And I thought the power of God failed where Ultima's worked; and then a sudden illumination of beauty of understanding flashed through my mind. This is what I had expected God to do at my first holy communion!" (pg.114) The Golden Carp was like a taste of the other world - an exciting, new, interesting thing to lay your attention on. This was an escape from the real world, a relief from reality, and exactly what Antonio needed in his life to take him away from what he is "supposed" to believe in. In the golden carp, he learned self knowledge of how beautiful, creative, and visible a god can be, no matter if it was a real god or not. .
Antonio's mother stood for another meaning of a god because his mother was a strong catholic. She always pushed Antonio to pray and to become a priest and to believe in THIS God and no others. "After supper we always prayed the rosary. The dishes were quickly done then we fathered in the sala where my mother kept her altar. My mother had a beautiful stature of la Virgen de Guadalupe. It was nearly two feet high." (pg.43) Antonio's mother stood for strong belief and dedication to her religion. I think that this gave Antonio the impression that he HAD to believe in what his mother believed in because that was just how the family worked. Catholicism gave Antonio the self knowledge to step away from what was forced upon him, and to explore others that might matter just as much. It gave him the courage to reject it but to taste it at the same time to build himself. He was a young man with a brilliant mind and exploration would expand his mind as well as his dreams. .
Ultima was also shown to be someone that Antonio admired greatly, almost like a god. Ultima was magical, a luminous character that stepped into Tony's life the day he was born. "A cry came to my throat, and I wanted to shout it and run in the beauty I had found." (pg.12) Antonio admired Ultima and praised her presence because everytime she was around, he felt a deep sense of warmth and comfort.
