In chapter 22 you learn a lot about what the judge has going through his head, either hes saying what he has to say to throw kid off mentally or he really believes what he's spitting out at the kid. And a lot of time goes by this chapter, it's rare that McCarthy gives a specific date.
The kid never says much but when he does in this chapter it's deep, "for even if you should have stood your ground, he said, yet what ground was it?"It's really odd when Judge throws in the line "don't you know that I'd have you like a son?" judge has gone so far to turn whatever relationship they had to nothing, and then he throws that line in?
Friday, May 14, 2010
AAAAH Forgot my book!
Yeah, I kinda forgot my book at school last night so I read it during 1st this morning.... stupid AP tests knocked me of schedule.... luckily I had read most of this chapter before the tests AND its a short one so I didn't have to read too fast.
So I'll work from the back forward. First of all, McCarthy skips like 12 years into the future and sort of implies that he's been sailing and traveling aimlessly. I found his new priestly atire rather interesting, especially since he can't read the book he's carrying around. The end was rather disturbing...and puzzling. The old lady, it said, had been dead for "years." How does a body not rot after years? I could see this if it were a mummy or if it were frozen or something like that, but it seemed like it was in open air, though dry desert air, there would still be some moisture to degrade the body. I don't know....interesting.
Back in the town again, he gets arrested, most likely by some act of the judge. His early morning conversation with judge reveals a lot of what happened during the unmentioned times. I wonder if Tobin was really crazy, and, if so, whether he was also crazy in the desert with the kid. If he was, this could prove to be complementary to the judge. Either way, judge uses it to redeem himself with the kid. The judge says "his wits had stood him as far west as the Aquarius Mountains." The Aquarius Mountains are in Arizona, shown here. Page 307, judge carries on his traitor thing: "Buy you were a witness against yourself. You sat in judgemen on your own deeds. You put your own allowances before the dugements of history and broke with the body of which you were pledged a part and poisoned it in all its enterprise." What I got from this is that he thinks the kid is dooming himself by having the hope of a better life which is in contradiction with history.
The rest of the chapter, all I got from it was big word which I will now define for you.
antic
fistula
die-an engraved stamp for impressing a design upon some softer material, as in coining money.
gravers and burins picture
contriving
dosshouse
wallsconce
So I'll work from the back forward. First of all, McCarthy skips like 12 years into the future and sort of implies that he's been sailing and traveling aimlessly. I found his new priestly atire rather interesting, especially since he can't read the book he's carrying around. The end was rather disturbing...and puzzling. The old lady, it said, had been dead for "years." How does a body not rot after years? I could see this if it were a mummy or if it were frozen or something like that, but it seemed like it was in open air, though dry desert air, there would still be some moisture to degrade the body. I don't know....interesting.
Back in the town again, he gets arrested, most likely by some act of the judge. His early morning conversation with judge reveals a lot of what happened during the unmentioned times. I wonder if Tobin was really crazy, and, if so, whether he was also crazy in the desert with the kid. If he was, this could prove to be complementary to the judge. Either way, judge uses it to redeem himself with the kid. The judge says "his wits had stood him as far west as the Aquarius Mountains." The Aquarius Mountains are in Arizona, shown here. Page 307, judge carries on his traitor thing: "Buy you were a witness against yourself. You sat in judgemen on your own deeds. You put your own allowances before the dugements of history and broke with the body of which you were pledged a part and poisoned it in all its enterprise." What I got from this is that he thinks the kid is dooming himself by having the hope of a better life which is in contradiction with history.
The rest of the chapter, all I got from it was big word which I will now define for you.
antic
fistula
die-an engraved stamp for impressing a design upon some softer material, as in coining money.
gravers and burins picture
contriving
dosshouse
wallsconce
¡Extra Early!
