AND YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF TERRIBLE DECISION MAKING THAT WILL RESULT IN A LOSS OF CREDIT
To the point that isn't the least lesser, I'm going to skip talking about the awesomeness of the dangling dead men (boiling BRAINS!!); if I had a brother that was naked covered in fecal matter and was at the same time putting it into his mouth like a snickers bar, I would put him in a cage and have people pay to see him.
Now to the main point, the blog, Judge just seems to be a walking Google, he seems to be omniscient. This only makes his character better. He speaks German too. What can't Judge do? Eat fire? Judge is my favorite, even though yet ANOTHER little girl disappear. He is also good with his words, as we already know, the Lieutenant just goes away after Judge says his mumbo jumbo. He squeezed a mans head, I imagine this is the same concept as squeezing a nice orange for the juices.
"Glanton watched them go with dark misgiving." I don't get it, was Glanton worried about what was possibly in the church? aside from an almost dead man.. And why is a buttplate on his thigh? More importantly what is a buttplate? click hur. Of course Glanton is racist, "I don't like to see white men that way" It was 184something, everyone was racist.
Sir James Miller, I thought that it was un-nice of the other men not to help him with his saddle; but they are all grown men, I'm sure they know he can do it all by himself. I liked how they just forgot about the horse and had an extra, like those Walgreen's commercials. If the bulls were old because of their branding, and it dates back to the Spanish, how old is old? The life expectancy of a bull is [XX]. Which only makes the old factor of the bull seem less.
The list at the beginning of the chapter I wrote "space turd" under meteorite, I think I'm psychic, McCarthy used the word turd this chapter, there's a connection. On a more serious note, I couldn't really figure out why McCarthy would use the word turd instead of sticking to excrement, which is what he called it the second time. The only thing I could come up with that didn't defy all of McCarthy logic and writing that we've learned so far is, he just wanted to, no reason, he just did it... or did he? let that spew in your mind.
Everyone was NOT black, there lied the mistake, thinking everyone was black. Owens is under the assumption he has the upper hand, then BLAM! dead; don't mess with a man with a gun, especially if he's black.
Apaches...talk now? They're too comparable to the company.
girthstraps - also called a girth or cinch, it's used to hold the saddle still while in use.
this says absolutely nothing, I wanted to play with the fonts. I laugh at you if you actually translated this [STUFF]
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Another Example of Terrible Decision Making that will Result in a Loss of Credit
I think the red was such a big hit, I'll try blue. And i associate the number sixteen with blue, so win-win right? right.
(FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, IF I HAVE TO WASTE MY TIME EDITING ANYONE ELSE'S POST BECAUSE OF INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT, LANGUAGE, SLANDER ISSUES, OR USING INDECIPHERABLE COLORS THAT RESULT IN ME HAVING TO EDIT YOUR HTML CODE, I WILL SIMPLY DELETE SAID POST AND ASSIGN A ZERO TO THE POSTER - THANKS, THE MGMNT) The judge seems to know everything about everything. He has a lecture pertaining to anything even the slightest bit out of the ordinary that the group comes across. And this backs up the claim of the judge being the devil and knowing everything, but I'll shut up about that because we've talked about that enough. But as judge and a few pals approach an abandon church, it is said Glanton "watched them go with dark misgiving." I guess this is foreshadowing, but it didn't occur to me until after the group came across the hermits. I don't know why he would be apprehensive about something like going into an old church. I mean, there were people in there but they were of no threat.
The dead scouts part was really disturbing. "the brains bubbled in the skulls and steam sang from their noseholes." It's really sick, and kind of poetic. Did it say who killed the scouts? I guess it was the Apaches, but if these Apaches were so barbaric, why did they talk to the Americans instead of just kill them?
I love how the groups movements are described as "a certain sequence as in a child's game yet with some terrible forfeit at hand." The, if you will, JUXTAPOSITION OF ANTITHETICAL ELEMENTS (a child's game, death) does all sorts a' good. And maybe it is like a game to the guys. Child's play. These guys are calm, they know what they're doing, no big deal.
"There was nothing about these arrivals to suggest even the discovery of the wheel." Probably the coolest way of saying "They're primal," I've ever heard. These savages are stuck in a time millennia past. Ha! Look at these guys. No wheels...
And how manipulative this judge guy is. Lieutenant Gimp comes in pointing fingers and judge scares him away. Just with some tough words. All up in his grill. And then the lieutenant is "stunned at the BALDNESS of these disclaimers." I thought this was funny because the judge is bald (I even wrote it in my book). yep.
And since you broskis showed me how to do the links and whatnot, I'll do one (1)!
Blood Meridian Chapter 16
Well, this chapter was actually a little different. We got to see the much calmer and more civilized side of the Americans. When they're not killing Apaches and Mexicans, they're actually pretty nice fellows.
I have to say, the best part of this chapter was when Jackson shot the racist guy through the head. The only thing I can say is that he had it coming. If you're going to be racist, don't be racist towards a black guy with a bad attitude and a powerful gun. Pretty bad judgement on the shop owner's part. Again, McCarthy sucessfully paints a picture with his words. However, in this chapter, it's a little more grusome. McCarthy writes, "The big pistol jumped and a double handful (oh no not just one handful) of Owen's brains went out the back of his skull and plopped in the floor behind him (McCarthy 236)." Good job McCarthy; now I know what brains being shot out of a human skull sounds like (PLOP). This seems like a good lesson when you look closely. First of all, don't mess with a man with a gun. Secondly racism is bad m'kay? But seriously, McCarthy added this little racist segment to show how differences were settled back in the 1800's. If you truly didn't like a guy, you better be able to defend yourself after being a jerk.
Wow, in this chapter, the Judge actually acts like, well, a judge. He's very diplomatic and convincing when he's not squeezing a man's head so hard he kills him. Again, the Judge shows his intelligence when he quotes all of those latin guys and the terms of jurisprudence. (Jurisprudence = the science or philosophy of law (dictionary.com))
One of the best jokes in the book is on page 239. The Judge says, "Has (the idiot) always been like that?" To which the man's brother replies, "Yessir. He was born that way." The Judge then says, "Were you?" Oh no he didn't....OH YES HE DID! OHHHHHH snap! Someone better call the fire department because someone just got burned! This shows the Judge's view of people that use others as a means to make money. The Judge wouldn't look to kindly at the idea of slaves. Or would he? Hmmmm.....
Big suprise, a little girl goes missing. Wonder who did it? Anyone got any ideas?
culverin = a mideval form of musket OR a kind of heavy cannon used in the 16th and 17th centuries (dictionary.com)
Here's a picture of a bowieknife (remember the man who was looking for a fight? Page 232... http://api.ning.com/files/1W**OwEmmgnHiZEC48qk9mYZP1PnbapFZagaQ12AsLO73Q*bP3MmSKOOaa4x7Vtqq6t4J8ajS7x0VU3OTT3vpz3KIhPbOj3d/bowie_knife_lg.jpg
Please forgive the super long link......
Similes
"The judge had his entire head in his grip like an immense and dangerous faith healer (McCarthy 238)." This is a pretty ironic statement since the judge had been familiarized with the devil and since faith healers arn't dangerous (this is a guess seeing as how I have never met a faith healer). Still very good use of description by McCarthy.
"...desert hummed like a snare drum (McCarthy 239)." This is pretty confusing. Is it humming because the horses are trembling? Another question to be discussed...
I have to say, the best part of this chapter was when Jackson shot the racist guy through the head. The only thing I can say is that he had it coming. If you're going to be racist, don't be racist towards a black guy with a bad attitude and a powerful gun. Pretty bad judgement on the shop owner's part. Again, McCarthy sucessfully paints a picture with his words. However, in this chapter, it's a little more grusome. McCarthy writes, "The big pistol jumped and a double handful (oh no not just one handful) of Owen's brains went out the back of his skull and plopped in the floor behind him (McCarthy 236)." Good job McCarthy; now I know what brains being shot out of a human skull sounds like (PLOP). This seems like a good lesson when you look closely. First of all, don't mess with a man with a gun. Secondly racism is bad m'kay? But seriously, McCarthy added this little racist segment to show how differences were settled back in the 1800's. If you truly didn't like a guy, you better be able to defend yourself after being a jerk.
Wow, in this chapter, the Judge actually acts like, well, a judge. He's very diplomatic and convincing when he's not squeezing a man's head so hard he kills him. Again, the Judge shows his intelligence when he quotes all of those latin guys and the terms of jurisprudence. (Jurisprudence = the science or philosophy of law (dictionary.com))
One of the best jokes in the book is on page 239. The Judge says, "Has (the idiot) always been like that?" To which the man's brother replies, "Yessir. He was born that way." The Judge then says, "Were you?" Oh no he didn't....OH YES HE DID! OHHHHHH snap! Someone better call the fire department because someone just got burned! This shows the Judge's view of people that use others as a means to make money. The Judge wouldn't look to kindly at the idea of slaves. Or would he? Hmmmm.....
Big suprise, a little girl goes missing. Wonder who did it? Anyone got any ideas?
culverin = a mideval form of musket OR a kind of heavy cannon used in the 16th and 17th centuries (dictionary.com)
Here's a picture of a bowieknife (remember the man who was looking for a fight? Page 232... http://api.ning.com/files/1W**OwEmmgnHiZEC48qk9mYZP1PnbapFZagaQ12AsLO73Q*bP3MmSKOOaa4x7Vtqq6t4J8ajS7x0VU3OTT3vpz3KIhPbOj3d/bowie_knife_lg.jpg
Please forgive the super long link......
Similes
"The judge had his entire head in his grip like an immense and dangerous faith healer (McCarthy 238)." This is a pretty ironic statement since the judge had been familiarized with the devil and since faith healers arn't dangerous (this is a guess seeing as how I have never met a faith healer). Still very good use of description by McCarthy.
"...desert hummed like a snare drum (McCarthy 239)." This is pretty confusing. Is it humming because the horses are trembling? Another question to be discussed...
Chapter 16
I'm gonna start by saying this chapter was my favorite by far. Once again, McCarthy mentions the various plants that the company walked by including quince.
The bull scene was alright. I thought it interesting that the bulls had brands dating back to the Spanish, they must have been pretty old. I didn't understand the line at the beginning of 224, " buried its horns to the boss in the ribs of a horse." What is to the boss? I thought the quote in the same paragraph of 224 was interesting, "he put the muzzle to the bull's forehead and fired and the whole grotesque assembly collapsed he stepped clear of the wreckage and walked off in disgust with the smoking gun dangling in his hand." I thought it interesting that McCarthy compared the bull and horse falling to a collapsing machine. It was pretty jerkish of the other guys that they didn't help James Miller take the saddle off his horse. It seemed to me that they were just like it's not our problem.
