You MUST follow the Essay Writing Guidelines as you write your essays to insure you are addressing all required components of the assignment.

Essays should be double-spaced in a 12 pt font and should be no longer than 1 to 1 ½ pages in length.

Your essay should focus only on the segment identified below. It is found at the end of Chapter Uno (One) in Bless Me, Ultima.

“I dreamed about the owl that night, and my dream was good. La Virgen de Guadalupe was the patron saint of our town. The town was named after her. In my dreams I saw Ultima’s owl lift la Virgen on her wide wings and fly her to the heaven. Then the owl returned and gathered up all the babes of Limbo and flew them up to the clouds of heaven.

The Virgin smiled at the goodness of the owl.” Chapter One, p. 12

OR

“I think at that time I began to cry because as I left the river brush and headed up the hills I heard my sobs for the first time.

It was also then that I heard the owl. Between my gasps for air and my sobs I stopped and listened for its song. My heart was pounding and my lungs hurt, but a calmness had come over the moonlit night when I heard the hooting of Ultima’s owl. I stood still for a long time. I realized that the owl had been with me throughout the night. It had watched over all that had happened on the bridge. Suddenly the terrible, dark fear that had possessed me was gone.” Chapter Dos, p. 21

Identify the message the author is convey in just this short passage. This is your THESIS Statement. Be sure to UNDERLINE your thesis sentence in your essay.

Provide specific examples of words or phrases from the segment that communicate the author’s message, idea, or impression and explain how the author uses these words/phrases. How do these examples support the thesis? (Be sure to incorporate or blend your examples into your sentences.)

Explain how this particular segment relates to the rest of the short story or novel. In other words, why is this particular segment significant to the rest of the story? Is this a turning point in the story? Is this where the character(s) make a significant discovery? Is this where things begin to change for the rest of the story?