So, I kind of forgot how to do this blog stuff. It's been a while, but I'll remember asbestos I can. The chapter was very different in that it showed a huge passage of time (the kid is what? Twenty-eight at one point?). There's very little judge, maybe two pages, and we see the death of Toadvine and Brown. And Tobin is just... gone.
When the judge is talking to the kid in his jail cell, he says "What joins men together is not the sharing of bread but the sharing of enemies (307)." Nothing brings folk together like a common enemy. It's no big deal when people share prosperity together, but when two people have a mutual hate for someone, they team up and become best pals, all because they hate someone. Judge also says "I'd have loved you like a son." I don't know how the judge would treat his son, but I from the text, we can presume he would rape him, several times. Having the judge "love me like a son" is the last thing I want, or anyone would want.
When the kid is finally let out of jail, it's said he "was turned out into the streets." It makes him sound like a disease, not a person. Instead of just walking around, he is set loose, free to start trouble and kill and do whatever pleases himself. Whatever tickles his fancy.
The two hanged bodies (which turn out to be those of Toadvine and Brown) are said to be "effigies for to frighten birds." I read this aloud and turned it upside down and made sure I wasn't shuffling the words, but that's what it says. While it is a Neat-o simile, the syntax isn't making any sense (to me). "Effigies to frighten birds" would have been just fine. I don't understand the extra "for."
And lastly, the Chinese folk are described as having "speech like cats." It's funny. Because now that I think about it they do sound like cats. I don't have anything more to say on that. It's just funny. Here are some words:
cretin (I heard this word on Monsters Inc. but I wasn't exactly sure what it meant)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Blood Meridian Chapter 22
First of all, you've probably noticed that I'm not at school. Therefore, I grant Jim Dandy (a.k.a Doctor Sleuth) and the rest of the AP English crowd (even Pedanticus if he wishes) the option to say anything about my blog and make fun of me as much as they want (just as long as you do it randomly and with a burning passion). You were probably going to do this anyway, but now at least I'll know.
Now to the blog. This chapter was very depressing and confusing. Maybe it was the lapse in time that confused me, but I'm not sure. Also, everyone dies! No one else is alive except for the Judge and the Kid.
Brown and Toadvine died in the worst way possible. They were executed and "(hung) at their rope-ends (looking) like effigies for to frighten birds (McCarthy 311)." Talk about anti-climactic! The execution literally spanned one sentence. I was expecting some huge fight to the death involving some sort of law (like the soldiers or the police). But instead, they are just hung. For the simile, I think McCarthy is likening the bodies to scarecrows which is a pretty cool comparison. Probably the whole scary view of scarecrows, like Friday the 13th or one of those scary movies.
Also, we see a change in heart of the Judge. He no longer wants to kill the kid, but he admires and adores him (weird). On page 307, the Judge says, "Come here. Let me touch you." He says this when he is trying to convince the Kid to listen to him and believe him but the Kid just stays against the wall. I have to say this and the surgery scene don't help the Judge's pedophile image. When the Judge takes his jacket off, he shows a Derringer pistol. Here is a picture (I used to use this little gun when I was a prostitute!) . Another great quote is on the same page, "What joins men together is not the sharing of bread but the sharing of enemies." This reminds me of the whole "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" quote. Actually, there's a pretty funny Muppet clip that shows this. Click here. Ha! Yup that really shows what I'm trying to say.
Now the Kid finally goes off by himself. He has the wisdom and knowledge of the murderous group of scalp-hunters to back him along the way so he should be fine. The part about the strange cult was very disturbing. The whole cross carrying and trail of blood would be very strange. A good simile is on page 314, "(the cult) disappeared in the coming darkness like heralds of some unspeakable calamity leaving only bloody footprints on the stone." Heralds are usually considered monarchs or messengers (dictionary.com) so is the cult some sort of messenger of death and destruction? There still may be some foreshadowing in this chapter, even though it's the second to last one. The dead woman was the best part. She is a symbol that shows how sin and chaos can reduce people to mere shells and how the murderous and inhospitable regions of the west are dangerous enough to harbor mummies. Also, the fact that the Kid spills his entire life's story out to a dead and decaying corpse is pretty interesting. Maybe McCarthy is trying to show that the only people that can sympathize with the Kid are the dead. Here is a cool website about Native American mummies.
