Blood Meridian Chapter 21

Well it turns out that the expreist and the kid are in a whole mess of trouble. Since both of them are wounded, it is highly unlikely that either of them will live. Well, that is unless the only friendly group of Native Americans comes to the rescue, which is exactly what happens. It seems like McCarthy has some plans in the future for the two refugees.

The fact that the Judge is able to keep up with the kid and Tobin is very strange. It reminds me of when you have a dream that something is chasing you and you can't run away fast enough (Dane Cook reference). Still not sure what the idiot is for, but it seems like the Judge has a master plan for everyone he meets. I think that the Judge has a really important plan for the kid. This is especially shown when the Judge talks out loud to the kid and Tobin in the desert when they are hiding. He says, "I've passed before your gunsights twice this hour and will pass a third time. Why not show yourself (McCarthy 298)?'' First of all, the fugitives are hiding under a wagon-like thing. This is one of the only marks in the evil and unforgiving desert. Why didn't the Judge go and check it out? Seriously, if he was looking for the kid, why not look underneath one of the only obstacles in the area? McCarthy may want the kid to survive to deal with the Judge later in a semi-fair fight.

Yay! It turns out that Toadvine and Brown are alive and "...in possession of the fruits of their election (McCarthy 300)." Or, at least, this is what the Judge wants him to believe. It still seems pretty strange that the Judge would have their clothes and their guns.

Thunderstones are mentioned on page 303 and it turns out that they have a real meaning other than their use in Pokemon. This word is also used in a simile. "...a bed of thunderstones clustered on that heath like the ossified eggs of some primal groundbird (prehistoric birds)." It seems like McCarthy likes to describe things with attributes of animals, probably adding to the uncivilized and wild setting.

On the last page, McCarthy describes a lot of very small and seemingly insignificant things. He writes, "Out there island clouds emplaned upon a salmoncolored othersea. Seafowl in silhouette. Downshore the dull surf boomed (McCarthy 304)." This seems to show how the feelings of the kid and Tobin are more relaxed now that they are in a safe haven city. They now have the time not to worry about the Judge, but to take in their surroundings.

Another good simile is on page 298, on which McCarthy writes, "The idiot squatted on all fours and leaned into the lead like some naked species of lemur." This is intended to describe the idiot with some sort of animal. The Americans don't see him as a human so therefore, they must compare him to animals. For a picture of a lumur, click here.