Violence in Blood Meridian
Alex Hendershot
ENG 4UI
Ms. Taylor
November 19, 2013
Literary Connections:
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy Violence is often used in literature by antagonists to symbolize evil and darkness, and to represent the brutal force that opposes the characters. However, in the novel Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, this is not the case. Violence in Blood Meridian is not used as a symbol of evil by the antagonist, but is used by all the main characters, including the protagonist, as a way of life. Blood Meridian is a fictional novel that documents the events of a character who is referred to as only “the kid”, as he joins the Glanton gang, a scalp hunting gang who targets Native Americans living around the United States-Mexico border in 1849. This novel is full of ruthless acts of violence in nearly every scene, which are seemingly mindless and unnecessary. Although violence is most commonly considered a voluntary action of man, this novel proves the notion that violence is unavoidable, and that violence is the inherent trait of man which will result in the downfall of the human race. Cormac McCarthy uses the three epigraphs in the novel to support this premise, and uses them to demonstrate how individuals will progress from committing violent acts for the sake of violence, to committing violent actions to further themselves in life, which then leads to the downfall of the characters.
Through the first epigraph, the novel introduces the notion that violence is unavoidable, and that violence is the inherent trait of man which will result in the downfall of the human race. The first epigraph is an excerpt from an essay written by philosopher Paul Valéry, titled “The Yalu”. “The Yalu” is an essay that covers the events of a war between the Japanese and Chinese in 1895, where the Chinese were fighting against what they saw as the worship of technology, science, and individualism, all ideas that the Chinese were against. Paul Valéry writes from
ENG 4UI
Ms. Taylor
November 19, 2013
Literary Connections:
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy Violence is often used in literature by antagonists to symbolize evil and darkness, and to represent the brutal force that opposes the characters. However, in the novel Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, this is not the case. Violence in Blood Meridian is not used as a symbol of evil by the antagonist, but is used by all the main characters, including the protagonist, as a way of life. Blood Meridian is a fictional novel that documents the events of a character who is referred to as only “the kid”, as he joins the Glanton gang, a scalp hunting gang who targets Native Americans living around the United States-Mexico border in 1849. This novel is full of ruthless acts of violence in nearly every scene, which are seemingly mindless and unnecessary. Although violence is most commonly considered a voluntary action of man, this novel proves the notion that violence is unavoidable, and that violence is the inherent trait of man which will result in the downfall of the human race. Cormac McCarthy uses the three epigraphs in the novel to support this premise, and uses them to demonstrate how individuals will progress from committing violent acts for the sake of violence, to committing violent actions to further themselves in life, which then leads to the downfall of the characters.
Through the first epigraph, the novel introduces the notion that violence is unavoidable, and that violence is the inherent trait of man which will result in the downfall of the human race. The first epigraph is an excerpt from an essay written by philosopher Paul Valéry, titled “The Yalu”. “The Yalu” is an essay that covers the events of a war between the Japanese and Chinese in 1895, where the Chinese were fighting against what they saw as the worship of technology, science, and individualism, all ideas that the Chinese were against. Paul Valéry writes from