They found their long lost scouts, and like all western friends that get lost, they are dead. The description was pretty gruesome. Just to list some highlights of their torture: skewered through their cords of their heels, which I think is their Achilles tendon, roasted, bubbled brains, sticks in tongues, entrails on chest. Yup, I would not like to be in their situation. I was disappointed that the Vandeiemenlander died because he was starting to be a cool guy. The guy that died named Gilchrist had an awesome name. It was said he was from the east which I suppose is Europe, but I wonder exactly where. Gilchrist sounds either German or Russian. I liked the quote on page 227, "Among their barbarous hosts they had met with neither favor nor discrimination but had suffered and died impartially."
I thought the Apache scene was interesting, but why did they start talking now all of a sudden? I think McCarthy is actually doing a comparison with the Apaches to the Company because of how savage the company is acting now, they're pretty much like the Apaches. Also, I'm surprised the Apaches' attitudes seemed to have turned a complete 180. They seem to be no longer ruthless, but diplomatic, which confused me to why did this happen?
The naked imbecile part was priceless. "the idiot was small and misshapen and his face was smeared with feces and he sat peering at them with dull hostility silently chewing a turd." TURD! Yes, that is not a typo ladies and gentlemen. McCarthy wrote turd. Did he let his 3 year old son write that? I mean, he could've used excrement. In fact he used it later down the page. Aside that, still a gross scene. At least it was his turd, and not someone/something else's. Loved the quote Glanton said to the idiot's brother, "You let women see that thing?"
The little restaurant scene with black Jackson was awesome. I thought it was funny the guy thought everyone was black. When I read the part where it described where Jackson sat, made me think that they walked in or out there and he's just sitting there alone with all his friends, just made me laugh really. Also, it was funny how Brown and Jackson played that whole think of Owens shooting Jackson, then when Owens cocked the gun to shot, Jackson just shot him in the face. God, that was awesome.
Another funny scene was when the Lieutenant came to question Glanton and the Judge, and they just denied everything, even though the Lt, had witnesses and such. I think the line that really sells this is on page 237, "Deny every goddamned word of it." This is just Glanton and the gang having fun and just messing with everyone.
The bull scene was alright. I thought it interesting that the bulls had brands dating back to the Spanish, they must have been pretty old. I didn't understand the line at the beginning of 224, " buried its horns to the boss in the ribs of a horse." What is to the boss? I thought the quote in the same paragraph of 224 was interesting, "he put the muzzle to the bull's forehead and fired and the whole grotesque assembly collapsed he stepped clear of the wreckage and walked off in disgust with the smoking gun dangling in his hand." I thought it interesting that McCarthy compared the bull and horse falling to a collapsing machine. It was pretty jerkish of the other guys that they didn't help James Miller take the saddle off his horse. It seemed to me that they were just like it's not our problem.
They found their long lost scouts, and like all western friends that get lost, they are dead. The description was pretty gruesome. Just to list some highlights of their torture: skewered through their cords of their heels, which I think is their Achilles tendon, roasted, bubbled brains, sticks in tongues, entrails on chest. Yup, I would not like to be in their situation. I was disappointed that the Vandeiemenlander died because he was starting to be a cool guy. The guy that died named Gilchrist had an awesome name. It was said he was from the east which I suppose is Europe, but I wonder exactly where. Gilchrist sounds either German or Russian. I liked the quote on page 227, "Among their barbarous hosts they had met with neither favor nor discrimination but had suffered and died impartially."
I thought the Apache scene was interesting, but why did they start talking now all of a sudden? I think McCarthy is actually doing a comparison with the Apaches to the Company because of how savage the company is acting now, they're pretty much like the Apaches. Also, I'm surprised the Apaches' attitudes seemed to have turned a complete 180. They seem to be no longer ruthless, but diplomatic, which confused me to why did this happen?
The naked imbecile part was priceless. "the idiot was small and misshapen and his face was smeared with feces and he sat peering at them with dull hostility silently chewing a turd." TURD! Yes, that is not a typo ladies and gentlemen. McCarthy wrote turd. Did he let his 3 year old son write that? I mean, he could've used excrement. In fact he used it later down the page. Aside that, still a gross scene. At least it was his turd, and not someone/something else's. Loved the quote Glanton said to the idiot's brother, "You let women see that thing?"
The little restaurant scene with black Jackson was awesome. I thought it was funny the guy thought everyone was black. When I read the part where it described where Jackson sat, made me think that they walked in or out there and he's just sitting there alone with all his friends, just made me laugh really. Also, it was funny how Brown and Jackson played that whole think of Owens shooting Jackson, then when Owens cocked the gun to shot, Jackson just shot him in the face. God, that was awesome.
Another funny scene was when the Lieutenant came to question Glanton and the Judge, and they just denied everything, even though the Lt, had witnesses and such. I think the line that really sells this is on page 237, "Deny every goddamned word of it." This is just Glanton and the gang having fun and just messing with everyone.
Señor Burbujas
Hey you guys. I'm doing this blog in red. It seems much spicier. woo.
So the wounded are sitting around, holding everyone back with their negativity. How do they off them? A freaking club to the skull. I guess back then that's the equivalent of a friendly gunshot to the head. I just can't imagine not being the first one, knowing my turn to catch the bat with my face is coming up shortly. But then, we see a very touching moment with Shelby. I think the line "[Shelby] was from a prominent Kentucky family and had attended Transylvania College and like many another young man of his class he'd gone west because of a woman," really makes this scene. You can't help but feel bad for the poor little fella; he's no choice but death. And we can say we're not afraid of dying, but when it's up close, breathing on your neck, I think we all would break down and cry. Although, the scene's intimacy is kind of diminished by the trading of "you son of a bitch."
Errp. I took note of a simile "like paper birds upon a pole." He's comparing birds... with birds. Why couldn't he just say "as though they orbited about a pole," or something? To reiterate birds seems kind of unnecessary. But if it's the paper part that matters so much, he could at least say like a paper airplane or something. It just doesn't work with this guy.
"The sun shone solely on the rocks where he stood." This is talking about the kid after he's escaped the men on the mountain. It kind of seems like... a god, sort of. Or like Moses coming down from Mount Sinus (ha...), the sun shining all majestic like and such. The kid is god, the judge is the devil! Yeah, no. Let's not get into that.
"Like a burnt carcass of some ungodly beast[!]" Yay. That was the best line of the chapter. Turns out it was just a load of scalps, right? But why were they burned? What was wrong to where they couldn't be exchanged for profit? derpa.
The kid is said to be weakened by his "fast." Fasting is usually a voluntary thing, so it's pretty snifty to see his struggle and lack of food described as, what like a religious decision or something.
And maybe in second place for coolest thing: the kid getting all awesome when he says "You think I'm afraid of him?" Yeah, I'd say anyone sane (and insane for that matter) person should be rightfully afraid of the judge. But hey, tough guy, go get 'em. Champ. That's all I would like to say.
April 29, 2010 Blog Chapter 16
I think I'll try to "talk" like yoda this chapter... just for the heck of it...
More interesting, this chapter was. Racist is Glanton, evil, besides. Jerks, bulls are, as well, old they are. Okay... I'm done now. so anyways, here's what I got:
I like Glanton's comment as they're leaving the crazed brothers, "I don't like to see white men that way." What a blatant racist! and the judge just smiles...
Tubac
Those silly Apaches... They hang the scouts up by their ankles, secure their tongues out side their mouths, and then roast them alive. Then, to top it off, they cut their ears off and cut open their abdomen so their "entrails" fall out... brutal... Then, perhaps the most humorous part of this encounter, the men make a deal with the same Indians that killed them. I can just imagine how much will power it took for Glanton not to shoot them out right, but I'm sure his horse biting the Indian's helped.
On page 227, "A pale green meteor came up the falley floor behind them and passed overhead and vanished silently in the wind." What is that....?
Whitneyville Colts
Page 223, McCarthy actually uses the word "turd"... really man? Surely there a better wordy word than turd you could've used...
Page 224 and 225.... I'm sure we all saw this coming as soon as it said, "We don't mind servin people of color." He tried being "politically correct" but all that did was piss them off worse. What's worse is that he actually thought they ALL were black! Then they start messing with him, "Now shoot the nigger." then "Put it down. Gaddamn, man. Tell him to put it down!" I can just imagine him stuttering. Then Brown just goes and picks up his gun as if it were nothing unusual and tells Jackson he's a bad guy in a way that I would tell Alex he sucks when he makes fun of Jill from AWCI...
More interesting, this chapter was. Racist is Glanton, evil, besides. Jerks, bulls are, as well, old they are. Okay... I'm done now. so anyways, here's what I got:
I like Glanton's comment as they're leaving the crazed brothers, "I don't like to see white men that way." What a blatant racist! and the judge just smiles...
Tubac
Those silly Apaches... They hang the scouts up by their ankles, secure their tongues out side their mouths, and then roast them alive. Then, to top it off, they cut their ears off and cut open their abdomen so their "entrails" fall out... brutal... Then, perhaps the most humorous part of this encounter, the men make a deal with the same Indians that killed them. I can just imagine how much will power it took for Glanton not to shoot them out right, but I'm sure his horse biting the Indian's helped.
On page 227, "A pale green meteor came up the falley floor behind them and passed overhead and vanished silently in the wind." What is that....?
Whitneyville Colts
Page 223, McCarthy actually uses the word "turd"... really man? Surely there a better wordy word than turd you could've used...
Page 224 and 225.... I'm sure we all saw this coming as soon as it said, "We don't mind servin people of color." He tried being "politically correct" but all that did was piss them off worse. What's worse is that he actually thought they ALL were black! Then they start messing with him, "Now shoot the nigger." then "Put it down. Gaddamn, man. Tell him to put it down!" I can just imagine him stuttering. Then Brown just goes and picks up his gun as if it were nothing unusual and tells Jackson he's a bad guy in a way that I would tell Alex he sucks when he makes fun of Jill from AWCI...
chappin 15
So, in the beginning there was light, no..joke. The company gets another contract, with the town of Sonora. which is the best thing that happens to the company as far as this chapter is concerned. Men in the company are killed, 7 are wounded and 4 are incapable of riding. What i don't get is that they kill two of the Delaware, aren't the Delaware valuable to the men as a group? confusion takes over. One other thing I thought was remotely neat, puh-guh 204 "two weeks out they massacred a pueblo on the Nacozari River and two days later as they rode towards.." it's like "oh, btw we killed more people in cold blood.
