Voice and ambivalence in Bless Me Ultima and Baby of the FamilyBless Me Ultima and Baby of the Family serve as “coming-of-age” stories » of two children from minorities. Rudolfo Anaya and Tina McElory Ansa skillfully reveal the richness, diversity, and conflicts that can exist within Hispanic and African American cultures, primarily through the dream sequences of each novel. Dreams are the mechanism used in each work to magnify the individual experiences and conflicts faced by Tony and Lena. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, Tony and Lena deal with ambivalence and find their voices not only through relationships with other characters, but also through the resolution of their dreams. To truly understand how integral and dependent dreams are in the novels, a bit of definition is in order. Dreams are not defined solely as “images passing through the mind of a sleeping person” (Neufeldt 132). Dreams also include the mystical events or dream events in each novel. Dreams are a way for each character to connect to the past and perhaps reveal the future. Tony and Lena's otherworldly experiences or dreams guide them down the path of ambivalence and ultimately lead to an awakening or the acquisition of the "voice." Webster's New World Dictionary defines ambivalence as “simultaneous contradictory feelings” (13). These “conflicts” can be observed in external situations and usually have serious internal implications. This condition is one of the defining factors of the Spanish-American experience. Are Hispanics immigrants or minorities? In terms of religion, are they Catholic or Indian? Typically, Hispanic Americans mix the two choices because neither situation fully applies to them. Maybe... middle of paper ... Once Lena and Tony come to terms with the whirlwind adventures unfolding around them, there is a resolution. A rebirth of sorts occurs for each character as they realize that they must take conflicting ideologies and blend them to form individual voices. Works Cited Ansa, Tina McElroy. Interview with Tina McElroy Ansa by Doubleday. Book group corner. http://www.randomhouse.com/resources/bookgroup/handifanwith_bgc.html. accessed October 30, 2000. Callahan, John F. In the African-American Grain: The Pursuit of Voice in Twentieth-Century Black Fiction. University of Illinois Press: Urbana and Chicago. 1988. Neufeldt, Victoria, ed. Webster's New World Compact School and Office Dictionary. 1 vol. to this day. MacMillan: United States. 1995. Wood, Scott. "Book Reviews: 'Bless Me Ultima.'" Contemporary Literary Criticism. flight. 23 (1983): 22.