Trumps Changes to Transgender Bathroom Rules

Trumps Changes to Transgender Bathroom Rules The Proposal for Transgender Bathroom Conversion Now that the Trump Administration has withdrawn Federal enforcement of the transgender bathroom order, it is up to each State to decide what course of action to take, if any (Hersher, Johnson, and para 4-5) It is evident by the number of lawsuits filed against the Federal Government that the constitutionality of Obama’s Executive Order is in question. Recently, the Supreme Court postponed hearing a case involving a Virginian transgender high school’s student, partially due to President Trump’s announcement. The details of the case involve a transgender student, who was already using the boy’s bathroom, but pressure from parents and others forced the school district to change its policy and deny the student’s ability to use the boys’ bathroom. (Liptak, para 2-5). The school adopted a policy that states all students must use the bathrooms/locker rooms according to the gender on their birth certificate and a private bathroom/locker room would be provided for transgender students. The boy sued under protections outlined in the fourteenth amendment stating he was refused civil rights because of his gender. In light of the recent withdraw of Obamaâ₠¬â„¢s order by the Trump Administration, the Supreme Court decided to send the case back to the appellate court of origination for its further review. In August, the Supreme Court decided (5 to 3) that while the student’s case proceeds, temporarily, the school is not compelled to let the student choose his bathroom (Hersher, Johnson, para 17). Besides the lawsuits sparked by the transgender bathroom issue, many religious organizations and activist groups have also voiced concern over the issue. North Carolinians objected so loudly that State legislatures refused to override state laws that stated people had to use the bathroom of the gender corresponding to their birth certificates. In return, the Justice Department sued the State of North Carolina for circumventing the ordering in this manner (Hersher, Johnson, para 11). Other states and communities passed similar laws or already had them in place prior to the order. When there is this much opposition and prejudice it usually stems from a gross misunderstanding of the situation In order to produce any meaningful solutions to this problem, it is paramount to educate the public about the medical realities of hermaphroditic conditions and elicit empathy to replace the anger this subject has released. Once Americans understand that in many cases being transgender is a choice the person’s doctor made for them at birth, it is possible more people will understand the bathroom issue more readily. It is also meaningful to illustrate the costs associated with converting schools to standards acceptable to the entire community, not just the transgender group. A three step plan is proposed that incorporates educating the public about intersex conditions, developing a realistic budget for schools to accommodate transgender bathrooms, and organizing a vote on the issue once the public is better informed.   Many people are opposed to the transgender bathroom because they lack an understanding of the medical issues involving intersex children and the path in life they face. It is difficult for most people to ever imagine having an intersex condition or having a child with a gender identity problem. Educating the public through public service announcements may be an effective way to approach this problem. If more people understood that in some cases, what has happened to an innocent baby at birth should not be the cause of persistent suffering psychologically and physiologically to have a Male XY genetic marker with a vagina. The prejudice transgender people encounter is widespread and educating the ignorant tends to abate some of the prejudice. The transgender community should consider eliciting a well-known or at least well-spoken spokesperson in order to start the process of educating the massed about the transgender plight. The second part of the plan involves preparing budget estimates for school conversions needed to accommodate transgender students. Safety of students seems to be one of the primary concerns of opponents to the bathroom issue, so privacy is of utmost priority. Based on ideas currently being discussed within the Sarasota School District, schools would provide a private, unisex bathroom for transgender students and partition locker rooms to provide a private space there as well. It is currently not known how many specialty unisex bathrooms each school will provide; however, for purposes of this analysis, it is assumed that one per school will be built out. The budget line items represent the total cost of each subcontracted task. For