Poor Shelby, so maybe he's close to his death and all but that's just the most pitiful thing, in my opinion. the "less conversation Kid has with Shelby and Tate is mlehh - translation: it got annoying and i got lost easily.
What was the deal when Kid caught Judge looking at him so he changed arrows? & what was the the purpose of the arrow selecting? AND why did the Delaware take arrows from people? This was a section of i dont know whats going on.
The snow Kid endures reminds me of that book part we read in eng 3, the title ecsapes me... But i felt bad for him, a room that is 68 degrees feels bad enough, much less being covered in snow.
When he finds the company again its like they're mad at him, thinking he got the easy way out.
Poor Shelby, so maybe he's close to his death and all but that's just the most pitiful thing, in my opinion. the "less conversation Kid has with Shelby and Tate is mlehh - translation: it got annoying and i got lost easily.
What was the deal when Kid caught Judge looking at him so he changed arrows? & what was the the purpose of the arrow selecting? AND why did the Delaware take arrows from people? This was a section of i dont know whats going on.
The snow Kid endures reminds me of that book part we read in eng 3, the title ecsapes me... But i felt bad for him, a room that is 68 degrees feels bad enough, much less being covered in snow.
When he finds the company again its like they're mad at him, thinking he got the easy way out.
April 29, 2010
I didn't like this chapter all that much. Pretty slow, not much to talk about, but there were a few interesting sections.
Okay, so, it's about the last week of Dec.... and Elias comes for them. What the heck? He's from Sonora and they are working under a Sonoran contract... They killed the peaceful Indians though so maybe that's why? Anyways, Elias and his army really mess up Glanton's plans....They had 4 wounded men and killed them... brutal... but what are you gonna do? Can't take them with you, especially not while your fleeing and army of angry Sonorans.
The kid is most talkative in this chapter, and even then, he only speaks a little. I wrote in my book that he's a "man" of few words... he's also brutally blunt. I especially like where he's talking to Shelby and shelby says "this is a terrible place to die." Then the kid says "Where's a good one?" I don't think I'd go to the kid for any encouragement, but I wonder if I would prefer bluntness and truth over sugar-coated unlikely hopes. The kid is still nice despite that. even after Shelby tries to steal his gun (and most likely shoot him, though that wouldn't help them in the least...) he still shares his water with him as Elias's army is riding upon them on the horizon. Is this kindness natural to the Kid, as his personality, or part of his youth and innocence (what little he's got)? About this time, "A dark over cast was moving down from the north and the wind was up." Somewhat cliche.
Judge is once again creepy.... but at least this time he doesn't do anything. First, he's smiling at the Kid while he's sleeping on his horse like "the world were pleasing even to him alone." Then he gets the kid to help him go out in the dark...alone... and help him kill a horse.
Something that confused me was when the judge "halted and stepped down and pushed over one of the heads with his boot. As if to satisfy himself that no man stood buried in the sand beneath it." First, where are the bodies then? Second, why does judge care if there's a body beneath it? and third, Who's heads are these?
At the end, it says the men star setting sparks around them as they're laying to get warm. Are they setting a fire around them? Are they glowing? What?
Okay, so, it's about the last week of Dec.... and Elias comes for them. What the heck? He's from Sonora and they are working under a Sonoran contract... They killed the peaceful Indians though so maybe that's why? Anyways, Elias and his army really mess up Glanton's plans....They had 4 wounded men and killed them... brutal... but what are you gonna do? Can't take them with you, especially not while your fleeing and army of angry Sonorans.
The kid is most talkative in this chapter, and even then, he only speaks a little. I wrote in my book that he's a "man" of few words... he's also brutally blunt. I especially like where he's talking to Shelby and shelby says "this is a terrible place to die." Then the kid says "Where's a good one?" I don't think I'd go to the kid for any encouragement, but I wonder if I would prefer bluntness and truth over sugar-coated unlikely hopes. The kid is still nice despite that. even after Shelby tries to steal his gun (and most likely shoot him, though that wouldn't help them in the least...) he still shares his water with him as Elias's army is riding upon them on the horizon. Is this kindness natural to the Kid, as his personality, or part of his youth and innocence (what little he's got)? About this time, "A dark over cast was moving down from the north and the wind was up." Somewhat cliche.
Judge is once again creepy.... but at least this time he doesn't do anything. First, he's smiling at the Kid while he's sleeping on his horse like "the world were pleasing even to him alone." Then he gets the kid to help him go out in the dark...alone... and help him kill a horse.
Something that confused me was when the judge "halted and stepped down and pushed over one of the heads with his boot. As if to satisfy himself that no man stood buried in the sand beneath it." First, where are the bodies then? Second, why does judge care if there's a body beneath it? and third, Who's heads are these?
At the end, it says the men star setting sparks around them as they're laying to get warm. Are they setting a fire around them? Are they glowing? What?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Chapter 15
This chapter was good. Not as many similes as last chapter, also there was some scenery change.
Once again the company gets a contract for scalps, this time from Sonora. I think it's interesting that they just went to another city to get pretty much the same contract. Is this one still 100 dollars a scalp?
Also they picked up a little sick boy named Sloat, which is a dumb name if you ask me. Sounds too much like Goat. I like the quote on page 204, "he must have counted himself well out of that place yet if he gave thanks to any god at all it was ill timed for the country was not done with him." I'm not exactly sure what this means. Maybe it means the boy was thankful that the company had a use for him instead of him being sickly ill in this town.
They also go out and massacre another pueblo of Indians, what else is new? If that's not bad enough they get caught or something because a cavalry led by Gen. Elias comes to massacre them. I figured the company would have fared better in the fight to be honest. I don't think they killed many soldiers, and they lost around three and seven were wounded, which they had to kill three of the wounded. I have to say Elias must be good to have done a number on Glanton and his gang. On page 205, "the fires on the plain faded like an evil dream." I thought this was an interesting simile.
I didn't understand the whole part of choosing arrows to decide who had to kill the weakened survivors. I know it's their form of drawing straws, but wouldn't it have been easier to just let the Delaware finish them all of or just leave them? I didn't understand the whole dilemma of Tate and the kid over who was going to kill the other guy and Shelby. I thought the line on page 206 was really amazing, "The Delaware let drop the reins and took down his warclub from his bag and stepped astraddle of the man and swung the club and crushed his skull with a single blow." That is pretty epic. I got to say that back in the day I thought the Iroquois Indians were cool, but these guys blow them out of the water. They know how to get stuff done. I think it's warrior-like that this Indian has no remorse over killing his wounded comrade. From his point of view, he's probably doing him a favor.
I thought the whole kid and Shelby scene was pretty touching. I didn't think that the kid would've killed Shelby. I think the kid is growing up a lot in this book. At the beginning he would just kill random people for the heck of it, but now he's all collected and wouldn't kill his allies. I think all the kid really needed was friends. I thought it was a classic western move to put Shelby up like that. I think there was a sunset if I wasn't mistaken which even adds to the western moment when the kid just rides as if he's too cool to care.
The ambush scene was interesting. I think the line on page 211 was awesome, "he came up out of the blanket and leveled the pistol and discharged it into the chest of the man nearest him and turned to run." I can see this kind of thing happen in slow motion. And whatever happened to Tate? Does he die? It's pretty cold in this part, and I wonder if the kid sustained any significant damage to his feet. Frostbitten feet isn't good.
Once again the company gets a contract for scalps, this time from Sonora. I think it's interesting that they just went to another city to get pretty much the same contract. Is this one still 100 dollars a scalp?
Also they picked up a little sick boy named Sloat, which is a dumb name if you ask me. Sounds too much like Goat. I like the quote on page 204, "he must have counted himself well out of that place yet if he gave thanks to any god at all it was ill timed for the country was not done with him." I'm not exactly sure what this means. Maybe it means the boy was thankful that the company had a use for him instead of him being sickly ill in this town.
They also go out and massacre another pueblo of Indians, what else is new? If that's not bad enough they get caught or something because a cavalry led by Gen. Elias comes to massacre them. I figured the company would have fared better in the fight to be honest. I don't think they killed many soldiers, and they lost around three and seven were wounded, which they had to kill three of the wounded. I have to say Elias must be good to have done a number on Glanton and his gang. On page 205, "the fires on the plain faded like an evil dream." I thought this was an interesting simile.
I didn't understand the whole part of choosing arrows to decide who had to kill the weakened survivors. I know it's their form of drawing straws, but wouldn't it have been easier to just let the Delaware finish them all of or just leave them? I didn't understand the whole dilemma of Tate and the kid over who was going to kill the other guy and Shelby. I thought the line on page 206 was really amazing, "The Delaware let drop the reins and took down his warclub from his bag and stepped astraddle of the man and swung the club and crushed his skull with a single blow." That is pretty epic. I got to say that back in the day I thought the Iroquois Indians were cool, but these guys blow them out of the water. They know how to get stuff done. I think it's warrior-like that this Indian has no remorse over killing his wounded comrade. From his point of view, he's probably doing him a favor.
I thought the whole kid and Shelby scene was pretty touching. I didn't think that the kid would've killed Shelby. I think the kid is growing up a lot in this book. At the beginning he would just kill random people for the heck of it, but now he's all collected and wouldn't kill his allies. I think all the kid really needed was friends. I thought it was a classic western move to put Shelby up like that. I think there was a sunset if I wasn't mistaken which even adds to the western moment when the kid just rides as if he's too cool to care.
The ambush scene was interesting. I think the line on page 211 was awesome, "he came up out of the blanket and leveled the pistol and discharged it into the chest of the man nearest him and turned to run." I can see this kind of thing happen in slow motion. And whatever happened to Tate? Does he die? It's pretty cold in this part, and I wonder if the kid sustained any significant damage to his feet. Frostbitten feet isn't good.
Blood Meridian Chapter 15
Everything went wrong for the Americans in this chapter. First General Elias chases them down which results in, "three of Glanton's party were killed and another seven wounded, four of whom could not ride (McCarthy 205)." Next, Tate's horse gets lamed (by the way the frog of a horse's hoof is the patch of soft membrane in the center of the foot, it is shaped like a V http://www.horseperspective.com/2415.jpg). After that, the kid and Tate are ambushed by some Mexicans. The kid then goes solo and walks through the mountains all by his lonesome, fighting the blistering cold and dangerous environment along the way. Then he finds his squad to find that they have been fighting off the Mexican Army the whole time and have lost another 4 men. That pretty much sums things up...
