LITERATURE ANALYSIS #3 (AP English)

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).  Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
The protagonist of this book is Antonio Marez. The setting is Guadalupe, New Mexico. His father, Gabriel Marez, a "vaquero" (cowboy), would like to see his son grow up and follow in the same path that he did, but Antonio's mother, Maria Luna (a devout catholic and daughter of farmers), would like Antonio to become a priest. When Ultima, comes to stay with the family, she teaches Antonio about the earth around him and the basics of her craft.  After watching Tenorio shoot Ultima's owl, her spiritual guardian, Ultima herself begins to die. She asks Antonio to bury her owl, and he does so in honor of Ultima. In the end we see how Antonio looses his innocence and becomes a grown up.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
A theme can be to be yourself and not let other people decide for you. (self-discovery?)

3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
The tone is one of comprehension.
 "I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her (Ultima) I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things"

"I could not lie. I knew he would find the lie in my eyes if I did. But maybe there were other gods? Why had the power God failed to cure my uncle?"

"The sun was good. The men of the llano were men of the sun. The men of the farms along the river were men of the moon. But we were all children of the white sun."

"There are so many dreams to be fulfilled, but Ultima says a mans destiny must unfold itself like a flower, with only the sun and the earth and water making it blossom, and no one else meddling in it."

4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)
Symbolism: Golden carp, Ultimas owl, Virgen de Guadalupe, the last name "Luna"
Diction: Anaya uses phrases and sayings that have spanaish words on it.
Direct Characterization: the way that Ultima is described
Indirect Characterization: the actions that Ultima does and the way people react to her.
Metaphor: the way Anaya says that the Lunas are people of the land and the Marez come from the sun.
Synesthesia: They way Antonio described the way the soil felt.
Aphorism: The way that Antonio's brothers acted when they come back from the earth.
motif: loss of innocence