Antonio Márez, or Tony as he is often called, is the main character in Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. He is the youngest of all his brothers and sisters, but it is in him that the hopes of both his parents rest. All the events he goes through in the short time Ultima spends with his family cause him to grow well beyond his years, and his notions of a peaceful, unchanging world are shattered forever. Once sheltered from everything, Antonio's experiences lead him to question everything that happens around him. He thinks long and hard about the meaning of justice and is always torn between the different worlds to which he is exposed. Throughout the book, Antonio is forced to confront the different paths his future may hold for him, that of being a farmer or a priest or a man of the llano, or his own man. Antonio is exposed to the adult world and is forced to choose between maintaining his innocence or facing the answers to all the questions the world around him leaves him asking. During his journey, Antonio is torn between the worlds of the Catholic Church he grew up in and that of the Golden Carp and the world of Ultima to which he is introduced. All of these inner conflicts and outer realizations transform Tony from a young boy to a young man more aware of the world around him than most adults. Throughout the story, Antonio is constantly pulled in different directions by his parents. His mother desperately wants him to become a priest like the first Lunas who came to earth were. If he can't become a priest, then she wants him to become a farmer like the men in her family are. Antonio's father wants him to be a man of llano, not tied to the land like a farmer, but free to roam it as he pleases. Even since his birth, his... middle of paper ... has been trying to guide him so that he can grow up to become what he wants. Antonio is intelligent and often seems more mature than his friends of the same age. Antonio is caught between the world of innocence in which he has grown up until now and the world of maturity that is beginning to make its way into his life. He begins to understand that growing up means losing some of that innocence and questioning what was once simply accepted. Even his once concrete conception of the Catholic faith was forever altered when he was introduced to a new religion in the form of the Golden Carp. All of these elements lead to the timeless tale of growing up and discovering yourself. Antonio begins his journey as a young boy, but all of his experiences and observations of the world around him along with Ultima's advice lead him to become a young man far beyond his years..