The Growth in Ones LifeAs Rudolfo Anaya brings together social change, cultural conflict, religion, ethnic identity formation and many other themes into a coherent and believable story about a young boy named Antonio in Bless Me Ultima. Anaya's themes in the book are interoperated through rhetorical strategies of contrasting situations with people and also using them metaphorically. Through Antonio's experiences in adulthood, he becomes sensitive to his dangerous physical environment which places him in difficulty in situations where he possesses knowledge that leads him to question his life and his destiny in the world. Anaya uses metaphors and binary oppositions to emphasize Antonio's life situations and reactions or thoughts. Anaya portrays moments in Antonio's life where he begins to grow maturely and questions his future in life and what he is destined to do. «Now I have come to live near the river, and yet near the llano. I love them both, yet I belong to neither of them, I wonder which life I will choose?”[says Antonio]. “Ay hijito,” [Ultima] giggled, “don't worry about these thoughts. You have plenty of time to find yourself”' (41). Ultima assures him that he is not in a hurry in life, that everything will come to him, what he is destined for in life. As Antonio embarks on adventures with Ultima, he wonders what she will become when she grows up. Antonio is confused and wonders which lifestyle to follow, his father's dream of becoming a Vaquero or his mother's dream of becoming a priest. Antonio sees Ultima as wisdom and guidance and relies on her judgment in determining the course of his life. Anaya uses Ultima to metaphorically teach Antonio through examples from nature, that there are life forces in trees, winds and the earth but the... center of the card... walked out of the room without looking back. I rushed past my worried mother who cried after me and then ran to take care of Ultima. In the future I would have to build my dream starting from those things that were part of my childhood” (261). When Ultima dies, Antonio finally understands this link between change and violence. His time working on the Luna farm taught him the importance of harmony in nature, and he realizes that Ultima's death establishes the world's natural harmony. He no longer fears death because he knows that it is a natural cycle of life and a change necessary for life to continue. Now he has put him at the center of taking care of himself from then on and guiding himself into what he will become as a grown man. From that moment on, he will no longer receive advice from Ultima and will have to live with that reality.