especially on a sovereign nation. Most of the book takes place on the 'rez', which I have been on and I can relate to some of the characters when they talk about going 'home' and the 'cities'. My mom is from the Nett Lake band of Ojibwe and my father from the Leech Lake band of Ojibwe. Love can be tough if both people do not try to make each other feel worthwhile. The relationship between Nector and Marie wasn't strong enough for Nector to endure the tough times.

I do not believe there was no love at all in this novel, I simply believe that both families did not understand how to love and what was the right way to love. In Native American culture there is the stereotype of being 'stoic' or not really showing any emotion, I believe that this stereotype has hindered both families from their chances at love. In my family the guys have a hard time dealing with emotions and affection toward one another.

In the middle of the novel it began to click. I made the ties of each family member and it became clear to me how each one was related. I like how Erdrich unraveled the story by each of the family members point of view. It was a different twist from the 'original' story plot. It helped gain insight as she weaved in and out from the past to the present.

I can relate to some of the stories or tidbits from Love Medicine. In the beginning when June was on the greyhound I thought about how my brothers would take the greyhound bus up north to visit family members on the reservation. At the end of the novel when Gerry and Lipsha were driving without their headlights on in the middle of the night, I related to the times when I was visiting my father in Walker, Minnesota at night the moon was the only light that we drove by and it was enough to see the road and the trees.

Overall, Love Medicine was an interesting read. I enjoyed it to some extent and would most likely read it again. It did not change my view on the world, but made it more clear how it is for non Indians to see the inside view of the world on the reservation and Native American life. I believe that Erdrich did not write this novel to inform anyone about Native American culture, I believe that she wrote this book to show how life is on the reservation and to share a story about a family and their ties to eachother.