In the novel Bless Me Ultima, Antonio experiences the problems of the rite of passage. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a rite of passage is "a ceremony or event that marks an important stage in someone's life, especially birth, puberty, marriage and death." Throughout the book, Antonio experiences moments that mark a rite of passage, but there are times when things don't go as planned and this causes complications. Although Antonio is very young, he witnessed the deaths of four people, had problems with his first confession and first Communion, and lost his innocence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Antonio had witnessed the deaths of Lupito, Narciso, Florence, and Ultima. Lupito was the first death Antonio witnessed at the young age of just six. It wasn't just a death he witnessed, more so the fact that he witnessed everything that happened that night. On page 22 Antonio says: "Many shots landed... He made a strange gurgle in his throat, then remained still." At the age of six, Antonio had just experienced the death of a man. Narcissus was the second death he witnessed. Antonio too had seen everything that had happened with Narcissus. Tenorio had shot him and Narciso was slowly dying. Antonio held Narciso in his arms, Narciso made his last confession and was there for his last breath. This is a problem because Antonio was there when they were killed, he was there for their last words, and he was there for their last breath. Florence was the third death he witnessed, and then the last. Florence had drowned in the river after diving and getting stuck in the barbed wire. When the boys pulled him out, he was already dead. Antonio had witnessed the death of a friend. Now for Ultima, Tenorio shot his pet owl. The owl is Ultima's spirit, so if that owl dies, she dies too. Antonio saw when Tenorio shot the owl and how Ultima was slowly dying. He was there for his last breath and his last words. On page 261, Ultima blessed Antonio with her final words telling him: “I bless you in the name of all that is good, strong and beautiful, Antonio. Always have the strength to live. Love life, and if desperation enters your heart, look for me in the evening when the wind is gentle and the owls sing on the hills. I will be with you." These events caused complications for Antonio because no one at such a young age should have witnessed the death of his friends. Furthermore, Antonio had encountered some complications during his first confession and his first communion. On the day of his first confession, his friends had him act as a priest to practice confessing in front of him. Moments before his confession he was beaten because he did not want to give Florence a greater punishment. On page 214 Antonio says: “I kicked, I wriggled and I fought to free myself from the incessant beatings, but they held me tight and I couldn't free myself from them”. Before every event that marks a stage in his life, there is always a complication that accompanies it. On the day of his first Communion he was excited because he thought that communion would give him all the knowledge, all the answers to his questions, but when he received communion he got nothing. Something that should have marked a great event, marked something important was ruined by his disappointment and curiosity. On page 221 Antonio says: “A thousand questions crowded into my mind, but the Voice within me did not respond... I again invoked the God who was within me, but there was no answer. Just empty." His experiences pose a problem because these events.