Though the U.S. today possesses its fair share of violence — and many would argue the nation, and world as a whole, remains unnecessarily so — it is difficult to compare today’s landscape to that of the brutal Wild West.
Indeed, the American West is known for its general lawlessness and violence, and it is rare to find a novel that expresses such savagery as “Blood Meridian,” the work most consider author Cormac McCarthy’s magnum opus.
The work has received significant attention in recent years following McCarthy’s passing in June of 2023, having reached younger generations along with those who first read it in 1985.
“Blood Meridian,” however, has not become any less controversial with time.
The novel follows a protagonist known simply as “The Kid” — and later “The Man” — as he flees west to pursue some meaning in his life. In this vague pursuit of a similarly abstract goal, he eventually joins a group of men tasked with hunting and scalping the indigenous peoples of the region.
Much of the narrative concerns this band’s journeys and brutal actions throughout the West. McCarthy paints an image of a region steeped in violence, even at the hands of nature, which he conveys through long passages invoking much biblical rhetoric.
Many of the gang’s conversations involve religion, primarily between the ex-priest Tobin and the infamously horrifying Judge Holden.
At its core, the work explores the role of divinity in a brutal world, the lawless nature of the American West, the complex relationships between those in a collective, and, of course, the roles and forms of brutality.
Many consider the novel one of the most violent in the American language, and its reputation has been expressed favorably by some and unfavorably by others who believe it unnecessary and gratuitous.
There is some merit to this assessment. Almost every page of the novel involves some form of suffering, many of it fatal and graphic. When reading for longer periods, these instances blend together and can feel indistinct or redundant. Yet these many acts of violence — individually and as a whole — are central to the questions “Blood Meridian” poses to its readers.
Some instances of conflict in “Blood Meridian” serve a narrative or thematic purpose — pushing The Kid into a less fortunate life, displaying the relationship between men and nature, and more. A close reading of the novel offers multiple interpretations for these individual acts, though it is difficult to argue every single one possesses independent relevance.
Instead, awareness of the novel’s repetitive violence and potential desensitization to it is crucial in analyzing “Blood Meridian.” How much has our world changed since this violent era? How would this violence shape us personally? When does one become accustomed to violence, both in a novel and even the real world? Is Judge Holden correct in his assertions that violence is the ultimate decider of one’s fate?
Though these instances of barbarity may seem pointless — some inarguably serve little or no plot relevance — it is precisely their eventual mundanity that forces readers to confront the role of conflict in their lives.
As cultural norms shift and technology develops more vivid means of expressing stories, one may wonder how the role of violence in media will change and manifest itself differently. Some worry violent tales will impart harmful impressions on audiences young and old, while others welcome the opportunity for stories to become more lifelike and expressive through increased means of presenting darker narratives.
One’s stance on the matter should, of course, be their own. But as “Blood Meridian” expertly, though controversially illustrates, cruelty can serve a purpose in storytelling as long as it remains dedicated to a greater narrative aim.
It is also important to recall a quotation from the novel, found closer to its conclusion after hundreds of pages of human cruelty and torrents of bloodshed:
“They were watching, out there past men’s knowing, where stars are drowning and whales ferry their vast souls through the black and seamless sea.”
Even in the darkest narratives, there exists the capacity to present the wonder — tragic or otherwise — of a world that can otherwise seem needlessly cruel.
Perhaps another of violence’s many roles is to highlight the value of such beauty.