When the kid finds the group again, the different adventures are pretty interesting. The rest of the group seems to hate the kid because they thought he had the easy way out. However, the kid didn't have the luxury of a horse while traversing the mountains and had to get through the cold all by himself. McCarthy writes, They looked bad...Glanton's eyes in their dark sockets were burning centroids (centroids = the point that may be considered as the center of a one-or two- dimensional figure, the sum of the displacements of all points in the figure from such a point being zero (dictionary.com)) of murder...riders stared balefully at the kid as if he were no part of them for all they were so like in wretchedness of circumstance (McCarthy 218)." This shows how different the posse feels about the kid since he hadn't had to fight for 3 days straight. However, unlike any of the other people that "missed the camp meeting a time or two," they don't kill or even harass the kid. They must think that the kid should be different since he is a kid.
It seems like the Americans have nowhere to hide anymore. Everyone wants to kill them which confirms what the Mennonite and all of the other doomsayers in the previous chapters said. Even the local townsfolk know that the Americans are crazy, bloodthirsty, murderers. Sorry guys, I don't think there are going to be any parties any time soon.
It's highly unbelievable that the kid could tackle a horse. Although this may be a technique used by McCarthy to show how much the kid has learned by being with the posse. He has learned how to live by himself in very hostile and desolate environments. Also he has learned how to spot a mass amount of people by using their tracks. I believe that the kid is being prepared to become a new Glanton of sorts.
The desert that the kid and Tate are in when it starts snowing reminds me of Death Valley.
http://www.death.valley.national-park.com/ for information
http://www.und.edu/instruct/mineral/Eric-Moore-Death-Valley.jpg for a picture
The separate killing styles of the men chosen to kill the wounded was pretty neat. The Delaware was pretty frank and quick. McCarty writes, "The Delaware let drop the reins and took down his warclub from his bag and stepped astraddle of the man and swung the club and crushed his skull with a single blow (McCarthy 206).'' McCarthy shows this to imply that the Delawares are still savages and still very dangerous. However, McCarthy has the kid toy with Shelby before leaving. He does this to show that the kid still has some form of a heart even though he is bing hardened by his peers.
Simile-
"The moon was up, a half moon that sat like a child's boat in the gap of the black paper mountains to the east (McCarthy 216)." I immediately thought of the Dreamworks animation they play before movies. When McCarthy doesn't write so incredibly intense that you can't read it without having to re-read, he really produces some scenes that could be seen in one's own imagination.
"...stocks of cottonwood that had been shaped with axes like clubhouse guns for boys (McCarthy 220)." This shows how poor and ill-prepared the Mexicans in the neighboring towns are. It also shows how worried they are. They are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the Americans under control; even if that means using whatever weapons are at hand.
When the kid finds the group again, the different adventures are pretty interesting. The rest of the group seems to hate the kid because they thought he had the easy way out. However, the kid didn't have the luxury of a horse while traversing the mountains and had to get through the cold all by himself. McCarthy writes, They looked bad...Glanton's eyes in their dark sockets were burning centroids (centroids = the point that may be considered as the center of a one-or two- dimensional figure, the sum of the displacements of all points in the figure from such a point being zero (dictionary.com)) of murder...riders stared balefully at the kid as if he were no part of them for all they were so like in wretchedness of circumstance (McCarthy 218)." This shows how different the posse feels about the kid since he hadn't had to fight for 3 days straight. However, unlike any of the other people that "missed the camp meeting a time or two," they don't kill or even harass the kid. They must think that the kid should be different since he is a kid.
It seems like the Americans have nowhere to hide anymore. Everyone wants to kill them which confirms what the Mennonite and all of the other doomsayers in the previous chapters said. Even the local townsfolk know that the Americans are crazy, bloodthirsty, murderers. Sorry guys, I don't think there are going to be any parties any time soon.
It's highly unbelievable that the kid could tackle a horse. Although this may be a technique used by McCarthy to show how much the kid has learned by being with the posse. He has learned how to live by himself in very hostile and desolate environments. Also he has learned how to spot a mass amount of people by using their tracks. I believe that the kid is being prepared to become a new Glanton of sorts.
The desert that the kid and Tate are in when it starts snowing reminds me of Death Valley.
http://www.death.valley.national-park.com/ for information
http://www.und.edu/instruct/mineral/Eric-Moore-Death-Valley.jpg for a picture
The separate killing styles of the men chosen to kill the wounded was pretty neat. The Delaware was pretty frank and quick. McCarty writes, "The Delaware let drop the reins and took down his warclub from his bag and stepped astraddle of the man and swung the club and crushed his skull with a single blow (McCarthy 206).'' McCarthy shows this to imply that the Delawares are still savages and still very dangerous. However, McCarthy has the kid toy with Shelby before leaving. He does this to show that the kid still has some form of a heart even though he is bing hardened by his peers.
Simile-
"The moon was up, a half moon that sat like a child's boat in the gap of the black paper mountains to the east (McCarthy 216)." I immediately thought of the Dreamworks animation they play before movies. When McCarthy doesn't write so incredibly intense that you can't read it without having to re-read, he really produces some scenes that could be seen in one's own imagination.
"...stocks of cottonwood that had been shaped with axes like clubhouse guns for boys (McCarthy 220)." This shows how poor and ill-prepared the Mexicans in the neighboring towns are. It also shows how worried they are. They are willing to do whatever it takes to keep the Americans under control; even if that means using whatever weapons are at hand.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
chapter 14
I'm starting to like Glanton and his men less and less; Judge is the only one thats still remotely likable, aside from the kid but he isn'tdoing much of anything in the novel right now.Pg 186 "...and lightning rang the stones about and tufts of blue fireclung to the horses like incandesent elementals that would not bedriven off."This parade that they have, I can't tell if they're mocking Jesus orpraising him, pg 190 - "and a horsedrawn cart that bore a rude Christin a stained and ancient catafalque." but then pg 191- "the villagersknelt and blessed themselves and some stepped forward and touched thegarment the figure wore and kissed their fingertips." So I'm assuminghe word ride isn't meant to be negative towards the idol.All Judge needs is a windowless van and he'll have the 21st centurychild kidnapping, raping, and murder down pat. "[Judge] had filled hispockets with little candy deathsheds and he sat by the door andoffered these to children passing on the walk under the eaves but theyshied away like horses." no candy is worth sodomy.Judge really creeped me when he started stuffing the birds. But in away I can kind of see his point of view on the whole "the freedom ofbirds is an inslut to me. I'd have them all in zoos." birds areanimals that are the most free out of any species there is; I mean,they can fly, it does kind of suck to be watching the birds and seehow easy they go from one place to the next; you can only wish youcould do the same. One other thing that Judge said that I was 100%shocked by, in a good way though "whatever in creation exists withoutmy knowledge exists without my consent." I immediately made aconnection between Judge and God. Not that he is god or a god, butthat train of thought is similar to that of God's way of functioning.
Glanton is really starting to get on my nerves, okay, he's a drunkcaballero who's bad side you don't wanna get on, but theres a pointwhen its jut too much. It's like "Glanton, we get it; you're bad anus,but chill and stop wasting bullets in your drunken rampage." Justlike Judge said, "..the smallest crumb can devour us."Toadvine has questioned Judge twice about his journal thingity;everytime he does it reveals more and more aboutt Judge and his logic.Judge is a very smart man, i thinm ves going to tale Glantons role orGlandon is going to dig his own grave very soon.
Glanton is really starting to get on my nerves, okay, he's a drunkcaballero who's bad side you don't wanna get on, but theres a pointwhen its jut too much. It's like "Glanton, we get it; you're bad anus,but chill and stop wasting bullets in your drunken rampage." Justlike Judge said, "..the smallest crumb can devour us."Toadvine has questioned Judge twice about his journal thingity;everytime he does it reveals more and more aboutt Judge and his logic.Judge is a very smart man, i thinm ves going to tale Glantons role orGlandon is going to dig his own grave very soon.
April 27, 2010 Blog Chapter 14
First, lots of simile and metaphor, as has been said, in this chapter, especially the first two pages. My favorite in this chapter was "...in the long red sunset the sheets of water on the plain below them lay like tidepools of primal blood." At this point, they hadn't killed anything for several days, but they still have the reminder of blood in that deserted plain.
A Devonian dawn is "Geology. noting or pertaining to a period of the Paleozoic Era, 405 to 345 million years ago, characterized by the dominance of fishes and the advent of amphibians and ammonites."
The violinist in the small mountain town impressed me. He started playing a song that "was old among the mountebanks of Spain two hundred years before." How secluded this town must be to still hold on to such old pieces to learn from and more so, not to have more contemporary music to play.
That priest.... geez.... "When he rose he disdained to take up the coins until some small boys ran out to gather them and then he ordered them brought to him..." Too proud to pick them up yourself, but if someone else decides to take them, all composure leaves and you demand them be given to you?
The judge is a sick man... "He filled his pockets with little candy deaths heads and he sat by the door and offered these to children passing on the walk under the eaves but they shied away like little horses." One of the first rules children learn these days is to not talk to or take anything from strangers. Then, a short way down the page, McCarthy tells us a little girl goes missing...
Even delusional, Glanton is a jerk... dragging the honor of the mexican people through the streets on the tail of a mule. What a slap in the face to those people. I wonder why, whoever it was, shot the donkey and not Glanton, either way, the people in the immediate vicinity were most likely killed. Two were killed, so, they're down to 16 now I believe...
What's going on with the quicksilver donkeys? Is mercury explosive? I assume they killed the donkeys handlers just because, although they were American.
Judge is one tall man... He was almost eye level with Carroll, who was on a horse. If Carroll is about average height, and the horse's back is about 5', that would put judge at about 7 or 8 feet?!
geez...
So they come back with black Johnson, who is naked? What is up with that? humiliation or was he caught in the middle of something? sleeping?
Judge says, "Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge, exists without my consent." Conceited much? This further shows judge's philosophy on life. Later he elaborates more, saying if you believe that you can't discover everything the world is hiding, "the rain will erode the deeds of his life." But if you try to discover everything you will be able to decide your own fate.
Finally, in Sonora, where they were trying to avoid for fear of attack, they are welcomed and celebrated. Judge, as would be expected, is treated highest of all and is followed around by a string band. The morning after they arrived, McCarthy creates this image of Judge and Glanton in suits outside the whorehouse wearing white and black suits respectively. Following with Western archetype, this would suggest that Glanton is the evil antagonizer and Judge is the "good guy." But, after reading the previous chapters, I think this is just a mocking of that archetype. Glanton fits, but Judge is far from a good guy, however, he isn't necessarily all bad. He rapes kids, he kills, etc, but, in his mind, he is justified...somehow...
