Reading and Spirituality

My mother and grandmother are responsible for teaching me to read. Soon after I learned to talk, Mom taught me my ABC’s by using the ABC song. Before I turned four, Mom says I learned to read Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik, which was my first book. I remember Mom and Grandma always had more than enough books for us to read, but that did not stop me for begging for a new book every time we visited the local five and dime. I remember Grandma and Mom reading to my sister and I with expression and different voices for each character. Grandma also bought us a monthly subscription to Highlights magazine, which I loved. Once she had personalized books made for us. Other personal library books that I owned were the Dr. Seuss books, a Bible stories book, and several Little Golden Books. However, my favorite books were the Disney books that came with a thirty-three inch vinyl record. They were read along books that would ding when it was time to turn the page. I also remember my sister and I watched quite a bit of “Sesame Street,” “The Electric Company,” and “Zoom,” because Mom always had the television tuned in to PBS (there was no cable back then).

When I first began school, everything I learned from watching “Sesame Street” was reinforced at school. Our teachers had oversized air-filled letter characters from the show. We would listen to songs and stories featuring the letter of the week. Then, we would be given a coloring sheet with the letter on it and would color it in class. It would go home with us, and we would use magazines and catalogues to cut out pictures of items and people, which began with the featured letter. These were pasted on the coloring sheet and returned to school. Once we arrived, we were called in front of the class to explain what items were on our sheets. As I progressed in elementary school, I remember singing and singing. We would sing of stories we read, sing about grammar rules, and sing tongue twisters. The first readers I used were the Dick, Jane, and Spot readers. I also remember the very first time I was asked to diagram a sentence was in the third grade. My teachers read to us in class, and had each student to take turns reading aloud. Throughout school, I had both oral and non-oral book reports due in class. When we had an oral report over an autobiography, the teacher would have us to dress up like the character we had read and written about. Off-hand, the only instructional strategy that I did not enjoy much was writing the vocabulary sentences five times each. Due to there always being twenty words, I was often up past bedtime working on the sentences. Overall, the teachers seemed to believe that the way to get a child in my elementary school to learn to read was to use a lot of repetition, as well as to reinforce what we may have seen elsewhere.

There was not much to do when the weather was bad so we read the same books over and over again. Some of the ones I enjoyed most were the illustrated Bible stories that filled our library. I grew up reading these books, which I feel gave me a good Christian foundation to build upon. Literacy further strengthened this foundation, because I was able to sing hymns that were lesser known to me. Singing has always been my outlet, and songs help me work through problems and emotions that I may face. Today, reading impacts my spiritual life by bringing me even closer to life as a Christian. Through reading I get more of a sense of what my role as a Christian is in the world. Furthermore, reading has given me more of an outlook on where we have been as a human race and how far we have come. It also gives me insight into how much farther we have to go as Christians in this mixed up world that we live in. I also enjoy reading books on Christianity and faith, such as Pilgrim Heart and Extravagant Grace. This, too, gives me more insight into God’s will for us as Christians.

Insight is what I get most from reading. Therefore, I love to read and encourage reading in my home. My children and I choose short stories, which we read to one another at least once a week. I read a variety of materials, such as magazine articles, research articles, novels, poetry, plays, scientific magazines, books on faith, non-fiction (mostly historical), and even children’s books. Yes, I did say children’s books; I like to know what my children are reading. I have found if we have read the same book, it can help foster many discussions. I am fairly secure with my ability to read a variety of texts that affect my daily life.

The Winds Which Stir Antonio

Though it does not play the most important role in Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, wind does play a significant part in the story. Throughout this coming of age story, important changes become predictable through the wind. This symbol is used as both a foreshadowing tool, as well as a metaphor. When Anaya, mentions “wind,” the reader can rest assured that the story’s protagonist, Antonio is about to experience an event that will leave an impression on his soul. The type of wind that Antonio speaks of can also predict the nature of such events. The winds that stir Antonio strip away his innocence and help him to realize that he is in control of his destiny. They lead to spiritual growth and understanding. These winds gave Antonio a deeper understanding and knowledge than his peers.