instance, the drywall line item indicates the total cost to partition the locker rooms/private changing areas. Even though not all of the districted schools may have locker rooms, for purposes of this cost illustration, it is assumed each school will requir e the build out. Once the public is sufficiently educated and the costs to convert the schools are properly relayed to the public, it will be time to organize a vote on the issue. Even if Trump rescinded the Federal Executive Order, States must remain concerned and prepared for a ruling by the Supreme Court that may ultimately force State school districts to comply with the initial order after all. In the event this happens, at least the public will be more educated and costs will be spelled out so that voters can make a rational, rather than emotional, decision. It must be emphasized that currently the Transgender Community does not seem to have a ‘famous’ person for their cause. A movement does not move very far without a leader. In the event the State and its voters or the Supreme Court decide to proceed with establishing policies for transgender bathroom availability, it is important to describe the costs that will be associated with revamping schools to fit the new policies. In order to illustrate the cost per school and the impact to the over school district, Sarasota County School District will be used as an example. It should be kept in mind that if legislation impacts all school districts statewide, a further cost analysis will need to be performed. The following budget is based on estimates obtained from local contractors based on a price for completed jobs (Daniel’s Plumbing, Jimenez Drywall). Based on the cost budget analysis, the cost of school bathroom/locker room conversions equal approximately $759,500, or $17.70 per registered student (SSD, Student Enrollment Charts). If the proposed idea of adding unisex bathrooms and converting current locker room space to include a partitioned area wi th showers is acceptable, the costs per student are low enough to justify the conversion.  If more build out is required, this budget analysis will need to be revised to take into consideration any changes. Based on empirical evidence (verbal survey of students from various SSD schools), approximately 0.1% of registered students, or approximately 429 children may be affected by an intersex condition or are transgender. The cost of conversion per transgender child, divided over the 13 years the child is assumed to attend SSD school, equals approximately $136 per child: this amount is rather a small amount to pay for the safety, security, and well-being of all students concerned. It should be noted; the costs contained herein estimates and are for illustrative purposes only.   The time is now for the Transgender movement to strive to educate the public more on the issues that affect them in an effort to reverse some of the prejudice that exists today. It seems imperative for the group to organize and delegate a leader to champion their cause. (Maybe Obama’s free?). Once organized, the group needs to decide how to educate the masses. Next, the group needs to formulate what bathroom arrangements are acceptable and provide a plan that includes cost estimates based on a per child basis in order to make acceptance of any changes more credible. The final phase is for the group to get petitions circulating to get the issue on a ballot and get the voters to approve its proposition. Many movements take years to accomplish their goals: Just think about how long it took women suffragettes, gay right activists, or civil rights leaders to accomplish their goals. The Transgender movement received a head start when Obama made the nation aware of one of its issues; however, the movement needs a powerful leader and some organizational zeal to accomplish its goals. Citations Liptak, A. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Major Cases on Transgender Rights†. Dated March 6, 2017. Retrieved from the New York Times website on April 12, 2017 WEB https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/us/politics/supreme-court-transgender-rights-case.html?_r=0 Hersher, R. and Johnson, C., â€Å"Trump Administration Rescinds Obama Rule On Transgender Students Bathroom Use†. Dated February 22, 2017. Retrieved from NPR.org website on 4/11/207 WEB http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/22/516664633/trump-administration-rescinds-obama-rule-on-transgender-students-bathroom-use Budget created by Serena Hart on MS Word. Cost estimates based on conversations with two local Sarasota contractors: Daniel’s Plumbing, Jimenez Drywall. Not to be relied on, for illustrative purposes only. For final presentation purposes, this report will be incorporated with an analytical report, also by Serena Hart entitled, â€Å"Color Me Blue†.

