Asignatura: Inglés
Autor: pawsa527
hace 4 años

What does his father (Gabriel Marez) want him to be?

pawsa527: Gabriel is concerned about Ultima’s influence on the children because of her power to lift curses and knowledge of herbs and plants and ancient magic, but Maria alleviates his fear.

pawsa527: Antonio is intrigued by these brief descriptions of Ultima and, falling asleep, immediately begins to dream about his birth at Ultima’s hands. In his dream, Antonio sees himself drawn out from his mother by Ultima and then observes as the conflict sides of his family argue over his destiny. The Lunas, the family of Antonio’s mother, wish Antonio to become a priest and a farmer.

pawsa527: His uncles and grandfather mark his forehead with earth so that he will be connected to the ground. The Marez vaqueros, the family of Antonio’s father, barge in and immediately refute the Lunas’ claim on Antonio. Antonio, they argue, will be a vaquero who wanders the llano on horseback. The tensions between the two families begin to heighten until Ultima asserts that only she will know Antonio’s destiny and path for life.

pawsa527: Antonio awakes from this dream with the sound of his father’s truck and desperately wants to see Ultima and the village of Las Pasturas for himself. Although he tries to dress quickly, he is unable to catch the truck before his father leaves, and he must wait patiently for Ultima to arrive.

pawsa527: As he is surveying the landscape, Antonio notices the schoolhouse near the church and immediately voices anxiety about going to school in the fall. To rid himself of his anxieties, Antonio swiftly completes his chores and then eats a breakfast of atole and tortillas with his mother and two sisters, Theresa and Deborah.

pawsa527: Maria Marez coaches Antonio and his two sisters on the proper way to address Ultima when she arrives. She must be addressed as La Grande, Antonio’s mother asserts, and then reminds her children of the great honor that they should feel at sharing house with such an esteemed figure. As Maria prepares for Ultima’s arrival, Antonio asks her about the circumstances of his birth, wondering if his dream was a reflection of reality.

pawsa527: Maria confirms the truth of Antonio’s dream, acknowledging that the Lunas and the Marez fought ferociously over Antonio’s destiny until Ultima took charge. As Maria begins to enumerate of the many negative qualities of the Marez, Antonio reflects on the fact that his dream was reality and becomes even more anxious to meet Ultima face-to-face.

pawsa527: While he waits, Antonio runs to see if his friend Jason is home. He is not: his mother sadly explains in Spanish that Jason is visiting his Indian, a figure of whom Jason’s father severely disapproves. Disappointed, Antonio returns home, and shortly later, Ultima arrives. Theresa and Deborah make their introductions exactly as Antonio’s mother had requested, saying clearly, “Buenos dias le de Dios, Grande.”

pawsa527: When Antonio faces Ultima, however, he is transfixed by her eyes and feels the power of a whirlwind wash around him when he takes her hand. Unable to say his mother’s coached introduction, he calls Ultima by her first name. Antonio’s mother tries to chide him, but Ultima quickly intercedes, explaining that she has a special bond with Antonio because he is the last of the Marez children that she helped to birth.

pawsa527: Antonio also notices that Ultima is accompanied by an owl that sits near the house. Although Deborah and Theresa are frightened of the owl, Antonio is strangely comforted by its presence and dreams of the Virgin of Guadalupe being lifted into heaven by the owl.