A Devonian dawn is "Geology. noting or pertaining to a period of the Paleozoic Era, 405 to 345 million years ago, characterized by the dominance of fishes and the advent of amphibians and ammonites."
The violinist in the small mountain town impressed me. He started playing a song that "was old among the mountebanks of Spain two hundred years before." How secluded this town must be to still hold on to such old pieces to learn from and more so, not to have more contemporary music to play.
That priest.... geez.... "When he rose he disdained to take up the coins until some small boys ran out to gather them and then he ordered them brought to him..." Too proud to pick them up yourself, but if someone else decides to take them, all composure leaves and you demand them be given to you?
The judge is a sick man... "He filled his pockets with little candy deaths heads and he sat by the door and offered these to children passing on the walk under the eaves but they shied away like little horses." One of the first rules children learn these days is to not talk to or take anything from strangers. Then, a short way down the page, McCarthy tells us a little girl goes missing...
Even delusional, Glanton is a jerk... dragging the honor of the mexican people through the streets on the tail of a mule. What a slap in the face to those people. I wonder why, whoever it was, shot the donkey and not Glanton, either way, the people in the immediate vicinity were most likely killed. Two were killed, so, they're down to 16 now I believe...
What's going on with the quicksilver donkeys? Is mercury explosive? I assume they killed the donkeys handlers just because, although they were American.
Judge is one tall man... He was almost eye level with Carroll, who was on a horse. If Carroll is about average height, and the horse's back is about 5', that would put judge at about 7 or 8 feet?!
geez...
So they come back with black Johnson, who is naked? What is up with that? humiliation or was he caught in the middle of something? sleeping?
Judge says, "Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge, exists without my consent." Conceited much? This further shows judge's philosophy on life. Later he elaborates more, saying if you believe that you can't discover everything the world is hiding, "the rain will erode the deeds of his life." But if you try to discover everything you will be able to decide your own fate.
Finally, in Sonora, where they were trying to avoid for fear of attack, they are welcomed and celebrated. Judge, as would be expected, is treated highest of all and is followed around by a string band. The morning after they arrived, McCarthy creates this image of Judge and Glanton in suits outside the whorehouse wearing white and black suits respectively. Following with Western archetype, this would suggest that Glanton is the evil antagonizer and Judge is the "good guy." But, after reading the previous chapters, I think this is just a mocking of that archetype. Glanton fits, but Judge is far from a good guy, however, he isn't necessarily all bad. He rapes kids, he kills, etc, but, in his mind, he is justified...somehow...
Monday, April 26, 2010
Blood Meridian Chapter 14
This chapter was full of metaphors and similes, as well as some descriptive language. Also, there were lots of words that were difficult. The Judge shows some more of his crazy logic and we witness more of the American's style.
First of all, has anyone noticed McCarthy's knowledge of plants? It always seems like he knows exactly what plants go with whatever ecosystem they are traveling through. Maybe McCarthy's dream job is to be a botanist...On page 187, he writes, "...wildflowers, acres of golden groundsel and zinnia and deep purple gentian and wild vines of blue morninglory and a vast plain of varied small blooms reaching onward like a gingham print..."
Pictures of these plants can be seen here-
groundsel-http://ohioline.osu.edu/b866/images/b866_30.jpg
zinnia- http://ncwedding.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/zinnia.jpg
gentian- http://derfs.co.uk/spain4uk/images/wildlife/flowers/Spring_Gentian.jpg
Gingham is yarn-dyed, plain-weave Cannon fabric, usually striped or checked (dictionary.com)
I think that McCarthy is trying to these these plants and flowers as a sort of quilt or blanket...Also, later on, McCarthy describes hardwood forests then rain forests. He does this to show how far the American's have moved throughout Mexico and how uncharted and unfamiliar the terrain is. He makes the environment change to keep the story interesting.
It's funny how each character has different views about animals. Most change from helping animals to slaughtering them, which seems like a contradiction. The Judge is usually very nice to his animals, however, he never thinks twice about murdering (yes murdering!) two innocent puppies. Then, after he throws them into the stream, another man shoots them! Pretty crude guys...Also, Glanton is very wishy-washy when it comes to animals. He saves dogs and talks nicely to his horse, however doesn't think twice about throwing a mass amount of mules into a cavern. Glanton could look at mules more as tools instead of animals, but still, they could have used the mules for food. Also, the mercury could have been valuable to merchants or even the Judge for his "research."
Toadvine isn't stupid. He is the only person (save the kid) to well judge the Judge. However, he does this dangerously by judging him face to face. He challenges the Judge's fancy talk and his motives which may prove fatal to Toadvine later in the book. The Judge is very selfish. He wants to obtain every single speck of knowledge available in the entire world, then destroy the things he previously didn't know. Seems like that would take some time, however if he really is Satan, he would have a millenia to pull it off (Alex mentioned this earlier so I won't go into detail). A good example of this is on page 199 on which the Judge says, "The freedom of birds is an insult to me. I'd have them all in zoos." Again, very selfish, however this helps show the Judge's character as the strong, mysterious silent type. Also, the Judge seems like a fruit-cake at times. On page 198, McCarthy writes, "...he stalked tiptoe the mountain butterflies with his shirt outheld in both hands, speaking to them in a low whisper." If you ask me, a huge, white, hairless, and shirtless man chasing butterflies through the forest is really strange.
A good use of personification is on page 187-8, on which McCarthy writes, ''...the blackened bones of trees assassinated in the mountain storms." This is really descriptive and helps us as readers visualize the environments the Americans are traveling though.
A strange simile is on page 191, on which McCarthy writes, "...(Glanton) lay bound to his bed like a madman..." Like he wasn't alredy a madman? But one question I have is why is he bound to the bed? Is he so drunk and violent that he would kill masses of people in a single angry instant? I understand that the Judge is trying to calm him down but is Glanton really that dangerous?
First of all, has anyone noticed McCarthy's knowledge of plants? It always seems like he knows exactly what plants go with whatever ecosystem they are traveling through. Maybe McCarthy's dream job is to be a botanist...On page 187, he writes, "...wildflowers, acres of golden groundsel and zinnia and deep purple gentian and wild vines of blue morninglory and a vast plain of varied small blooms reaching onward like a gingham print..."
Pictures of these plants can be seen here-
groundsel-http://ohioline.osu.edu/b866/images/b866_30.jpg
zinnia- http://ncwedding.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/zinnia.jpg
gentian- http://derfs.co.uk/spain4uk/images/wildlife/flowers/Spring_Gentian.jpg
Gingham is yarn-dyed, plain-weave Cannon fabric, usually striped or checked (dictionary.com)
I think that McCarthy is trying to these these plants and flowers as a sort of quilt or blanket...Also, later on, McCarthy describes hardwood forests then rain forests. He does this to show how far the American's have moved throughout Mexico and how uncharted and unfamiliar the terrain is. He makes the environment change to keep the story interesting.
It's funny how each character has different views about animals. Most change from helping animals to slaughtering them, which seems like a contradiction. The Judge is usually very nice to his animals, however, he never thinks twice about murdering (yes murdering!) two innocent puppies. Then, after he throws them into the stream, another man shoots them! Pretty crude guys...Also, Glanton is very wishy-washy when it comes to animals. He saves dogs and talks nicely to his horse, however doesn't think twice about throwing a mass amount of mules into a cavern. Glanton could look at mules more as tools instead of animals, but still, they could have used the mules for food. Also, the mercury could have been valuable to merchants or even the Judge for his "research."
Toadvine isn't stupid. He is the only person (save the kid) to well judge the Judge. However, he does this dangerously by judging him face to face. He challenges the Judge's fancy talk and his motives which may prove fatal to Toadvine later in the book. The Judge is very selfish. He wants to obtain every single speck of knowledge available in the entire world, then destroy the things he previously didn't know. Seems like that would take some time, however if he really is Satan, he would have a millenia to pull it off (Alex mentioned this earlier so I won't go into detail). A good example of this is on page 199 on which the Judge says, "The freedom of birds is an insult to me. I'd have them all in zoos." Again, very selfish, however this helps show the Judge's character as the strong, mysterious silent type. Also, the Judge seems like a fruit-cake at times. On page 198, McCarthy writes, "...he stalked tiptoe the mountain butterflies with his shirt outheld in both hands, speaking to them in a low whisper." If you ask me, a huge, white, hairless, and shirtless man chasing butterflies through the forest is really strange.
A good use of personification is on page 187-8, on which McCarthy writes, ''...the blackened bones of trees assassinated in the mountain storms." This is really descriptive and helps us as readers visualize the environments the Americans are traveling though.
A strange simile is on page 191, on which McCarthy writes, "...(Glanton) lay bound to his bed like a madman..." Like he wasn't alredy a madman? But one question I have is why is he bound to the bed? Is he so drunk and violent that he would kill masses of people in a single angry instant? I understand that the Judge is trying to calm him down but is Glanton really that dangerous?
Chapter 14
This chapter was pretty good. It had a bit of everything here so if you like violence it's got it here. Love description? Look no further. How bout some hot steamy cup of pedophilia? Chapter 14 delivers. Before I start, I just want to point out that this chapter has a lot of similes. I counted at least seven in the first two pages, and there are even more throughout. I know there's been quite a few similes and metaphors in the past thirteen chapters, but for some reason I noticed these similes more frequently. It almost seemed as though McCarthy was just seeing how many of these things he can fit in 20 pages. Just thought I'd share, and yes this is pretty much just saying.
The chapter starts with an amazing description of the scenery before anything interesting happens. A good simile showing this is at the beginning on page 186, "the rain had dragged black tendrils down from the thunderclouds like tracings of lampblack fallen in a beaker." This is a pretty cool line about something simple as a thunderstorm. lamp black is a powdered soot from the combustion of carbonaceous materials. A picture of the fine powder can be found here.
A line I don't understand on this part is at the very end of 186, " the riders slumped forward and rightly skeptic of the shimmering cities on the distant shore of that sea whereon they trod miraculous." I understand the skeptic part, that the cities aren't that shimmering or whatever, but what's McCarthy talking about with the trod miraculous part?
When the company went to the bodega and saw the fiddler, it was interesting that when the judge payed him, he looked at it like it wasn't enough. That was one picky guy. It was cool that they both started dancing when he played though.
