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Personification
Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
The setting of Bless Me, Ultima is uniquely important in shaping the story. Everything Antonio describes for the reader is rooted in rural New Mexico during the 1940s. The small farming and ranching community of Guadalupe is a microcosm of the struggles and traditions of New Mexican culture after the end of World War II. This period of historical change affects people like Antonio on a personal level and the broader community on a cultural one. The world is changing faster than anyone from Guadalupe can process it, and the reader follows Antonio as he learns to situate himself in a world built from the blending of Indigenous and Catholic traditions.
The natural world is alive and has agency in Bless Me, Ultima. The physical landscape of the llano—the vast plains that surround Antonio’s home—and the more domesticated river valley dominate the narrative. The two sides of the landscape are tied to the two “sides” of Antonio’s character based on his Lunas and Márez heritage. The narrator links the vast openness of the llano with the adventurous and untamed spirit of the Márez side of Antonio’s family. The Lunas side, by contrast, is associated with the fertile, nurturing river valley. These settings mirror a certain aspect of Antonio’s internal struggle, as he fights to reconcile the different things his parents and his community expect of him.
Related Themes:
