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.

What an awful nap.

Short chapter, pretty nifty. It got slow when the met the indians, but here's what made me not happy. In the derka before the chapter where it lists the events, it says "Grizzlies." There were no grizzlies. As I recall, all they saw were "great shambling figures of bears." How's that for a let down? But the judge made up for this.

Is he psychic or something? He knew the kid was hiding all along; they weren't fooling anyone. When the judge first passed, was the kid going to shoot him? Tobin says "Ye'll get no such a chance as that again." I guess that was as good a chance as any that they could kill the judge. If they had fired, the judge would've surely died; even though he knew they were hiding there, he may not have known exactly where, and you can't defend yourself against a bullet. But the judge knew the kid wouldn't shoot: "you've not the heart of a common assassin." He knows everything about the kid. He knows what he's thinking, all the time. He comes back and gives the speech, claiming Toadvine and Brown are still alive. The kid has to believe this to some extent. After all, he doesn't have any hard evidence of the judges murdering the two. Maybe the priest has been mad the whole time. Maybe he's just got some inexplicable hatred for the judge to where he would do anything to bring him down, but the judge is just too strong. He should've known, you don't mess with the judge.

No you don't.

(I hope this isn't super failure. I'm not really sure how to harness the sorcery of salliefeelds)

Like I said earlier, the indian part kind of lost me. I know they don't like the Yumas, but other than that I got nothing really. I guess it was kind of ironic for "savages" to be so hospitable (yeah, I totally ripped that from the intro to the chapter). The pistol part (301), what was that about? Were the indians just messing with him? They are enticed by the "pistola."

I love when they arrive at the sea. That last line of the chapter, "where the stars are drowning and whales ferry their vast souls through the black and seamless sea," is just great. I've never heard the ocean described so perfectly. And the slight change in verb tense, I'm starting to understand now. The things that go on, things that aren't exclusive to the setting but whose lives are parallel to this earth (fire, the ocean, the judge) are described in present tense. I don't understand the "salmoncolored othersea." I've never seen salmoncolored water (think of a salmon shirt, Patty), maybe he's trying to say there are a lot of salmon in the water. I don't know (idk, for you hip youngsters).

I'll do some words! (that's a factorial sign by the way)

Thunderstone (303): I relate this to pokémon. Maybe it's some kind of mineral, but the only "thunderstone" google could find was some dumpy metal band... named thunderstone.

Parable reconnoitre (reconnoiter) pampooties

Bananas in Pajamas!

I'm feeling fontsy

So this chapter was average, but the events that had to do with Judge (go figure) were was the highlight. Any who, both Tobin and Kid are injured, out of water, and are 2 miles ahead of a man that wants the both of them dead. I get that Judge isn't ever going to die, but why didn't Kid even try to shoot him? I've been expecting someone to try to hide the entire book, I can't believe it actually worked for them. Judge knew they were there because (I'm assuming) their tracks completely stopped. Judge was just kind of talking to the surrounding area knowing they could hear. "There's a flawed place in the fabric of your heart." when Judge talks it's like he's doing some old fashioned reverse psychology; putting Kid in the mind set that there is something wrong with him and he isn't acting like the "right kind of man" (maybe). Questioning his manhood, "Do you think I could not know?" he talks as if he has known this all along.


Once Tobin and Kid are found by the Indians McCarthy starts naming off a bunch of Indians(?). One with the phonetic name of Beetlejuice (Betelgeuse), and i saw no purpose what-so-ever for doing this. It was great that the Indians were good Indians; the "stew of lizards and pocketmice" makes your mouth water, right?
The part where the one Indian man reaches for Kid's gun was hilarious, it was like he was intentionally toying with Kid for amusement. I have absolutely no idea what they are saying when Espanol is being spoken, care to share?



On page 297 when McCarthy refers to the idiot as "his [Judge] drooling manciple" I really liked his word choice, it helped paint a better mental picture. And the idiot was just cracking me up, the sight of a very serious, very naked man with an almost midget dummy on a leash was perfect. Judge has useful items hanging from him almost everywhere. Here are some of the things he was carting around.










Quite a bit, dontcha think?

Some super-duper sentences with the word like in them

298 "The idiot squatted on all fours and leaned into the lead like some naked species of lemur.
303 "That day there was no sun and only a paleness in the haze and the country was white with frost and the shrubs were like polar isomers of their own shapes."
303 "In the morning they crossed a bed of thunderstones clustered on that heath like the ossified eggs of some primal groundbird."


Wurds
295 shales - a fissile rock that is formed by the consolidation of clay, mud, or silt, has a finely stratified or laminated structure, and is composed of minerals essentially unaltered since deposition
locus - the place where something is situated or occurs
296 scalloped - a thin slice of boneless meat or fish (sand)
esker - a long narrow ridge or mound of sand, gravel, and boulders deposited by a stream flowing on, within, or beneath a stagnant glacier
297 sated - to cloy with overabundance
reconnoitred - to make a reconnaissance of (reconnaissance - a preliminary survey to gain information; especially an exploratory military survey of enemy territory)
purview - the body or enacting part of a statute

Mr. Rud has a twin, they're 100% identical

I'm curious as to why the Yumas didn't even make an attempt to go after Toadvine and Kid, I mean it's good for their sake, but you would think they would at least try. On page 277 "there was no place the sun would not find him and only the wind could hide his tracks" the only reason I can think that they would even be worried about their tracks is in case of the Yumas possibly coming after them. They don't talk to each other much either, "got any water?" "not much" I guess that sort of thing doesn't require much talking, Toadvine could always just check for himself.

Kid tells Toadvine, three times, to go on and to leave Kid to die. But Toadvine stays, this could be because Toadvine is attached to Kid, as a father figure kind of thing; or it is because he knows Kid is a great shot. Kid has amazing aim, he kills a Yuma about 100 yards away, and you have to add the factor of the guns accuracy, back in that time.

When Toadvine and Kid get to the well where there is a figure, at first I thought it was going to be Judge, but it was just Tobin, the not even a real expriest.

at first Toadvine and Kid are running, getting away..from Judge. I hate that the tables have turned on them; Judge wants to kill the two of them. He wants to kill everyone, everyone in the company. Judge has pulled a total 180.

I was shocked when Kid shot at Judge, but super glad when he missed, it was an INTENSE moment.

ummm.....

This chapter was great, but it got confusing after a while. I wasn't exactly following why the kid and Tobin were running from the judge.

I'll comment on the dialogue; there seems to be a lot of it in this chapter. Toadvine is talking to the kid after he's shot and the kid is just a jerk, even though he's probably not trying to be. "How much water you got?" "Not much." "What do you want to do?" "I don't know." And more short answers that don't really say anything. Then, later on, this one: "Where is the judge?" said the kid. "Where indeed," (says Tobin). But I think this one means something more. The judge could be anywhere. No one could really know. It's kind of a jerk way to say it though. And then after that, Tobin says "You'll not kill him," talking about the judge. Yep, this guy can't be killed. Earlier the kid shot at him, and it seemed as though he was trying to miss. Earlier he had hit Yumas one after another from further distances, but he misses the judge by quite a bit. Maybe he can't be killed.

Toadvine says "Let's see your color (283)." I haven't any idea what this means. He's talking to the judge about buying his hat. Maybe color means money or something. I'm not sure. And judge quotes "some term in latin." I thought it was weird that he didn't include an actual phrase. I doubt he was too lazy to find one; maybe it's just that the quote doesn't matter so much as the fact the judge recites them so often does.

"He was sitting in the sand and he made a tripod of three fingers and stuck them in the sand before him and then he lifted and turned them and poked them in again so that there were six holes in the form of a star or a hexagon and then he rubbed them out again." This is Toadvine, and this action seems to be all but arbitrary. We all like playing in the sand, but I don't know why the passage is included in the book, because it doesn't really show how Toadvine is feeling. He is talking about being arrested. They ask him why and he doesn't answer, instead he just plays in the sand. I guess it's just showing he doesn't want to answer, and is reluctant to talk about his past.

I liked this quote: "We will cook impartially upon this great siliceous griddle I do assure you." This is the judge speaking. I just think it sounds cool, the desert being a griddle and all. Oh, and then the judge calls himself "a simple man (284)." As far as we've seen, he's far from simple and for him to say so is clearly a lie. I'm not sure.

penitent scurrilous neolithic (from the simile describing the idiot "shambling along behind them like some dim neolithic herdsman.)

May 06, 2010 Blog Chapter 20

Pg 280, the kid's target practice. How far out are the Indians? Either way, it seems like he only missed once and then killed 3 one after another.
sprues
tangenital
portent
scurrilous

I like the quote on page 282. "those who travel in desert places do indeed meet with creatures surpassing all description." They are in "desert places" but I think that McCarthy means to imply that this applies to any situation in which people are completely alone. Perhaps in an mental desert, one faces many "creatures" or thought processes that would be impossible for anyone to follow but the thinker of the thoughts

Judge is still able to manipulate people naked, sunburnt, and weaponless using his latin. Page 283, he "quoted some term in latin." in order to further convince Toadvine to sell his hat to him. McCarthy later describes him as "some immense and naked barrister whom the country had crazed."

Blood Meridian Chapter 20

UPDATE ON THE BLOOD MERIDIAN MOVIE!!!!!
IT IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS AND IS SCHEDULED FOR 2011!! (no specific date)
for more info click here

Now for some blog...

I loved this chapter! It was very interesting and definately fufilled the saying, "Love your enemies but keep your gun oiled."

Toadvine and the kid finally get to become their own little group again. It turns out, they're best of friends and will protect each other until the end. I agree with Ollie's statement about Toadvine being a father figure.

The kid's arrow wound is directly a link to Brown's similar injury. Instead of being treatable though, the kid has to endure long periods of agony with an arrow imbedded against his thigh bone. The future doesn't seem too bright for the kid. It turns out that the kid is the best shooter of the group. The expreist says, "Aye, you're a cool one. But it's cunning work all the same and wouldnt it take the heart out of ye (McCarthy 280)." I think this means that the kid is actually able to pick where to place the bullet, giving him the ability to inflict the most agony upon his foes; as apposed to his friends that shoot just to hit the enemy. Because the kid is a dead-eye, he gets to choose how much he makes a person suffer, which could be emotionally disturbing while necessary in combat at the same time.

The Judge's appearance is very mystic. All of a sudden, the Judge and the imbicile come out of the abyss promising trade. A great simile is on page 282, on which McCarthy writes, "Like things so charged with meaning that their forms are dimmed." Again this adds to the power and knowledge of the Judge and his new companion. Still not really sure why the Judge chose to keep the idiot. He may use it later as a sort of lure, but I'm not entirely sure. Another good simile is on the same page. "...very extremes of exile like some scurrilous king stripped of his vestiture and driven together with his fool into the wilderness to die." The only simile-like thing in this sentence is the part describing the Judge to a king. The rest about the fool, wilderness, and exile are all true. This similarity seperated by a difference emphasizes the actual simile that is intended.

scurrilous- grossly or obscenely abusive (dictionary.com)

The Judge has a weakness: the sun. It seems that only now, in his entirely nude form, the sun starts to take an effect on him. On page 284, the Judge says, "Yonder sun is like the eye of God (notice the capitalization) and we will cook impartially..." Again, maybe the sun is God's weapon against the Judge, since he is the devil.

The entire book can be summarized in one line Toadvine says. "You wouldnt think that a man would run plumb out of country out here, would ye (McCarthy 285)?'' Ever since the beginning, the Americans have been running out of places to go. Even their own brotheren (the Judge) wants them dead. This is McCarthy's way of saying that, pretty soon, everything you have done will catch up with you. Wether the outcome is good or bad depends on what you have done up to the point of your day of judgement.

The Judge has finally completely snapped. He kills everyone now, even if they were once part of his group of brothers or students. They used to look up to the Judge, but now they must run from him. They cannot have any hope of escaping for they have complete and total respect for the Judge. They fear him so therefore they adore him which will lead to their ultimate demise.

Neolithic (page 288) refers to the last part of the stone age.

I've never noticed this before, but McCarthy refuses to use hyphens. When he spells cul-de-sac, he spells it culdesac. It took me forever to understand what he meant. This deletion of hyphens from the languange of the book really adds to the whole era thing and the use of McCarthy's combination of words thing. Basically you can be a great writer by not using hyphens.