Premodern Religion

Paul Lambert Hum 251 Professor Horten 9 / 26 / 2012 The Facade of Pre-Modern Religion During the pre-modern age there was perhaps no larger an aspect of everyday life than religion. Today’s day and age is a stark contrast, as religion has for the most part taken a backseat in importance. From the pre-modern age to now, religion has changed completely. Pre-modern religion held political power locally, and all across Europe. Today religion holds a mostly spiritual power for the truly devout.This essay will discover the role and importance that religion played in the pre-modern age, and how it permeated the lives of those living in it. In pre-modern times there wasn’t a diverse society like the one we currently live in. In the pre-modern age everybody had their own role in the community. In this feudal society, there was very little opportunity for advancement. Because of the lack of education at this time people only had a few skills, which they would put to use to make a living. Most people were farmers who worked the land most of their lives to provide food for their village, and family.There were others that had specialty skills, who may have been a blacksmith, or a shoe maker; but what they all had in common was that they were all hard workers, who had hard lives. In a pre-modern village the noble family, or the wealthiest families, would have presided over the village. These nobles would have essentially ruled over the villages and made sure things ran smoothly. About the only chance of becoming something other than a craftsman, or farmer, was to be born into one of these noble families.If you were privileged you could become a knight, but many of these people would become clergy. These clergy were one of the biggest aspects of the pre-modern society. Each village had a church, and that church was the main center of community life. The priests or clergymen were at the center of this as well. The clergy played the role of intermediary to God. Th ese men were also some of the only educated people around, although their education may have been still somewhat limited. In addition to the church, the clergy would have run the monastery.Monasteries were multifaceted facilities where the sick in the community could be cared for, the poor fed, and where monks would have studied, and also made copies of books. Clergy would have been at the head of religious ceremonies, as we saw in â€Å"The Return of Martin Guerre,† where at his marriage the priest performs the actual marriage ceremony; along with blessing of the bride and groom so that they may be fertile and produce many children. The largest role that clergy would have played though would have been as the spiritual leader of the community.One of the biggest differences between religion in pre-modern times and today was the public nature of personal religious faith. Today our own personal religious beliefs are usually kept to yourself, unless you are talking with someone c lose to you, or are having a theological discussion. In pre-modern life everyone was religious, and your religious beliefs were a public matter. At a time when the mass public is so vastly uneducated, the need for counsel with clergy was in high demand.As we read in the book â€Å"Year of Wonders,† the local clergyman, Michael Mompellion, from the beginning of the book, because of his role of clergy, is always being asked for help. In the beginning of the book Anna has to work hard to keep Miss Bradford from bursting into the rectory to seek out the counsel of the Rector, Mompellion. Until the end of the book when we see Mompellion’s true colors show through, he does seem like a very good, level headed, leader for the community.Although his actual holiness may have been more of an act, due to some of his strange actions throughout the book; it seems that the village may not have made it through the plague without his leadership, both spiritual and actual. Michael Mompe llion is the one who first suggests that the village must quarantine themselves to prevent the spread of the plague to other villages. He is the one who stands up to the wealthy Bradford family, warning them of the potential for spreading the plague if they leave the village.In this confrontation Mompellion is shown to have the best interests of not only the village, but others surrounding by stating â€Å"but think of those you are putting at risk†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (110). This is in stark contrast to Colonel Bradford whose family is looked up to in the village doesn’t take the responsibility of staying and setting an example for the rest of them. Colonel Bradford clearly states his main concern, â€Å"The colonel replied coldly. â€Å"I am merely doing what any man of means and sense must do: safeguarding what is mine. †(110).Mompellion is also shown to give tremendous spiritual leadership. Mompellion in his sermon to the village; embraces the plague, as a test from God . He implores the village to view the plague in the same way. Mompellion states that the plague has brought God nearer to the village than ever before, and perhaps as close as he will ever come in all of their lives. Mompellion tests their faith in God here, and even though most of the villagers stay, their behavior afterwards is less than holy. Throughout the book Anna and Elinor Mompellion tend to the needs of the villagers.The two help with births, and when villagers begin to fall ill, they tend to them until death; and Michael Mompellion tends to their spiritual needs. Michael Mompellion is never cast in the holiest of holies light from the beginning. In the first interaction we see him in he tells Miss Bradford to go to hell. Mompellion also takes advantage of vulnerable Anna towards the end of the book after his wife is murdered, and sleeps with her. Mompellion is seen taking advantage of his position in the community; even what relatively small power he does have, which is ve ry small compared to the Catholic Church of the time.The Catholic Church played probably the biggest role in religion in the pre-modern age. At the head of this church was the Pope. In the Catholic Church the Pope acted as a king. Cardinals came second in the hierarchy. The power of the Catholic Church saturated the pre-modern day. Although Europe was still made up of many different countries, the Catholic Church essentially over powered the political