I am continuing to enjoy this book. It was happy to see Antonio's brothers coming home but it was also sad to see that they wanted to leave so fast. On page 99 Leon says, "Yeah. It's hell to have seen half the world then come back to this" (Anaya). It is understandable why his brothers would want to keep moving along. I know what it feels like to have traveled only to feel like you are stuck in a rut, doing the same mundane things every day. I don't blame Antonio's brothers for wanting to go their own way and start their own lives. It is sad for Antonio, though, that his brothers are leaving so soon. He was so looking forward to them coming home. I hate when my brothers go back to school, I feel empty. It always feels like I do not see enough of them and I think that Antonio is feeling the same way.
On a better note, I think it is interesting how Anaya italicizes all of Antonio's dreams. It helps to keep the reader on track with the state of Antonio's consciousness.
It makes me laugh when Antonio thinks he is so wise and mature when he is actually only in the 1st grade (now going into 3rd). On page 77 he says, "I was growing up and becoming a man and suddenly I realized that I could make decisions" (Anaya). In my head I'm thinking, "Buddy, you're only like 8... calm down". I probably though the same way when I was younger, though, and I am glad my parents did not let that slide.
Even though Antonio is only in the 3rd grade and might think he is a little more mature than he is, he has a lot of courage and bravery. On page 129, he follows his father outside when Tenario comes back to get Ultima. His courage and bravery far surpass any 3rd grader that I know. He stood by his father's side and in front of 3 scary men with torches and crosses on their heads. It made me mad that Tenario automatically accused Ultima for his daughter's death.
When Antonio says, "I bent down and picked up the two needles that had been stuck to the top o the door frame. Whether someone had broken the cross they made, or whether they had fallen, I would never know" (Anaya, 135). This really made me think. If Ultima's owl had swooped down to pluck out Tenario's eye and distract everyone so that Ultima could remove the crosses, that would mean that she is a witch. I do not think Anaya would've added this to the book if it didn't mean that Ultima was a witch. I predict that more is going to come out that might convince us as readers that Ultima is a witch. Maybe it is not as big of a deal as people make it seem. Ultima may be a witch but she seems to use her powers wisely and for good things. We'll see!
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