A Comparison of Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street Essay

Exploring Syncretism in Bless Me Ultima and The House on mango tree Street Syncretism is the fine demarcation line between Christianity and Native American Religions because it is the ambivalent, simultaneous attraction of prime(a) and identification to the influences of two or more ghostlike belief systems. Syncretism is most common among minority groups such as Hispanics. The definition applied to their unique situation of culture is brought about by the Native American and Spanish ancestry. Ambivalence is shown even by the word Hispanic, which is an umbrella term. The novels, Rudolfo Anayas Bless Me Ultima(1972) and Sandra Cisneros The House on mango tree Street(1984) explore syncretism and how it enhances and exemplifies the issue of ambivalent behavior in regards to the combined use of Native and Christian religions. In Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street, syncretism is displayed by the actions of both novels to show that syncretism is the bridge of ambivale nce. Syncretism in context of Anaya and Cisneros novels, merge Christianity and Native American infidel religions to form the syncretic nature of ambivalent Hispanic Americans. in that location are several main points in each text that exhibit the issue of syncretism. These points or issues include the Christ-like comparison, the witchcraft comparison, and the comparison of pagan religions of superstition and sorcery. The image of good and evil revealed in the two Hispanic novels through the mixture of Christianity and Native religions is a type of syncretism created by folk Catholicism. According to Ellwin Stoddards Mexican Americans, the innovation of folk Catholicism, is driven on the idea that the formal sphere of the Catholic church is mix with the Native ... ...on, folk Catholicism. In consequence, Hispanics have in a sense walked a fine line of ambivalence in relation to syncretic religious practices. Works Cited Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me Ultima. saucy York Warner Books , 2002. Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York Random House, 2006. Dictionary of Hispanic Biography. Rudolfo Anaya Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Penguin Dictionary of Religions, ed. John R. Hiumells. 2004. Stoddard, Ellwin R. Mexican Americans. New York Random House, 1973. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd.ed., v.1. The History of the Miraculous trace of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531.Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Wiget, Andrew O., Native American Oral Narrative in The Heath Anthology of American Literature 3rd ed., v.1. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 24-27. A Comparison of Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street EssayExploring Syncretism in Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street Syncretism is the fine line between Christianity and Native American Religions because it is the ambivalent, simultaneous attraction of choice and identification to the influences of two or more religious belief systems. Syncr etism is most common among minority groups such as Hispanics. The definition applied to their unique position of culture is brought about by the Native American and Spanish ancestry. Ambivalence is shown even by the word Hispanic, which is an umbrella term. The novels, Rudolfo Anayas Bless Me Ultima(1972) and Sandra Cisneros The House on Mango Street(1984) explore syncretism and how it enhances and exemplifies the issue of ambivalent behavior in regards to the combined use of Native and Christian religions. In Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street, syncretism is displayed through the actions of both novels to show that syncretism is the bridge of ambivalence. Syncretism in context of Anaya and Cisneros novels, merge Christianity and Native American pagan religions to form the syncretic nature of ambivalent Hispanic Americans. There are several main points in each text that exhibit the issue of syncretism. These points or issues include the Christ-like comparison, the witchcr aft comparison, and the comparison of pagan religions of superstition and sorcery. The concept of good and evil revealed in the two Hispanic novels through the mixture of Christianity and Native religions is a type of syncretism created by folk Catholicism. According to Ellwin Stoddards Mexican Americans, the concept of folk Catholicism, is driven on the idea that the formal sphere of the Catholic church is blended with the Native ... ...on, folk Catholicism. In consequence, Hispanics have in a sense walked a fine line of ambivalence in relation to syncretic religious practices. Works Cited Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me Ultima. New York Warner Books, 2002. Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York Random House, 2006. Dictionary of Hispanic Biography. Rudolfo Anaya Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Penguin Dictionary of Religions, ed. John R. Hiumells. 2004. Stoddard, Ellwin R. Mexican Americans. New York Random House, 1973. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd.ed., v.1. The History of the Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531.Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Wiget, Andrew O., Native American Oral Narrative in The Heath Anthology of American Literature 3rd ed., v.1. Boston Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 24-27.