the terrible, dark fear that had possessed me was gone.

Her are a couple of quotes for good vs. evil quotes. "The tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart."  and "The sun was good. The men of the Llano were men of the sun. The men of the farms along the river were men of the moon. But we were all children of the white sun".

There are several examples of symbolism in the novel. Antonio's dreams not only reflect future events in the novel, they actually predict them. They also tell us things about Antonio and his family in the past, such as when Antonio dreams of his own birth. Water is also an important symbol, seen in the golden carp, the religious rituals of the Catholic church, and the native spiritual traditions.

The best example of symbolism representing forces of good is Ultima's owl. The owl is Ultima's soul and is able to distinguish between good and evil. The owl appears after Lupito's death when Antonio is mourning for Lupito's soul. When Ultima and Antonio cure his uncle from the spell of the Trementina sisters, the owl scares the animals away from the house. Tenorio's eye is gouged out by the owl because Tenorio is after Ultima. When the owl dies at the end, Ultimate's protective spirit dies as well, foreshadowing Ultima's death.

It's fairly obvious in the novel who is evil and who is good. There are some characters who aren't evil, but because they refuse to do anything to help Ultima when she's threatened, they betray their loyalty to Ultima after she has healed them.

Whether you believe Ultima is a bruja (witch) or a healer, she uses her talents to help people against the forces of evil. She teaches Antonio her methods of healing, but more importantly, shows him that he doesn't have to choose between his mother's and his father's family traditions. She guides Antonio's spiritual journey through life, and he says at the end of the novel, "And that is what Ultima tried to teach me, that the tragic consequences of life can be overcome by the magical strength that resides in the human heart."

Narciso, even though he's seen as the town drunk, is a spiritual person and proves himself when he makes the ultimate sacrifice of his own life in order to protect Ultima.

Tenorio Trementina and his three daughters are the evil forces in the novel. The Trementina sister place a curse on Antonio's Uncle Lucas when he catches them using their dark power to summon Satan. Ultima warns Tenorio to have his daughters lift the curse or suffer the consequences if they don't. When he refuses, the three women die, one by one. Tenorio sets out to avenge the deaths of his daughters, killing Narciso and Ultima's owl. He's killed when he tries to kill Antonio.

Although many characters exemplify these traits, the main examples of good and evil in the novel Bless Me, Ultima are Ultima and Tenorio. Ultima is a benign medicine woman whose ultimate goal is to help her people, and Tenorio is the epitome of evil. In fact, his entire family is evil, and they wreak havoc on the town of El Puerto.

Throughout the novel, Ultima and Tenorio are involved in a struggle between good and evil. Tenorio and his family begin the fight by cursing Tony's uncle. While on the brink of death, Ultima is able to "cure" the man of the unnatural ills that pain him, and he recovers from the curse. In order to rid the town and its inhabitants of the evil of the Trementina family, Ultima places a counter-spell on Tenorio's daughters, which leads to their demise. Furious, Tenorio sets out on a lengthy road to revenge against Ultima, hurting anyone who gets in his way.

Although Ultima dies as a result of Tenorio's evil, good triumphs in this struggle as the town is rid of the Trementina family and Tony is left to further Ultima's good work.