Now for some words...
Kimono (pg 312)- a loose, wide-sleeved robe, fastened at the waist with a wide sash (dictionary.com) I think this is like one of the Geisha robes.
hackamore (pg 314)- a simple looped bridle, by means of which controlling pressure is exerted on the nose of a horse, used chiefly in breaking colts (dictionary.com)
Now to the blog. This chapter was very depressing and confusing. Maybe it was the lapse in time that confused me, but I'm not sure. Also, everyone dies! No one else is alive except for the Judge and the Kid.
Brown and Toadvine died in the worst way possible. They were executed and "(hung) at their rope-ends (looking) like effigies for to frighten birds (McCarthy 311)." Talk about anti-climactic! The execution literally spanned one sentence. I was expecting some huge fight to the death involving some sort of law (like the soldiers or the police). But instead, they are just hung. For the simile, I think McCarthy is likening the bodies to scarecrows which is a pretty cool comparison. Probably the whole scary view of scarecrows, like Friday the 13th or one of those scary movies.
Also, we see a change in heart of the Judge. He no longer wants to kill the kid, but he admires and adores him (weird). On page 307, the Judge says, "Come here. Let me touch you." He says this when he is trying to convince the Kid to listen to him and believe him but the Kid just stays against the wall. I have to say this and the surgery scene don't help the Judge's pedophile image. When the Judge takes his jacket off, he shows a Derringer pistol. Here is a picture (I used to use this little gun when I was a prostitute!) . Another great quote is on the same page, "What joins men together is not the sharing of bread but the sharing of enemies." This reminds me of the whole "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" quote. Actually, there's a pretty funny Muppet clip that shows this. Click here. Ha! Yup that really shows what I'm trying to say.
Now the Kid finally goes off by himself. He has the wisdom and knowledge of the murderous group of scalp-hunters to back him along the way so he should be fine. The part about the strange cult was very disturbing. The whole cross carrying and trail of blood would be very strange. A good simile is on page 314, "(the cult) disappeared in the coming darkness like heralds of some unspeakable calamity leaving only bloody footprints on the stone." Heralds are usually considered monarchs or messengers (dictionary.com) so is the cult some sort of messenger of death and destruction? There still may be some foreshadowing in this chapter, even though it's the second to last one. The dead woman was the best part. She is a symbol that shows how sin and chaos can reduce people to mere shells and how the murderous and inhospitable regions of the west are dangerous enough to harbor mummies. Also, the fact that the Kid spills his entire life's story out to a dead and decaying corpse is pretty interesting. Maybe McCarthy is trying to show that the only people that can sympathize with the Kid are the dead. Here is a cool website about Native American mummies.
Now for some words...
Kimono (pg 312)- a loose, wide-sleeved robe, fastened at the waist with a wide sash (dictionary.com) I think this is like one of the Geisha robes.
hackamore (pg 314)- a simple looped bridle, by means of which controlling pressure is exerted on the nose of a horse, used chiefly in breaking colts (dictionary.com)
Chapter 22
Good chapter overall. Major time skip mid chapter, and no little scene break bar to show it either.
It was interesting that the judge got the kid arrested at the beginning of the chapter and said he was going to get hanged, but I think this was just to scare him, since he was later released. I liked the way he sold the kid out, but was completely correct in his reasoning. Once again, the judge's insanity is beaten only by his reasoning. I did think it was pretty strange that the judge broke out into a lecture when he was talking to the kid though. page 306, "Dont you know that I'd have love you like a son?" I thought this was surprising, and I don't know if judge meant it, or if it was just a part of his overall scheme. Also on 307, the judge says, "Let me touch you." I don't think I even need to say just how creepy this is. When I read the whole section on the judge and kid talk, I got from it that the judge was disappointed in the kid, that maybe he did think of the kid as a son in his own way. Page 307, "If war is not holy man is nothing but antic clay." I thought this quote is awesome, definitely the top 5 for judge.