will of any one country. The Pope especially had an almost unlimited power both politically and religiously. The role of the Pope was to act as an intermediary to God on earth.This led to the uneducated pre-modern people of the time to blindly follow most if not all commands that came from the Pope. In addition to having the power of a king, the Pope pursued power and wealth as if he were one. Over time the Catholic Church amassed land and wealth. The Pope was anything but holy by taking advantage of his perceived power of intermediary to God. The Catholic Church furthered their power over the pre-modern people by perpetuating a view of God as a brutal enforcer, who dealt out punishment for sin with very little mercy.The church emphasized fearing God. This kept the people obeying the rule of the church, and the Pope. This rule continued for the most part until the reformation. At this time large gothic cathedrals began to be built. These churches were very tall, with thick stone walls, and large stained glass windows. The cathedrals were designed to give the pre-modern people a sense of the presence of God inside, and a sense of the power and majesty of the Catholic Church by the sheer size on the outside.Religion played a major role in the lives of pre-modern people in Europe. For whatever reason it may have been; fear of the Catholic Church, or excommunication, a desire to fit in, or just plain old true belief. I believe it was a little bit of all of those factors. But the role of religion in pre-modern life di d have several key functions for those clergy in power. It allowed them to be an inspiration to the people they overlooked. In the case of Michael Mompellion, he was the one who kept the cool head in the face of impending danger.That religious power was also easy to take advantage of, and led to the search for more wealth, land, and political power. By using the people’s belief that the Pope was really chosen by God as his voice on earth, the Catholic Church was able to hide behind their religious office, and make people think they were doing good, when in fact it was only a facade. Works Cited Vigne, Daniel, dir. Le Retour de Martin Guerre. 1982. Film. 11 Sep 2012. Brooks, Geraldine. Year of Wonders. New York: Viking Penguin, 2001. Print. Horten, Gerd. â€Å"Pre-Modern Age . † Concordia University, Portland. 9/5-14/2012. Lecture.

Postmodernism in Literature

Postmodernism is difficult to define, because we go through it on a daily basis. Some would say it began in the 1950’s, and others say it began with the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Postmodernism is characterized by a variety of elements that question the reading experience. Postmodern authors celebrate this by using humour and absurd experiences to create a bizarre alternate reality. The different elements that are used throughout postmodernism stories include magic realism, metafiction and irony.Magic realism is where the supernatural is not displayed as questionable. Magic realism differs from fantasy because it is set in a normal, modern world with accurate descriptions of humans and a society that does not question it. Another element is Irony. Irony is used in postmodernism literature. Irony is when that which one would not expect occurs is true. Finally, Metafiction is a device that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction. This often happens by the author introducing themselves into the story. Post modernism and post colonialism are linked.The use of these techniques and elements encourage the reader to contemplate or query their reading experience and ones understanding of life and societies political and cultural values. Magic realism is where the supernatural is not displayed as questionable. Characters accept rather than question the logic of the magic element. Magic realism is displayed in a short story; A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Marquez. The story is about an old distorted man with enormous wings found on the beach by a couple. They try to communicate with him but find it is useless as he speaks a different language.The neighbor comes over and tells the couple that he is an angel that has come to take their sick child. The community and people from all over the world were astonished and wanted to see the angel. The couple grew tired of having so many people at their house that they began to charge mo ney to see the angel they became rich and built a mansion. After a while the community grew tired of the angel because a woman who had turned into a spider by disobeying her parents arrived to town to share her stories with the community. Eventually the angel began to roam free and finally took off into the sky.This story directly relates to magic realism because the crowd does not question the angel or spider woman. The couple’s neighbor does not question it at all, but she is quite familiar with it â€Å"He's an angel,† she told them. â€Å"He must have been coming for the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down† (3). The woman is not shocked or surprised to see this man at all, in fact she is not questioning it either, but in reality it would seem very bizarre. The use of magic realism makes the reader question the reading experience and reality itself.Magic realism also plays a role in The Snow Horse by J. Winterson, A story about a man who drives to a party in a horrible snow storm but is stopped by a strange man who insists on telling him a ghost story. After dropping the strange man off he decides to take a short cut that his wife warned him not to take and ends up in a car crash, but as it is crashing he sees a horse running up beside the car. The story that the strange man told him consisted of a man getting ambushed and robbed and was left for dead his horse died beside him as well.The story exhibited a richness of details that the man believed in the snow horse and seen it as he was crashing. When he gets home and into bed he hears something â€Å"Then I heard it, unmistakable, the steady clip of hooves under the window and towards the drift, and out, further and further, faster and faster, on the high old coaching road, beneath the rack of stars. †(6). Here Winterson is making a reference to Santa’s reindeer. This effect leaves the reader uncertain, whether to believe the magical elemen t of the snow horse or the realist events in the story.Last but not