In the first chapter, Anaya refers to the wind on two different occasions. The first is during the birth of Antonio, when his parents’ families feuded over the future of the newborn. However, when Antonio first meets Ultima, Anaya uses the wind in a more significant manner. To Antonio, this meeting was the beginning of the changes that were to come. He says, “She took my hand, and I felt the power of a whirlwind sweep around me” [italics mine] (12). From this point on, Antonio began to see the world in a new and exciting way.

Unfortunately, the winds in Bless Me, Ultima do not always bring forth enjoyable changes for the young boy. Though the wind brings changes that cause positive spiritual growth, they tend to do so in a more ominous manner. In chapter six, Antonio describes the dark, evil power of the wind or dust devils. All of Antonio’s acquaintances know the unnatural, evil power of these vicious winds; therefore, they ward the devils off with “the sign of the cross.” Out of curiosity, Antonio purposely does not ward off the dust devil and says after he was struck by the wicked wind, “its evil was left imprinted on my soul” (55). Afterward, Antonio takes his first step toward losing his innocence. He now enters school where he begins his long, tumultuous quest of learning.

More innocence is lost as Antonio’s family learns of a curse that has been put on an uncle, Lucas. He had happened upon the Trementia sisters, known witches, celebrating their black mass. During this encounter, the wind was dreary and cold, which gives a sense of death. The winds are just as menacing as Pedro, Antonio, and Ultima travel to free Lucas from his curse. All around the trio, a brutal dust storm violently rips through the landscape. The skies are dark. This gives the reader with an impending sense of doom and wickedness. The events that followed signified an important turning point in Antonio’s life. This was when Antonio first began to question God and his faith. Antonio could not understand how Ultima had the power to free Lucas from his curse, but God did not. This moment caused a struggle between faith and magic that would follow Antonio throughout the book. Another important event that lead to significant change and reinforced the struggle between magic and faith was the death of Narciso. Before his death, Narciso challenged the blizzard, or, in order to warn his friend, Ultima, of Tenorio’s threat on her life. This cold, fierce, blinding north wind was symbolic for the death that was soon to follow. However the death that coincided with the blizzard was not only the death of Antonio’s friend, but also the symbolic death of his admiration of his older brother Andrew.

Though other winds blow throughout the book, the winds in the final chapter bring an end to this particular journey in Antonio’s life. The winds here bring forth peace and clarity.  His father, for the first time, allows Antonio to be free to choose his future. He tells the young boy that he is descended from people “who held the wind as brother, because he is free” (247). His father goes on to tell him that his mother is from the earth and the two are often “at odds” with one another. Furthermore, the final winds in Bless Me, Ultima are mournful and serene, and they are even found in Ultima’s final words. She tells Antonio he will be able to find her in the gentle winds of the evening (261). This final change and final mention of the wind had brought Antonio closer to maturity than his peers. It left him stripped from his innocence and in control of his future.

Works Cited

Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima. New York: Grand Central, 1972.

William Blake

Garden of Love

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And "Thou shalt not" writ over the door;
So I turned to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore;

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briers my joys and desires.

London

I wander thro' each charter'd street,
Near where the charter'd Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,
In every Infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.

How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every blackning Church appalls,
And the hapless Soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.

But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born Infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

Songs of Experience

Infant Joy

I have no name
I am but two days old.—
What shall I call thee?
I happy am
Joy is my name,—
Sweet joy befall thee!

Pretty joy!
Sweet joy but two days old,
Sweet joy I call thee;
Thou dost smile.
I sing the while
Sweet joy befall thee.

Infant Sorrow

My mother groand! my father wept.
Into the dangerous world I leapt:
Helpless, naked, piping loud;
Like a fiend hid in a cloud.

