Family Ties

"My mother was not a woman of the llano, she was the daughter of a farmer. She could not see beauty in the llano and she could not understand the coarse men who lived half their lifetimes on horseback. After I was born in Las Pasturas she persuaded my father to leave the llano and bring her family to the town of Guadalupe where she said there would be opportunity and school for us. The move lowered my father in the esteem of his compadres, the other vaqueros of the llano who clung tenaciously to their way of life and freedom."

Rudolfo Anaya, Bless Me, Ultima, 2

As the lives of Antonio's parents are introduced in the first chapter of this book, it becomes very apparent just how different his extended families are. As explained in the quote, Antonio's mother is a farm girl from the city who values city life and education opportunities. His father, on the other hand, is used to the life he has always known on the llanos. The two parents are obviously doing what's possible to remain a happy family, but the clear differences in opinions about life is obviously hard for them.

What's even more interesting are the non-coincidental names the belong to both families. The family name of Antonio's mother is Lunas, he father's name is Marez. The non-coincidence of these names are their Spanish translations. With mar meaning sea and luna meaning the moon, the characteristics of the families and their name sakes become more obvious. On an even deeper level, the observation that the moon controls the wild sea's tides brings up another accurate analysis of the book's characters. The Lunas family seems to be the ultimate controller of the Marez father, although his roots are independent like the sea. 

Fortunately for me, I married a person whose family doesn't seem to dictate the way I live my life. That is mostly because we all have similar opinions about life. But the concept of one's family imposing personal beliefs upon the other is real. Usually, this imposition isn't even to be rude, but just habit of tradition. The most famous families I first thought of to describe the immediate differences in the families of lovers, are the families of Romeo and Juliet. The Capulet and Montague families did not see eye to eye at all. Their story is obviously different from the story of Antonio's family, but the reality of two families trying to come together is difficult. However, it can be done.