The surgeon scene was pretty cool. It's about time he got the arrow shaft removed. I thought it'd have been infected by now though. Especially since he really didn't have the time to clean the wound, or scab at this point. I looked fistula, but i still don't understand it in the sentence "A soft fisula had formed around it", page 308.
The dream / hallucination the kid had while recovering from ether confused me a little. From what I got out of it, judge was there and so was a strange man that made coinage. Also in this little section, it's noted that the kid is now 16 , so he's one year older now? Page 310, "his leg was like an evil visitant in the bed with him such was the pain."
The fate of Toadvine and Brown is found out in this chapter. They were hung. Page 311, "the hanged men at their rope-ends looked like effigies for to frighten birds." I got from this that they looked like scarecrows. It was pretty depressing that they died, but I saw it coming. The hanging is anticlimatical I think.
On the last paragraph of 311, I got from it that the kid might have got robbed because it said that someone took his shoes. Unless this was figurative, the kid has become soft.
I thought it was weird that the book skipped time to when the kid is now 28. Pretty cool that he just spent 12 years riding around. Thought it pretty messed up that the pilgrims he was supposed to lead and the strange funeral procession was all massacred, and he didn't even find the people who did it. Also, what was up with the old lady dead for years? I know that it wasn't literal because a woman can't be dead standing up for years like that in the desert. I wonder what this signifies.
It was interesting that the judge got the kid arrested at the beginning of the chapter and said he was going to get hanged, but I think this was just to scare him, since he was later released. I liked the way he sold the kid out, but was completely correct in his reasoning. Once again, the judge's insanity is beaten only by his reasoning. I did think it was pretty strange that the judge broke out into a lecture when he was talking to the kid though. page 306, "Dont you know that I'd have love you like a son?" I thought this was surprising, and I don't know if judge meant it, or if it was just a part of his overall scheme. Also on 307, the judge says, "Let me touch you." I don't think I even need to say just how creepy this is. When I read the whole section on the judge and kid talk, I got from it that the judge was disappointed in the kid, that maybe he did think of the kid as a son in his own way. Page 307, "If war is not holy man is nothing but antic clay." I thought this quote is awesome, definitely the top 5 for judge.
The surgeon scene was pretty cool. It's about time he got the arrow shaft removed. I thought it'd have been infected by now though. Especially since he really didn't have the time to clean the wound, or scab at this point. I looked fistula, but i still don't understand it in the sentence "A soft fisula had formed around it", page 308.
The dream / hallucination the kid had while recovering from ether confused me a little. From what I got out of it, judge was there and so was a strange man that made coinage. Also in this little section, it's noted that the kid is now 16 , so he's one year older now? Page 310, "his leg was like an evil visitant in the bed with him such was the pain."
The fate of Toadvine and Brown is found out in this chapter. They were hung. Page 311, "the hanged men at their rope-ends looked like effigies for to frighten birds." I got from this that they looked like scarecrows. It was pretty depressing that they died, but I saw it coming. The hanging is anticlimatical I think.
On the last paragraph of 311, I got from it that the kid might have got robbed because it said that someone took his shoes. Unless this was figurative, the kid has become soft.
I thought it was weird that the book skipped time to when the kid is now 28. Pretty cool that he just spent 12 years riding around. Thought it pretty messed up that the pilgrims he was supposed to lead and the strange funeral procession was all massacred, and he didn't even find the people who did it. Also, what was up with the old lady dead for years? I know that it wasn't literal because a woman can't be dead standing up for years like that in the desert. I wonder what this signifies.
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