where the changes in his behavior take place, due to Rudolfo's smooth
             Carl and Paula Shirley condense their presentation of Bless Me, Ultima
             by simply mentioning the story line of the book:
             She (Ultima) is present from the boy's earliest experiences growing
             up, family conflict, school, religion, evil and death... Much good in
             this novel, beauty, magic, New Mexico landscape, legends... (Shirley and
             All of this is true, but there is more that they did not mention. The
             novel is full of inner conflicts. Each of the story lines of thought of Antonio
             represents not only a personal conflict, but also a social one. An old society
             vs. a new one, Spanish vs. English, good vs. evil, Catholics vs. Protestants vs.
             legends, the town vs. the llano and so on. In each one of them we can see the
             formation or foundation of a new society ruled by Antonio's generation. A new
             society not yet aware of itself, but new nevertheless.
             For a better understanding of my analysis I have defined several
             different components that present essential keys in the underlined development
             of a border culture. The development if the Mexican border culture is called to
             be a mixture of two worlds. Tom Miller says that:
             Ironies and contradictions thrive on the border between the US and
             Mexico, a region that does not adhere to the economic, ethical, political, or
             cultural standards of either country (...) It is a third country of its
             own, its own food, its language, its music (...) It is a colony onto itself,
             long and narrow, ruled by two faraway powers. (Tom Miller, xii)
             In the same way, Anaya's description of Antonio's life represents
             ironies and contradictions, first in a main cultural collision of Mexican and
             Anglo culture, family structure and language; and then, in more deep levels of
             religion, and basic understanding of oneself. Inner fights and double realities
             ...