In Bless Me Ultima, the most noticeable opposites that are brought together are the three religions Tony faces conflict between: Catholicism, Paganism, and Atheism. For all of his childhood, Tony was raised on Catholicism and solely that; his beliefs lied with God and the Virgin. Once Tony had his interactions with the Golden Carp and Florence, his religious foundation began to crumble, opening up a whole new world filled with a plethora of questions and a scarcity of definite answers. This conflict of religion was set in place in order to encapture the mental processes of Tony, and the magnitude at which he ponders over such ideas that are supposedly beyond his age level . Tony is lost in a black and white world, and his only way out is through understanding which he has not yet achieved. A similar idea is evoked through Márquez’s ¨Handsomest Drowned Man¨, albeit in a different context. Attributing life to a dead individual sounds to be evidently discordant, and should strike confusion in those who question the purpose. The purpose then, is the inharmonious opposite describes how an entire life story sprouted from a dead man once he received the name “Esteban”. From their interactions with a dead individual, an entire village was changed; their time and thoughts have been extremely devoted to their beloved Esteban. What was once a dull, …show more content…
In both Anaya and Márquez’s works, they use magical realism to describe the hidden truths about society. They speak the words that nobody would dare utter against society and established social norms. To do so is considered as an attack against common belief. But this is what magical realism is, to challenge and speak about what cannot be said normally. Márquez goes against the established values of society, whereas Anaya calls out the human fear of understanding. If these topics were so easy to bring up and simply speak about to everyone, then why does it not happen? Through magical realism, controversial opinions are addressed, all in the unexpected, entertaining, and exciting style that a few have grown to