I thought the line on page 190 was interesting, "ringing the churchbells with pistolballs in a godless charivari." A charivari is a custom of a community to show their disapproval of marriages, wife beaters, unmarried mothers, and the like. This could mean that these people would use force to show their disapproval. The priest in this section seemed really corrupt. I thought so with the line, "when he rose he disdained to take up the coins until some small boys ran out to gather them and then he ordered them brought to him." I get that he tells the boys to get him the coins, pretty selfish.
I dont understand the quote on page 190, "Stood dark and smoking and apocalyptic in the dim lampfall." McCarthy is talking about the Amercians, but how do they look apocalyptic?
The part with Judge and the kids was just to obvious not to see coming. It seems every chapter has some sort of judge and child action, and at least nothing happened to this kid. Does anyone else think the judge is like a younger, more violent type of the old man Herbert off Family Guy? I mean give the judge a good 40 years and he'll be exactly the same. The line on page 191, "He'd fill his pockets with little candy deathsheads and he sat by the door and offered these to children passing on the walk under the eaves." If that's not the most cliched pedophile move ever, the judge busts out the coin behind the ear trick to the kid selling puppies. God, you can't get much plainer than that without simply stating it.
The puppy scene was not very violent. definitely had nothing on the baby smashing scene. All that happened was they went in the water and got shot, and McCarthy didn't even describe the corpses. I suppose McCarthy is a cat person.
Once again, Glanton goes crazy. He seems to be doing that more and more often. The funny thing is that he had to be strapped down. It's weird that the company's leader is going just blatantly insane. I think this is even further foreshadowing of Glanton's ultimate demise.
I have a question on page 193. When Glanton and everyone one are shooting / getting shot, who are they shooting with? I think it is just the Mexican citizens of the town, but I'm not sure. Also why exactly are they shooting them? Did they know of Chihuahua City's bounty on Glanton this fast? I mean there was no telephones back in the day, and I'm not sure if the telegraph was invented yet.
The chapter starts with an amazing description of the scenery before anything interesting happens. A good simile showing this is at the beginning on page 186, "the rain had dragged black tendrils down from the thunderclouds like tracings of lampblack fallen in a beaker." This is a pretty cool line about something simple as a thunderstorm. lamp black is a powdered soot from the combustion of carbonaceous materials. A picture of the fine powder can be found here.
A line I don't understand on this part is at the very end of 186, " the riders slumped forward and rightly skeptic of the shimmering cities on the distant shore of that sea whereon they trod miraculous." I understand the skeptic part, that the cities aren't that shimmering or whatever, but what's McCarthy talking about with the trod miraculous part?
When the company went to the bodega and saw the fiddler, it was interesting that when the judge payed him, he looked at it like it wasn't enough. That was one picky guy. It was cool that they both started dancing when he played though.
I thought the line on page 190 was interesting, "ringing the churchbells with pistolballs in a godless charivari." A charivari is a custom of a community to show their disapproval of marriages, wife beaters, unmarried mothers, and the like. This could mean that these people would use force to show their disapproval. The priest in this section seemed really corrupt. I thought so with the line, "when he rose he disdained to take up the coins until some small boys ran out to gather them and then he ordered them brought to him." I get that he tells the boys to get him the coins, pretty selfish.
I dont understand the quote on page 190, "Stood dark and smoking and apocalyptic in the dim lampfall." McCarthy is talking about the Amercians, but how do they look apocalyptic?
The part with Judge and the kids was just to obvious not to see coming. It seems every chapter has some sort of judge and child action, and at least nothing happened to this kid. Does anyone else think the judge is like a younger, more violent type of the old man Herbert off Family Guy? I mean give the judge a good 40 years and he'll be exactly the same. The line on page 191, "He'd fill his pockets with little candy deathsheads and he sat by the door and offered these to children passing on the walk under the eaves." If that's not the most cliched pedophile move ever, the judge busts out the coin behind the ear trick to the kid selling puppies. God, you can't get much plainer than that without simply stating it.
The puppy scene was not very violent. definitely had nothing on the baby smashing scene. All that happened was they went in the water and got shot, and McCarthy didn't even describe the corpses. I suppose McCarthy is a cat person.
Once again, Glanton goes crazy. He seems to be doing that more and more often. The funny thing is that he had to be strapped down. It's weird that the company's leader is going just blatantly insane. I think this is even further foreshadowing of Glanton's ultimate demise.
I have a question on page 193. When Glanton and everyone one are shooting / getting shot, who are they shooting with? I think it is just the Mexican citizens of the town, but I'm not sure. Also why exactly are they shooting them? Did they know of Chihuahua City's bounty on Glanton this fast? I mean there was no telephones back in the day, and I'm not sure if the telegraph was invented yet.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/143264/saturday-night-live-shake-weight-dvd
The title says it all. This was a great chapter. Fun for the whole family.
I don't think we've discussed this yet, but the chapters usually start off with a two or more page description of the scene and more often than not these scenes involve lightning outlining mountains. It's getting kind of stale to me, but whatever. I mean, they've been in the same situation for a long time, is it really necessary to keep saying it? It's necessary to describe the scene when the setting changes, for instance the jungle in the latter part of the chapter, but to reiterate the desert theme over and over is a bit tiresome.
More tastes of the judge's now blatant pedophilia. He's offering candy (candy deathsheads to be specific. Death's heads brings up several things on wikipedia, but the most reasonable is a cockroach. A candy cockroach. Makes sense. Kind of.) to the children while he sits in the shade. But don't stop there. Do some magic tricks (trix) first. Silly judge, trix are for pedophiles. Wait... never mind.
I've noticed in a lot of similes the author-man often compares animals with animals. Some examples: The pack mules-enormous rats; pulque filled hogskins-bloated swine (which is the same animal); wounded dogs-seals. I thought I had more examples but you get my point. So what's he trying to say? All animals are the same? Hmmmm maybe... No, probably not. Sometimes a simile is just a simile.
And more on the judge, sans the topic of raping boys. "Whatever exists in creation without my knowledge exists without my consent." He plans to rule over all things of this earth, because he will know all things of this earth. He would like to abolish autonomy and be supreme ruler over all things no matter how small. So is the judge the devil? I think the judge thinks he is the devil. The judge has a plan, and he may have everything figured out, but Toadvine is right in saying "No man can acquaint himself with everything on this earth." But hey, if the judge is the devil, he would be immortal, walking the earth for eternity, but is eternity enough time to acquaint oneself with every single organism and microorganism that lives within the earth? Eternity is a long time and if the judge is the devil eternity will last as long as it needs to for him to complete his mission. When that's over, who knows. But, oh well.
Then the Judge and Glanton in their suits. The judge sports a white suit while Glanton chooses the much more fashionable black. What does this all mean? Since when does the devil wear white? But black would've been too obvious. He should've just gone naked and psyched everyone out.
The packmules were carrying quicksilver, which is a cool name for mercury. Apparently it's used in mining gold. I don't understand it; I'm only a mining level 68. But here's a length for the more apt: http://www.sbtrails.org/Interpretive/NaturalHistory/quicksilver.php
This slightly mentally retarded computer may not post the links right. If that happens... whatever. More copy and paste. I don't know.
THE MERPS!
Chapter onethree; long chapter nothing in it to write home about but fairly eventful.
One thing I don't get, well 2, first of all what in the wide world of sports is wrong with the governer?! "... [Trias] was much like the sorcerer's apprentice who could indeed provoke the imp to do his will but could in no way make him cease again." He lets the company completely trash the town like an 80's rock group would a hotel room. I understand they're killing indians but there are limits to even the worst of people; or there should be. And the other thing I don't understand is the number of scapls they have. 1,000 + a lot more they killed = 128 + 8 heads? Math was never my subject but this just can't be right. The whole purpose of this is for the money, or did they run out of room to carry the scapls as they traveled, i dunno.
"The Scalphunters stood grinning at the dames, churishlooking in their shrunken clothes, sucking their teeth, armed with knives and pistols and mad about the eyes." Imagine about 20 men, many with pieces missing here and there from different extremities, scars a galore, tattoos, brandings, faces of a mad men, and large (muscular/bulky?). There is nothing to fear but the freaks themselves.
One part I just loved about the first night they ripped the town to pieces is Jackson's drunken quest 171 "Jackson, pistols drawn, lurched into the street vowing to Shoot the ass off Jesus Christ, the longlegged white son of a bitch". I laughed at the thought of a black man wanting to kill Jesus.
Before the company gets so far in the dinner meal they are toasting left and right which turns "into obscene pledges to the whores of various southern cities." These men just get better and better (no sarcasm).
pg 172 "what had been and what would never be alike" uhh..what?
Gondwanaland(172) - 200 million years ago it was the name of southern precursor supercontinent.
Harpie(Harpy) Eagles(175) - nontropical eagle.
pg 179 "the judge was like a cat" So he's a demon with cat like qualities, it is all coming together now. This excerpt is describing how he was when he was stabbing folk trying to run for the door. Nothing new happens to/with Judge, nor kid.. and that makes reading super annoying.
pg 176 - Toadvine has some sort of encounter and they get stuck for 2 days, what happened exactly?
aloft putrescent ennui retinue sutured
One thing I don't get, well 2, first of all what in the wide world of sports is wrong with the governer?! "... [Trias] was much like the sorcerer's apprentice who could indeed provoke the imp to do his will but could in no way make him cease again." He lets the company completely trash the town like an 80's rock group would a hotel room. I understand they're killing indians but there are limits to even the worst of people; or there should be. And the other thing I don't understand is the number of scapls they have. 1,000 + a lot more they killed = 128 + 8 heads? Math was never my subject but this just can't be right. The whole purpose of this is for the money, or did they run out of room to carry the scapls as they traveled, i dunno.
"The Scalphunters stood grinning at the dames, churishlooking in their shrunken clothes, sucking their teeth, armed with knives and pistols and mad about the eyes." Imagine about 20 men, many with pieces missing here and there from different extremities, scars a galore, tattoos, brandings, faces of a mad men, and large (muscular/bulky?). There is nothing to fear but the freaks themselves.
One part I just loved about the first night they ripped the town to pieces is Jackson's drunken quest 171 "Jackson, pistols drawn, lurched into the street vowing to Shoot the ass off Jesus Christ, the longlegged white son of a bitch". I laughed at the thought of a black man wanting to kill Jesus.
Before the company gets so far in the dinner meal they are toasting left and right which turns "into obscene pledges to the whores of various southern cities." These men just get better and better (no sarcasm).
pg 172 "what had been and what would never be alike" uhh..what?
