Chapter 6

This chapter was a refreshing twist from the others. It was short and not too violent, which is a good break from last chapter.

When McCarthy mentioned the gold toothed pervert in the beginning of the chapter, I assumed there would be a confrontation between him and the kid or Toadvine, but there was none. I also didn't understand why he was a pervert, because McCarthy also did not really specify what makes him a pervert. All I could think of was that since he would use the quirt (which is a riding whip, I looked that up) and made them go down on their hands and knees gathering up the filth, I can kinda see that, but then again that could be their punishment. Though that seems a little too ridiculous, but hey it's Mexico.

An interesting quote that I found was on page 75,"the guards were going among the prisoners snatching the hats from the heads of the newcomers and pressing them into their infidel hands." I think this infers that the guards were better than the prisoners. Maybe because the prisoners didn't accept or belief in their faith, maybe it's because they're prisoners and McCarthy wanted to use a cool word.

A simile I found that was interesting to me was, "... See by its lantern the deadcart moving among them like a hearse from limbo." I don't know if this means anything important, but I thought it was weird that McCarthy used limbo in the sense that the soldiers died there, since limbo is typically the place between heaven or hell. So it could mean that the soldiers were in a sense of neutrality, neither in salvation or damnation. Just throwing ideas around.

I thought Old Bill was a weird character. He went and saved a bunch of Mexicans that they apparently met caged up or something. And when they stole things Bill hung them, which is pretty contradictory.

The Comanche is talked about in this chapter, with a pretty vivid scene, again. This veteran has seen some stuff. He's talking about this boy who came crawling into town naked, and when he was examined he had the bottoms of his feet cut off. I just want to know why these indians were so violent. I know their land was taken and all, but I don't see how that constitutes all this twisted, sadistic acts these Comanches have been doing.

I thought it was pretty interesting that within three days, the prisoners went from basic 1849 prisoners to heroes pretty much, because all the Mexican girls were throwing flowers and blowing kisses at them when they all left with Glanton and the governor. Sure most of them were for the latter, but some of them could have been for the prisoners.

I didn't understand the simile on page 78, "Itinerant degenerates bleeding westward like some heliotropic plague." It's describing the Goldseekers as traveling filth doing what they wish, like a plague would spread throughout its host. I'm sure there's more too this, and I wonder what it is.

Another quote I'm troubled with is, "They saw blackeyed young girls with painted faces." I don't understand the blackeyed part. Is the black eyes part of the girls makeup or is it a regular black eye that they got from a fight? I'm not sure on this.