". . . good is always stronger than evil." (Bless Me, Ultima, pg. 98)

   I'm loving the novel Bless Me, Ultima!  As I've read these pages, something that seems to keep coming back into plat time and time again is this idea of good vs. bad.  Tony seems to struggle with this in the novel, trying to come to conclusions as to what is good and proper, and what is not.  And as I read this book, honestly, I get confused, too!  The best conclusion I can come to so far about it, is that it's complicated.

   Why do I think it’s complicated?  Because sometimes in literature or movies, it’s hard for me to figure out who/ what is good and bad.  In the novel, one of the Luna brothers becomes ill and is near death because of a magical curse.  The family tries to find an answer of healing through a doctor and a priest, but it is to no avail.  Finally, against the desires of the priest, they call Ultima, a curandera, to fix the situation.  Just as the priest fears, they rely on magic instead of God.  In the moment, I could relate to the priest, thinking that having faith and trusting in God is sometimes all you can do.  But then, after understanding that Ultima isn’t an evil person, who uses her magic for good, I began to wonder if it was a bad idea for the family to trust Ultima after all.  When Lucas, The Luna brother is healed by Ultima’s procedures, obviously I’m thinking that it was totally justifiable!

         As I played with this idea in my head, I thought about the movie “The Prestige”.  The plot of this movie takes me to the same place. Throughout the whole film, I sat there thinking that Borden was the good guy and Angiers was the bad guy.  Clearly this had to be, because Angiers is a weird obsessed guy who kills himself a bunch of times, and that’s bad! But then, the “other” Borden murders the Angiers "clone" at the end.  Again, killing is usually a bad thing!  So did that turn my good guy into the bad one?  Were his actions justified, too? Absolutely. 

   So why am I so surprised with myself when I think this?  Because as Ultima states, good is always stronger than evil, and I believe that.  Do you? Perhaps, but to what extent?  Maybe I’m making it too complicated!  Either way, let's me honest, that's why writers like Anaya and Christopher Priest (the author of the novel, The Prestige) are geniuses; they make you second guess everything you've thought your whole life.