least magic realism is displayed in The Night Face Up by Julio Cortazar. This story is about a man who is running from the Aztecs but is dreaming of being on a motorcycle and ends up in a car crash, yet the way Cortazar sets up the story makes it seem the opposite way around. This story is a good example of magic realism because it makes the reader question which world is reality and which one is a dream â€Å"It was unusual as a dream because it was full of smells, and he never dreamt smells† (266).Here is a distinct part where reality is being confused with a dream. The story is very descriptive of both worlds which makes the reader uncertain and question which is world is real and which is not. This disrupts the reading experience. Irony is when that which one would not expect occurs is true, when reality is different from appearance. Irony is seen in Araby by James Joyce. Araby is about a young boy who fa lls head over heels for his friends older sister. He has never spoken to her but he seems to be deeply in love with her.When he finally speaks to her she mentions the Araby Bazaar and how she could not go, the boy brings himself to go to this bazaar to bring her back something but realizes it is not as he imagined it. This narrative is ironic because it is perceived as the boy writing it, but in the ending it confirms that the narrator has learned his lesson and the reader learns it is an older, mature and more emotionally experienced version of the boy â€Å"I lingered before her stall, though I knew my stay was useless, to make my interest in her wares seem the more real. †(4).The young boy went through tough situations to get to the bazaar and when he got there it was not what he pictured it to be. When he describes his anger it then tells the reader it is an older version of the boy telling his experience from the past. By using this technique it creates an ironic tension because it is human nature to change what was said, how it was said and how other people acted, so it makes the reader question the reading experience by thinking whether he told the story correctly or not. Irony also plays a role in A Girls Story by David Arnason.This story is ironic because it is not â€Å"a girls story† it is a man who is stereotyping a female. It is the opposite of a girl’s story. Arnason is constantly stereotyping women and predicting what the reader expects out of the story. Arnason seems to stereotype how a woman would write the story as well â€Å"I’m going to have trouble with the feminists about this story. I can see that already. †(228). Here you can tell that it is a man stereotyping a woman because of the fact he is directly addressing women who will read this story and how they will dislike it.Irony also occurs in The Happy Man by Naguib Mahfouz. The happy man is about a man who wakes up extremely happy and cannot understan d why. He is usually faced with strain and contemplation, but he wakes up happy. He then goes about his day and cannot even stay at work or sleep because of this strange happiness. He goes to a doctor to see why he is so happy â€Å"I haven’t come to see you because I’m ill,† he told the doctor in a hesitant tone of voice, â€Å"but because I’m happy! † (240). It is ironic because being happy is not an illness is very ironic to go to see a doctor because of it.He questions himself because he usually is not a happy man, but because of the grief and contemplation he has gone through has cause him to lose his mind and become inconceivably happy that he goes to doctors to try to cure it. This makes the reader question the reading experience and life itself. Metafiction is a device that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction. This often happens by the author violating narrative levels by intruding to comment on their writing, involving his or herself with the fictional characters or even directly addressing the reader.The use of metafiction makes the reader contemplate their reading experience. In A Girls Story by David Arnason metafiction is strongly used. Satire is also used throughout the story as well. Satire is the use of irony, sarcasm and ridicule. Here Arnason disrupts the reading experience by satirizing what the reader would think of this part of the story by saying â€Å"I could do a lot more of that but you wouldn’t like it† (228). Arnason predicts what a reader would like or dislike in the story.Another strongly use of metafiction in the story is where Arnason directly mentions himself â€Å"He even looks a little like me and he smokes the same kind of pipe† (232). Here Arnason is directly addressing the reader by involving himself with the fictional characters. This disrupts the reading experience and makes the reader question the cultural and political views held by society. Another e xample of metafiction is displayed in Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth. Barth displays reflexivity where this enables to reader to understand the process by which he or she reads the world as a text.He casually interrupts to explain how he created the story â€Å"Description of physical appearance and mannerisms is one of the several standard methods of characterization used by writers of fiction. † (54). Barth tells the reader how describing physical appearance is important Alex 7 to keep the reader’s imagination and interest going. Throughout the story Barth interrupts to comment on his writing to explain what is going on and why he is using these different techniques.This makes the reader question the reading experience and their understanding of Barth’s writing. Finally metafiction is used in Araby. The reader perceives it as being the young boy telling his story, but in the end it is shown to be a more mature, older version of the boy. Usually when telli ng a story from the past people tend to change what happened, so this makes the reader question whether the narrator has changed anything about the story or not â€Å"Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger. (4). Here we see a different side of the boy, a more experienced angry version. This shows the reader the man who is now telling the story from a past experience. These elements and techniques that the postmodern use disrupt and question the reading experience and encourage the reader to question it. Postmodernism and Post colonialism are linked through these techniques, magic realism, irony and metafiction.

