Bless Me Ultima Theme

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:English

Document 1

The theme that will focus on this aspect is the influence of culture on identity which relates to the life of the author in regards to him moving from one region to another. On the other side, Yaa Gyasi’s book Homecoming also looks at various aspects, and it is her first book, can also be seen to have a relation with her life. The book was inspired by her visit to Ghana, which was her birthplace and as such, it is arguable that it also has a connection to her identity. However, the theme that will be the focus on this is the influence of family on identity as the story narrates the story of two half-sisters who are born to different cultures.

Sign up to view the full document!

In the evaluation of what identity refers to, Jenkins argues that is the fact of being or what something or even a person may be characterized by (Jenkins pg. The novel, Bless Me, Ultima, basically has a connection to his life even though he began writing it in 1972. As seen within the book, the story and plot summarize the life of Antonio Marez y Luna as he tells his story growing up. Seeing that it was set in New Mexico, while Anaya was raised Santa Rosa, New Mexico and also within Albuquerque (Anaya). Therefore, along with the connection of the book to the life, the theme that will be the focus of the paper is the influence of culture on identity.

Sign up to view the full document!

Bless Me; Ultima investigates the trouble of accommodating clashing social conventions. For instance, the townspeople censure Narciso for being smashed and decline to recognize that his horrible involvement in the war may have an influence on his mental state. Ultima instructs Antonio to stay away from the confinement characteristics in complying with one culture, one religion, or one belief. Rather, Ultima urges Antonio to grasp the majority of the social impacts throughout his life to improve as a man (Anaya). The relation of the theme can be seen to especially where the author discusses Antonio. The character is a seventeen-year-old who lives with his family. Just like the two sisters grew up in different areas, but still shared a similar aspect (Gyasi).

Sign up to view the full document!

Gyasi moved from Ghana to the United States mainly because her family relocated and the presentation of the sisters presents the two sides of her story. She was the same person, but still, there was that aspect of change and two identities presented within the book. As seen above, the book looks at the lives of two sisters who grow up in two families plunged from stepsisters who never meet each other. One family is plunged from Esi Asara, who was conceived in Asanteland in what is presently the Republic of Ghana; the other is dropped from Effia Otcher, who was conceived in Fanteland, additionally in Ghana. In the first book by Anaya, the theme of identity can be seen to be influenced by culture as the character within the book moves from one region to another with different cultures and is impacted who the character was.

Sign up to view the full document!

In comparison to the author who wrote the book, the character and the author have a number of similarities as the author also moved from the place that he was raised to another region and also to another region where his identity was impacted (Anaya). Therefore, in this case, the culture of a region can be argued to impact the identity of a person greatly as is seen with the author and also the character within the book. On the other hand, the book by Gyasi also shows some aspects of identity influence where the two sisters who grow up in different areas are impacted by the family backgrounds and also the distance. The first sister was born in Asanteland while the other one was Fanteland and they grew up to be very different people despite them being sisters.

Sign up to view the full document!

The first one being how identity is influenced by culture as presented by Anaya’s character and his relation to himself. Anaya, from a different study source, arguably admitted that publishing this book was not an easy task mainly because of the region that he was from and in short, one may compare it the cultural affiliations of Anaya that made it hard for him to get a publisher for his book. In general, the cultural background of a person can be seen to impact a number of aspects of that person including their values, their morals, ethics, and also their principles and this can also change one an individual changes their cultural premises. This does not necessarily mean that one has to change their culture, which is an impossible task to since culture is who one is, but once they move to an area with a different cultural background, they are bound to be influenced by this new culture, and this can change who they are in terms of their identities.

Sign up to view the full document!

From $10 to earn access

Only on Studyloop

Original template

Downloadable