Gondwanaland(172) - 200 million years ago it was the name of southern precursor supercontinent.
Harpie(Harpy) Eagles(175) - nontropical eagle.
pg 179 "the judge was like a cat" So he's a demon with cat like qualities, it is all coming together now. This excerpt is describing how he was when he was stabbing folk trying to run for the door. Nothing new happens to/with Judge, nor kid.. and that makes reading super annoying.
pg 176 - Toadvine has some sort of encounter and they get stuck for 2 days, what happened exactly?
aloft putrescent ennui retinue sutured
Big chapter. So much happens that I'm surprised it wasn't broken into two chapters (which would have made me very happy).
The men only have one hundred and twenty-eight scalps and eight heads. How do they only have that many? They slaughtered the village of 1,000+ apaches and killed several more here and there. Were they just too lazy to get the extra scalps? I'm sure all the dead folk had scalps. What's going on? The group really seemed like the go-get-'em type. They could of had ten times the money. I don't get it.
The governor-fellow let's the men go insane the night of their return. In effect, the men go crazy every night. "He was much like the sorcerer's apprentice who could indeed provoke the imp to do his will but could in no way make him cease again." I guess before "Fantasia," this was an old folk tale or something of the like. But it's great either way because all I could see was a young Mickey Mouse panicking while hundreds of mops (or brooms, whatever) have their way with him. And the men are as crazy (maybe not so much crazy as they like to have fun) as those mops. They get the one chance to do whatever and they take that invitation to mean "go insane every night." By the end of their rampage, everyone hates them.
The guys were spending a night at Hueco tanks, and they find a load of ancient paintings (hieroglyphs to the pedants). I don't get why the Judge destroys one of the designs. I know he said he wanted to "expunge [his sketches] from the memory of man," but these aren't his sketches. From what we've seen of the judge, he seems like the kind of guy who would respect ancient drawings and similar artifacts. Maybe that was a design he couldn't trace and he got pissed at it. I don't know. The judge is crazy.
I didn't at all understand this big-fella simile: "Like beings provoked out of the absolute rock and set nameless and at no remove from their own loomings to wander ravenous and doomed and mute as gorgons shambling the brutal wastes of Gondwanaland in a time before nomenclature was and each was all," (McCarthy 172). It's big and has lots of faincy words. But what do they all mean?
Throughout the rest of the chapter, the scalphunters become riders of the apocalypse. When they appear, you're dead. I think the most disturbing part of the chapter was their first slaughter, when they killed the village and the women returned to everyone scalped and dead. That's among the most frightening of things that could happen to anyone. Go get groceries, come home and your son and husband are dead with bugs crawling on their bare scalps. Now who's going to eat all soup, because you're definitely not. You don't even like cream of whatever; you got it just for your husband and son, but they're to busy being killed by wanton Americans to eat it. Talk about an awful, awful day. It would do everyone well to remember this next time they have a bad day at the office. Just ask, "Is it as bad as my family being killed and scalped while I wasn't here?" If the answer is "no," then man up.
They kill again and the dead are described as "victims of surgical experimentation." I take this as an allusion to Dr. Mengele, a name which I directly connect with any surgical experimentation. And it's a really effective simile in that the things Mengele did were just so grotesque, it's almost disturbing to hear the name (Mengele is a disgusting name). I would put some links up for pictures, but anyone who wants to can do it on their own time. It's really awful (cough*no testicles*cough).
And lastly, Glanton is now the enemy. Once the hunter, now the hunted (I heard that on a Cheetos commercial). So now he's wanted in both Mexico and America. That's what you get when you're as mad as he is. Then the chapter ends with another title-sort-of-thing. "Rode infatuate and half fond toward the red demise of that day, toward the evening lands and the distant pandemonium of the sun." Ya-ay.
April 26, 2010 Blog Chapter 13
The judge's power and respect is emphasized before the banquet when the governor actually stands up just to shake the judge's hand. Also, judge had a suit made for him in just a few hours from entire bolts of cloth and a hat that was made from two hats so carefully put together that one could not tell.
After the "celebration," McCarthy describes the governor's power over the banditos as "like the sorcerer's apprentice who could indeed provoke the imp to do his will but could in no way make him cease again." If the governor is the apprentice, who is the master? I think it's the judge, in all his superior intellect. Quite a change had taken place in just three days: "when they rode out three days later the streets stood empty, not even a dog followed them to the gates."
Glanton's moments on the border. I haven't seen many westerns, but this sounds like a clique type of scene. What most caught my attention in this section was how McCarthy described him. "His shadow grew long before him ...He would not follow."
McCarthy's diction in telling what the Americans did changes on pg. 173: "In three days they would fall upon a band of peaceful Tiguas camped on the river and slaughter them all every soul." He says it in future tense, which is an interesting change. Besides catching me off guard, it gives me a more clear sense of passing time. After the "slaughter," McCarthy says "The desert wind would salt their ruins and there would be nothing, nor ghost nor scribe, to tell to any pilgrim in his passing how it was that people had lived in this place and in this place died." Another example of McCarthy's theme of "if there is no evidence, it never happened."
The last sentence, the sentence to which the alternative title comes from I think, "...toward the red demise of that day, toward the evening lands and the distant pandemonium of the sun." This also foreshadows what will happen in the future, "pandemonium" in the "evening lands."
About what Patrick said about judge: he never shows his strength before this chapter. That's true, I think. Where was he during the battles and fights? Another thing I found about the judge, on page 176 (seems to be a very eventful page) it says "Sparks from the fire ran down the wind" This was said as the judge was crossing before the men gathered. It's kind of eerie that the fire would change just as he was passing by. A candle I can understand being affected, but a campfire big enough for several men? hmm.... Maybe another demonic or satanic reference? perhaps? idk...
After the "celebration," McCarthy describes the governor's power over the banditos as "like the sorcerer's apprentice who could indeed provoke the imp to do his will but could in no way make him cease again." If the governor is the apprentice, who is the master? I think it's the judge, in all his superior intellect. Quite a change had taken place in just three days: "when they rode out three days later the streets stood empty, not even a dog followed them to the gates."
Glanton's moments on the border. I haven't seen many westerns, but this sounds like a clique type of scene. What most caught my attention in this section was how McCarthy described him. "His shadow grew long before him ...He would not follow."
McCarthy's diction in telling what the Americans did changes on pg. 173: "In three days they would fall upon a band of peaceful Tiguas camped on the river and slaughter them all every soul." He says it in future tense, which is an interesting change. Besides catching me off guard, it gives me a more clear sense of passing time. After the "slaughter," McCarthy says "The desert wind would salt their ruins and there would be nothing, nor ghost nor scribe, to tell to any pilgrim in his passing how it was that people had lived in this place and in this place died." Another example of McCarthy's theme of "if there is no evidence, it never happened."
The last sentence, the sentence to which the alternative title comes from I think, "...toward the red demise of that day, toward the evening lands and the distant pandemonium of the sun." This also foreshadows what will happen in the future, "pandemonium" in the "evening lands."
About what Patrick said about judge: he never shows his strength before this chapter. That's true, I think. Where was he during the battles and fights? Another thing I found about the judge, on page 176 (seems to be a very eventful page) it says "Sparks from the fire ran down the wind" This was said as the judge was crossing before the men gathered. It's kind of eerie that the fire would change just as he was passing by. A candle I can understand being affected, but a campfire big enough for several men? hmm.... Maybe another demonic or satanic reference? perhaps? idk...
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Chapter 13
This chapter was pretty good. McCarthy once again did a great job at description.
I thought it interesting that the people of Chihuahua revered the company when they came back, throwing parties and dinners for them. Then the company went ahead and stayed there for weeks until the town almost dried up and left. A quote on page 172 best shows this, "When they rode out three days later the streets stood empty, not even a dog followed them to the gates." Reading this part brought me back to the simile back a few chapters about the traders who go from town to town looking for gold like a disease. This simile suits the company perfectly here.
I liked how the traders just gave the gear to the company on credit, knowing they received tons of cash. I know these people view the company as heroes, but seriously? The Toledo swords that were talked about seemed pretty cool. From what I looked up, Toledo swords were just swords made in the city of Toledo, Spain. Toledo was a great producer of swords from the 15th to the 18th century, so the sword would probably be a saber or a rapier.
I thought the quote on page 172 was interesting, "four hundred miles to the east where the wife and child that he would not see again." This is major foreshadowing about Glanton, and I don't know about anyone else, but it seems obvious. Especially since at the end of the chapter there was a price of 8,000 pesos on Glanton's head when they left Chihuahua. By the way, 8,000 pesos doesn't seem alot. I know it probably seems that way during this time, but now it probably wouldn't even buy someone a loaf of bread.
When the company attacked the peaceful Tiguas, I thought it was interesting that Toadvine wasn't thrilled about it. It spoke to this character when he said that they weren't bothering anybody. When McCarthy mentioned the golden teeth hanging by his chest, was he referring to the teeth that was in that prison guard a few chapters back? When I read that, I instantly thought that. I don't know if it said he got them at that chapter, I just knew he was talking about it. After the massacre, this simile on page 174 was interesting to me, "the dead lay with their peeled skulls like polyps bluely wet." I looked up polyp to be sure what it was, because in Bio it was a type of invertebrate, but when I looked it up it also said it was an abnormal growth of tissue. I assume its used as the invertebrate in this sense. Here's a picture of what these polyps look like.
I thought the fight in the bar during the funeral procession was pretty epic. The funny thing about it was, that the company didn't actually start it. And to think, 36 Mexicans could have avoided their fate if that one guy didn't stab Grimley. It was pretty epic that Judge's only reaction to seeing him knifed was to just point the gun at the guy's face and fire, seemingly in one motion. I thought it was funny when after the company killed everyone, they just "looked at each other and at the bodies in a sort of wonder" (page 180). It made me think of when you break a window with a baseball or use the blender and make a mess, all you'd do is just look at each other until someone does something. It brought up that childish feel again, but this time towards the whole company, and Glanton was the adult giving instructions. I didn't understand the quote on 180, "Hair, boys, he said. The string aint run on this trade yet." Is Glanton saying that there's more fighting to be going on? Or is he saying that if they don't move they will get arrested or killed?
After this they went and massacred random settlements of Mexicans. It seemed that here, Glanton went a little crazy, just killing them as soon as he sees them. I just thought that here's a guy that's supposed to be all calm and collected, and he's just freaking out and killing anything that moves.
