This paper will show how the principles described in Milton Mayeroff book On Caring can be used to interpret the relationships of the characters in Rudolfo Anaya's novel Bless Me, Ultima. Anaya's 1972 novel is a coming of age story about a troubled Mexican-American boy named Antonio in 1940s New Mexico who is facing crucial decisions regarding his future. Helping him learn how to grapple with good and evil, and how to reconcile the different aspirations of his father and mother is the old curandera Ultima who enters Antonio's life when he is six years old. The caring attributes of Ultima regarding Antonio are the major focus of the novel. Other significant caring relationships are between Ultima and Antonio's parents, and between Antonio and his first grade teacher, Miss Maestas, among others.
Mayeroff argues that 'the concept of 'caring' is developed by disclosing its relationships to other significant concepts like 'trust,' 'honesty,' and 'humility,' and it also grows by coming to terms with seeming exceptions" (14). He identifies eight main ingredients of caring that enable someone to have a relationship with another person. These are: Knowing, the awareness of the self, understanding the needs of others and knowing how to respond properly; Alternating rhythms, the ability to apply learning to help others; Patience, interacting with others to enable them to grow in their own time and way; Honesty, to see truly what the other is and not as you want she/he to be; Trust, to appreciate the independence and growth potential of others; Humility, to appreciate personal limits; Hope, to recognize the possibilities of the present; Courage, to show a willingness to enter the unknown with another person (13-28). These eight ingredients of caring help in understanding the significance and meaning of the relationships found in Bless Me, Ultima.
When Antonio enters first grade, he is different from the other children; he doesn't sp...