"I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things" (p.15)

When I was trying to remember the coming of age stories I’ve read, to see which one’s characters mimic those of “Bless me, Ultima”, I kept coming back to “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Scout is a young innocent girl who learns of the world’s injustices over the course of the novel, specifically concerning good people dying and guilty people living freely. This is very similar to the lessons Tony learns in his story as Narciso dies, and Tenorio isn’t imprisoned for his murder. There are also many similarities between Atticus and Ultima. They are both the wise confidants of children. They guide them to develop a deeper understanding of the world around them, and how to deal with the unpleasant aspects of that world. Both of these characters could be compared to John the Baptist. They submerge the naive children in truth, and as they emerge from their experiences (arising from innocence) they mature and hold different, more complex views. This quote specifically relates to TKMB’s Boo Radley plot. Scout (and all the Maycomb children) fear the Radley home and its inhabitant. By the end of the book, she realizes there is nothing to fear; it is just a house with a kind misunderstood man living in it. Boo is what Atticus would call a mocking bird, an innocent, and this line of thinking is what allows Scout to accept him. Tony has a similar (albeit less significant) relationship with the river. It once made him uneasy and scared, but as Ultima teaches him acceptance of it, he learns to see it for what it is: a body that inhabits and brings life.