Necessity of Balance Between Good and Evil in the book La Ultima
Balance is essential to the survival of our world. We depend on the fact that the moon pulls the tide, day will follow the night, and good will outweigh evil. Without this balance, our life would not carry on as it does. While the balance of nature remains constant, our struggle to find the balance between good and evil is ever changing. Adding to the conflict is the dilemma of determining for ourselves, based on our personal experience and beliefs, what or who is good and evil. In our world (the real world) the facets of good and evil are not represented by women or men based on gender only. There is an abundance of women and men who are good and there are those who are bad. However, in Rudolf Anaya’s world of Bless Me Ultima, it is the male and female characters and their attributes that balance the forces of good and evil. Each character is a part of the struggle to find a balance and throughout the story it becomes apparent that gender has a significant influence on which side each character has been placed. Anaya’s characters cannot exist independently which creates the balance that is so sacred within the story of Bless Me, Ultima. The differences in the physical and emotional characteristics and attributes between men and women are obvious in both Anaya’s world and our world. However, in Anaya’s world it is the balance between these essential variables that forms a path for Antonio. ... Anaya often portrays the men as dark and evil, while the women are light and good. Antonio is consistently influenced and guided by the men and women of his world who clearly represent both sides of the forces of good and evil. ... They depend on one another for their survival and create a balance in which life exists. ... The Luna’s and the Marez’s represent the core of what is good and evil within Antonio’s life.