Struggling in my fathers hands:
Striving against my swaddling bands:
Bound and weary I thought best
To sulk upon my mothers breast.

And did those feet

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon Englands mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen!

And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In Englands green & pleasant Land.

Blake shows contempt for society and the church. Blake must have felt that living within society’s boundaries restricted spirituality and individuality.

Struggling in my father’s hands, / Striving against my swaddling bands,” (“Infant Sorrow;” p. 95; lines 5-6) 

Although Blake’s father raised him to conform to society, he found it too constricting. Blake will strive if he breaks free from his rearing.

“I will not cease from Mental Fight, / Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand, / Till we have built Jerusalem / In England’s green and pleasant Land.” (“And did those feet;” p. 124; lines 13-16) 

Blake warns that no one can stop his mind. Blake’s “Sword” is his pen. He will continue to fight with words. Blake will not end his battle  until the views of England’s society changes.

“I went to the Garden of Love, / And saw what I never had seen: / A Chapel was built in the midst, / Where I used to play on the green. / And the gates of this Chapel were shut, / And “Thou shalt not” writ over the door; / So I turn’d to the Garden of Love, / That so many sweet flowers bore, / And I saw it was filled with graves, And tomb-stones where flowers should be; / And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds, And binding with briars my joys & desires.” 

The Garden of Love was once a beautiful, peaceful place where one could find God. The church has, now, turned its back on its people and  restricted them to the point of spiritual death.

“O Earth, O Earth, Return! / Arise from out the dewy grass; / Night is worn / And the morn / Rises from the slumberous mass.” (“From Songs of Experience;” p. 88; lines 11-15) 

Blake’s use of symbolism is rich in this verse. Blake calls for spiritual awakening throughout the land. He tells the reader to turn on their inner light. The time for dark times is over. Your inner light will aid in awakening others.

In our media-driven society, it is difficult for a person to show individuality. If a person acts different, doctors are quick to medicate them so they are like everyone else. People far too often use plastic surgery and bariatric surgery to change what makes them different. The media pushes conformity in similar ways Blake’s society pushed conformity.

Whitman and Dickinson

To understand the difference between Whitman’s and Dickinson’s views of nature, the reader must first understand how Whitman and Dickinson view themselves and their individual connection to God. According to Susan Belasco Smith, Whitman “fuses the self to the world” (113). He sees interconnectedness between God, humankind, and nature. Whitman believed we are all a part of God, everything exists in God, and God exists in everything.

In “Song of Myself” Whitman wrote, “I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked” (line 19). Not only was Whitman trying to shock the prudish people of his time, but also he was trying to have them understand the body is beautiful and sacred. When Whitman uses I, myself, or me; it must be understood that he does not mean the individual. Instead, he is saying I, myself, or me, who is one with God, all of humankind, and nature.

Unlike Whitman, when Dickinson uses the words I, myself, or me; she is speaking of the lonely, isolated individual. She felt hopeless and powerless in the world. When describing Dickinson’s view of self, Smith states, “the self is ultimately lonely, separate from nature and God, and constantly involved in conflict” (113). Due to her sense of powerlessness, Dickinson’s poetry is often filled with death, pain, and despair. In poem number two-hundred-fifty-eight, Dickinson writes, “Heavenly Hurt, it gives us – / We can find no scar, / But internal difference, / Where the Meanings, are –“ (lines 5-8).

Dickinson speaks of a spiritual pain in which one cannot ever escape. Although Whitman and Dickinson had such radically different views on the connection between God, humankind, and nature, it is important for the reader to remember both poets believed in a transcendent God, and they both saw the beauty in nature. It seems, however, their differences lie in the role of humans in the world. 

Smith, Susan Belasco. “Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson: Poetry of the Central Consciousness by Agnieszka Salska.” South Central Review. Vol. 4.4: Winter 1987: 112-115.