What I thought was really interesting was when the Mexican soldiers with lances came about the company and they had a fight that when described, reminded me of a rumble of Greasers and Socs, but toned way way up. I liked the line on page 182, "Glanton shot him through the head and shoved him from his horse with his foot and shot down in succession three men behind him." When I read this, it seemed that Glanton did all this in one motion. Classic western move.
A few lines I didn't understand:
page 184, "the naked bodies with their wounds like the victims of surgical experimentation." I can't help to say this, but this makes me think McCarthy is comparing these indians to the holocaust victims of Mengele. Especially when they just dug a pit and thew these bodies in, makes it seem like a Mengele thing to do. If that's the case, are these Americans portrayed as being Nazi-like to the indians? They're basically exterminating them. Or am I thinking about this too much?
Page 173, "as if such destinies were prefigured in the very rock for those with eyes to read."
I thought it interesting that the people of Chihuahua revered the company when they came back, throwing parties and dinners for them. Then the company went ahead and stayed there for weeks until the town almost dried up and left. A quote on page 172 best shows this, "When they rode out three days later the streets stood empty, not even a dog followed them to the gates." Reading this part brought me back to the simile back a few chapters about the traders who go from town to town looking for gold like a disease. This simile suits the company perfectly here.
I liked how the traders just gave the gear to the company on credit, knowing they received tons of cash. I know these people view the company as heroes, but seriously? The Toledo swords that were talked about seemed pretty cool. From what I looked up, Toledo swords were just swords made in the city of Toledo, Spain. Toledo was a great producer of swords from the 15th to the 18th century, so the sword would probably be a saber or a rapier.
I thought the quote on page 172 was interesting, "four hundred miles to the east where the wife and child that he would not see again." This is major foreshadowing about Glanton, and I don't know about anyone else, but it seems obvious. Especially since at the end of the chapter there was a price of 8,000 pesos on Glanton's head when they left Chihuahua. By the way, 8,000 pesos doesn't seem alot. I know it probably seems that way during this time, but now it probably wouldn't even buy someone a loaf of bread.
When the company attacked the peaceful Tiguas, I thought it was interesting that Toadvine wasn't thrilled about it. It spoke to this character when he said that they weren't bothering anybody. When McCarthy mentioned the golden teeth hanging by his chest, was he referring to the teeth that was in that prison guard a few chapters back? When I read that, I instantly thought that. I don't know if it said he got them at that chapter, I just knew he was talking about it. After the massacre, this simile on page 174 was interesting to me, "the dead lay with their peeled skulls like polyps bluely wet." I looked up polyp to be sure what it was, because in Bio it was a type of invertebrate, but when I looked it up it also said it was an abnormal growth of tissue. I assume its used as the invertebrate in this sense. Here's a picture of what these polyps look like.
I thought the fight in the bar during the funeral procession was pretty epic. The funny thing about it was, that the company didn't actually start it. And to think, 36 Mexicans could have avoided their fate if that one guy didn't stab Grimley. It was pretty epic that Judge's only reaction to seeing him knifed was to just point the gun at the guy's face and fire, seemingly in one motion. I thought it was funny when after the company killed everyone, they just "looked at each other and at the bodies in a sort of wonder" (page 180). It made me think of when you break a window with a baseball or use the blender and make a mess, all you'd do is just look at each other until someone does something. It brought up that childish feel again, but this time towards the whole company, and Glanton was the adult giving instructions. I didn't understand the quote on 180, "Hair, boys, he said. The string aint run on this trade yet." Is Glanton saying that there's more fighting to be going on? Or is he saying that if they don't move they will get arrested or killed?
After this they went and massacred random settlements of Mexicans. It seemed that here, Glanton went a little crazy, just killing them as soon as he sees them. I just thought that here's a guy that's supposed to be all calm and collected, and he's just freaking out and killing anything that moves.
What I thought was really interesting was when the Mexican soldiers with lances came about the company and they had a fight that when described, reminded me of a rumble of Greasers and Socs, but toned way way up. I liked the line on page 182, "Glanton shot him through the head and shoved him from his horse with his foot and shot down in succession three men behind him." When I read this, it seemed that Glanton did all this in one motion. Classic western move.
A few lines I didn't understand:
page 184, "the naked bodies with their wounds like the victims of surgical experimentation." I can't help to say this, but this makes me think McCarthy is comparing these indians to the holocaust victims of Mengele. Especially when they just dug a pit and thew these bodies in, makes it seem like a Mengele thing to do. If that's the case, are these Americans portrayed as being Nazi-like to the indians? They're basically exterminating them. Or am I thinking about this too much?
Page 173, "as if such destinies were prefigured in the very rock for those with eyes to read."
Blood Meridian Chapter 13
This chapter showed a change in tempo in the story. The posse is now called the "Americans" and they kill Mexican citizens instead of Apaches. Sure they always killed the citizens, it's just that there is more emphasis on the civilians in this chapter. I guess you could say that McCarthy describes the citizens more in this chapter instead of in the others.
The beginning of this chapter was very ironic. The Americans get a huge parade/festival/dinner/ball for killing the exact opposite thing the governor wants them too. In reality, they are no better than the Apaches. Throughout the entire book, they have been running from the Apaches instead of fighting them, something that will surely come back to haunt them. McCarthy has the Americans kill the citizens to show how clever Glanton and the Judge are by having them find alternate ways to get scalps. On page 168, McCarthy says, "...the scalps were being strung about the iron fretwork of the gazebo like decorations for some barbaric celebration. Besides being a very descriptive simile, this sentence also adds to the irony. McCarthy probably added this ironic segment to show how scarce information was back in the 1800's and how out of sync the citizens were with the governing cities. Also, it's pretty ironic that the Judge is wearing kid boots, but only if the kid part is a reference to a child, not a goat (page 169).
The dinner scene is great. Were the Mexicans really not expecting a group of loud, rowdy, nasty, and dangerous mercenaries to get out of hand, especially when alcohol is involved? Also, it was pretty funny how they ate every bit of food in the entire city.
It's cool how McCarthy writes about Glanton's wife and child. He shows a softer and weaker side of Glanton while he is in the desert. McCarthy does this to show how the toughest and most ruthless (roofless for Alex) character has a nice and simple side. I'm not sure but maybe this is how McCarthy feels. Maybe he feels bad and lonely whenever he doesn't see his family (wife and child). For more info about McCarthy click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy
The massacre of the Tiguas is much shorter and less descriptive. McCarthy makes this massacre shorter to show how killing a mass amount of people for their scalps is getting pretty normal and regular. He is trying to show how the act of hunting people is getting to be more like a business. In this chapter, there is two massacres. The one in the Mexican town during the funeral is a little more interesting because they fight back with knives and guns. However the outcome is still the same; the Americans get all the scalps they can hold and wipe out an entire colony of people in less than 2 hours. For information on scalping click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalping#North_America
Just because the Judge is awesome I will include this long quote...
"But the Judge was like a cat and he sidestepped the man and seized his arm and broke it and picked the man up by his head. He put him against the wall and smiled at him but the man had begun to bleed from the ears and the blood was running down between the judge's fingers and over his hands and when the judge turned him loose there was something wrong with his head and he slid to the floor and did not get up." Up until this point, we had never seen the Judge's strength in use. People had spoken about it in the book before, however this is the first time we see it for real. This really adds to the Judge's character as the strong, silent intellectual.
One simile that really didn't work was on page 184. McCarthy writes, "They were shambling along the road like dumb things." Wow McCarthy, really descriptive. This is the one and only time McCarthy failed to impress with his writing skills. He could have at least said like dumb animals but nope, he chose to go with "things."
For some research...
Ures is a city in Mexico that has financial relationships with Sonora.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ures
8000 pesos is the equivalent of $657.18. Remember this is the price on Glanton's head.
http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/
The beginning of this chapter was very ironic. The Americans get a huge parade/festival/dinner/ball for killing the exact opposite thing the governor wants them too. In reality, they are no better than the Apaches. Throughout the entire book, they have been running from the Apaches instead of fighting them, something that will surely come back to haunt them. McCarthy has the Americans kill the citizens to show how clever Glanton and the Judge are by having them find alternate ways to get scalps. On page 168, McCarthy says, "...the scalps were being strung about the iron fretwork of the gazebo like decorations for some barbaric celebration. Besides being a very descriptive simile, this sentence also adds to the irony. McCarthy probably added this ironic segment to show how scarce information was back in the 1800's and how out of sync the citizens were with the governing cities. Also, it's pretty ironic that the Judge is wearing kid boots, but only if the kid part is a reference to a child, not a goat (page 169).
The dinner scene is great. Were the Mexicans really not expecting a group of loud, rowdy, nasty, and dangerous mercenaries to get out of hand, especially when alcohol is involved? Also, it was pretty funny how they ate every bit of food in the entire city.
It's cool how McCarthy writes about Glanton's wife and child. He shows a softer and weaker side of Glanton while he is in the desert. McCarthy does this to show how the toughest and most ruthless (roofless for Alex) character has a nice and simple side. I'm not sure but maybe this is how McCarthy feels. Maybe he feels bad and lonely whenever he doesn't see his family (wife and child). For more info about McCarthy click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy
The massacre of the Tiguas is much shorter and less descriptive. McCarthy makes this massacre shorter to show how killing a mass amount of people for their scalps is getting pretty normal and regular. He is trying to show how the act of hunting people is getting to be more like a business. In this chapter, there is two massacres. The one in the Mexican town during the funeral is a little more interesting because they fight back with knives and guns. However the outcome is still the same; the Americans get all the scalps they can hold and wipe out an entire colony of people in less than 2 hours. For information on scalping click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalping#North_America
Just because the Judge is awesome I will include this long quote...
"But the Judge was like a cat and he sidestepped the man and seized his arm and broke it and picked the man up by his head. He put him against the wall and smiled at him but the man had begun to bleed from the ears and the blood was running down between the judge's fingers and over his hands and when the judge turned him loose there was something wrong with his head and he slid to the floor and did not get up." Up until this point, we had never seen the Judge's strength in use. People had spoken about it in the book before, however this is the first time we see it for real. This really adds to the Judge's character as the strong, silent intellectual.
One simile that really didn't work was on page 184. McCarthy writes, "They were shambling along the road like dumb things." Wow McCarthy, really descriptive. This is the one and only time McCarthy failed to impress with his writing skills. He could have at least said like dumb animals but nope, he chose to go with "things."
For some research...
Ures is a city in Mexico that has financial relationships with Sonora.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ures
8000 pesos is the equivalent of $657.18. Remember this is the price on Glanton's head.
http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/
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