The supernatural and ordinary reality - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 798 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/10/30 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Bless Me Ultima Essay Did you like this example? The supernatural and ordinary reality are worlds that exist side by side. I dont believe the truth is out there, I believe it is within. To discover the truth and power within is to walk in the supernatural.-Rudolfo Anaya. The supernatural and magic are strong essences presented throughout Anayas captivating novel. There are many ways the characters of Bless Me Ultima and even the state of New Mexico reflect his comments. One of my favorite ways Ultima reflects Anayas comments is when she gives her final blessing to Antonio, I bless you in the name of all that is good and strong and beautiful, Antonio. Always have the strength to live. Love life, and if despair enters your heart, look for me in the evenings when the wind is gentle and the owls sing in the hills. I shall be with you† (Bless Me Ultima, pg. 247). This beautiful statement signifies her spiritual being that connects all living things and she assures him that her spirit will prevail with him and the lessons she has taught him will continue to help guide him. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The supernatural and ordinary reality" essay for you Create order Another example that reflects Anayas comments is a conversation Antonio has with his father Gabriel. Understanding does not come that easy, Tony†. You mean God doesnt give understanding? Understanding comes with life, he answered, as a man grows, he sees life and death, he is happy and sad, he works, plays, meets people†sometimes it takes a lifetime to acquire understanding, because in the end, understanding simply means having a sympathy for people, ( Bless Me Ultima, pg. 237). In that conversation Gabriel also mentions, Ultima has sympathy for people, and it is so complete that with it she can touch their souls and cure them† . That is her magic† Ay and no greater magic can exist. But in the end, magic is magic, and one does not explain it so easily. That is why it is magic. To the child, it is natural, but for the grown man it loses its naturalness†so as old men we see a different reality. And when we dream, it is usually for a lost childhood, or t rying to change someone and that is not good. So, in the end, I accept reality. (Bless Me Ultima, pg. 237). Ultima is wise and mysterious. We are torn between whether she is an ordinary woman with extraordinary power or if she may be of the supernatural world. A way Antonio reflects Anayas comments is when he sees the Golden Carp for the very first time. As he describes, the story Cico told him was unbelievable but it made perfect sense. He then goes home and shares the story with Ultima, and she smiles because she knows. He questions whether he should believe the story or not and Ultima replies, I cannot tell you what to believe As you grow into manhood you must find your own truths. (Bless Me Ultima, pg. 111-112) Another aspect that I think really reflects Rudolfo Anayas comment, To discover the truth and power within is to walk in the supernatural., are the vivid dreams sequences Antonio has foreshadowing the events that take place in the novel. The dreams help put things in perspective for Antonio as he transforms through his journey. Ultima teaches that things are not always as they seem, and they cannot be accepted that way. The whole must be looked at in order to truly understand. Antonio learns much from his experiences and uses Ultimas teachings to stay open minded and gain wisdom. In the end, however, Antonio learns that he must go his own path to reach total peace of mind and have the control over his dreams, not letting his dreams control him. Lastly, when thinking about the supernatural and the ordinary reality of the world, the state of New Mexico provides a great example of how those two things interact. New Mexico has been and is still greatly influenced by the Catholic Church. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the Indigenous people who lived here worshiped very differently. Ultima is also a perfect example of blending cultures. Even though she practices indigenous beliefs she is still respectful of the Catholic Church. She attends mass and never tells Antonio that the things the church professes are wrong. She always encourages him to look within and come up with his own opinions/decisions. Bless Me Ultima has many themes and shares so much magic and history. Its super natural essence brings a powerful dynamic to the reading and makes it unforgettable. I enjoyed this book and I am glad I was given the opportunity to read it. In conclusion, these a few ways in which the characters of Bless Me Ultima and even the state of New Mexico reflect Rudolfo Anayas comments.