Violence: The Great Equalizer The good book says that he that lives by the sword shall perish by the sword, said the black. The judge smiled, his face shining with grease. What right man would have it any other way? he said. The good book does indeed count war an evil, said Irving. Yet there 's many a bloody tale of war inside it. It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be. That way and not some other way (McCarthy 248). In Blood Meridian: Or the Evening in the West, characters reference the Bible. Through this interaction, …show more content…
Even the name of the novel illustrates this. A meridian is an imaginary vertical line from pole to pole that surrounds Earth. When thinking about a “blood meridian,” the reader envisions a single bloody line moving further and further west, taking out everything in its trail and bringing violence and chaos along with it. McCarthy describes a Mexican man believing in a blood meridian in his own country: “Blood, he said. This country is give much blood. This Mexico. This is a thirsty country. The blood of a thousand Christs. Nothing” (McCarthy 102). The second part of the title, Or the Evening Redness in the West, echoes the first part. The redness clearly symbolizes all of the blood shed from the violence. The novel suggests that all of this blood was “nothing” because it was necessary for humanity to move forward. Judge Holden even argues that violence is moral. “And is the race of man not more predacious yet? The world is to bloom and to flower and die but in the affairs of men there is no waning and the noon of his expression signals the onset of night. His spirit exhausted at the peak of its achievement. His meridian is at once his darkening and evening of his day” (McCarthy 146-147). No matter what the judge thinks, violence didn’t accomplish anything except the production of more violence. The characters in the novel become so accustomed to brutal violence that death does not even affect them anymore. Being desensitized to the violence doesn’t make it any more moral. Manifest destiny was possible without blood being shed at all. This senseless violence did the opposite of “promoting human welfare and preventing
Cormac McCarthy's setting in Blood Meridian is a landscape of endless and diverse beauty. McCarthy highlights the surprising beauty of combinations of scrubby plants, jagged rock, and the fused auburn and crimson colors of the fiery wasteland that frame this nightmarish novel. Various descriptions, from the desolate to the scenic, feature McCarthy's highly wrought, lyrical prose. Such descriptions of the divine landscape seem to serve a dual function. While being an isolated highlight to this gruesome novel, McCarthy's beautiful setting also serves as an intricate device in defining the novel's themes and creating the reality in which it is set.
My thoughts after reading this book are that war can really take a toll on someone and war can bring out the worst in everyone. Works Cited:.. Caputo, Philip. The. A Rumor of War.
According to Christopher and James Collier,”War turns men into beasts.” It is true because many people are willing to
The Bible, for many centuries, has impacted society, culture, and religion in innumerable ways. Included in the Bible’s impact, is fictional literature (Erickson, 2015). Biblical allusion, defined as an ancillary reference to Scripture ("Definition," 2015), can be a useful tool for fiction writers to draw the attention of the reader to certain biblical truths. Mixed in with the writer’s style and language, biblical allusion, assists in building plot lines, themes, and influence over the reader’s beliefs (Erickson, 2015). Nevertheless, the real magic of biblical allusion lies within the author’s creative genius and ability to infuse biblical themes, metaphors, images, and characters in with the story to allow the audience to reach certain
This quote is very true, when we stop believing in the cause and the myth it will be different. Task #2: In my interviews with two different people, the results were shockingly similar. Both people believe that war benefits our society. Cody went on to state that it will be necessary in the future.
Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian” does a marvelous job of highlighting the violent nature of mankind. The underlying cause of this violent nature can be analyzed from three perspectives, the first being where the occurrence of violence takes place, the second man’s need to be led and the way their leader leads them, and lastly whether violence is truly an innate and inherent characteristic in man.
“War is brutish, inglorious and a terrible waste” (Sledge 315). E.B Sledge says this when describing war after two grueling campaigns in the Pacific. However, there is irony. Earlier in the war, Sledge is hungry for war, for action, for involvement. War intrigues him, then like most, he feels the reality of it. This is one of the main focuses in With the Old Breed. Sledge’s view of war changes as he continues through the war and beyond, along with his understanding of conflict and the realization of war being the solution.
War is a hard thing to describe. It has benefits that can only be reaped through its respective means. Means that, while necessary, are harsh and unforgiving. William James, the author of “The Moral Equivalent of War”, speaks only of the benefits to be had and not of the horrors and sacrifices found in the turbulent times of war. James bears the title of a pacifist, but he heralds war as a necessity for society to exist. In the end of his article, James presents a “war against nature” that would, in his opinion, stand in war’s stead in bringing the proper characteristics to our people. However, my stance is that of opposition to James and his views. I believe that war, while beneficial in various ways, is unnecessary and should be avoided at all costs.
What is war? Is war a place to kill? Or is it a place where something more than just killing happens? War, as defined by the Merriam Webster is “a state or period of usually open and declared fighting between states or nations.” War, can also be viewed with romantic ideals where heroes and legends are born. Even the most intelligent of us hold some rather naïve notions of war. Upon reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, intelligent readers have been divested of any romantic notions regarding war they may have harboured.
He states, "The myth of war is essential to justify the horrible sacrifices required in war, the destruction and death of innocents. It can be formed only by denying the reality of war, by turning the lies, the manipulation, the inhumanness of war into the heroic ideal" (26). Chris Hedges tries to get the point across that in war nothing is as it seems.... ... middle of paper ...
"All war is a symptom of man 's failure as a thinking animal." (John Steinbeck) When John Steinbeck reflects that quote. It’s Almost similar to a packed article that we readed ‘’Three Violence and Human Nature’’ I will mostly be comparing and contrasting my book (Britain’s two world wars against Germany) and a few pack it articles and also the reality world. There are some few things that you should know. One of these facts is that this book is Non-fiction. Second statement is that this book called ‘’Britain two world wars against Germany myth memory and the distortions of hindsight’’ brings out a lot of stuff that is happening similar at this moment. My last statement is that it also brings a lot of facts and information from other articles
guard and says 'all who live by the sword, will die by the sword.' And
I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another… And all men of my age, here and over there, throughout the whole world see these things; all my generation is experiencing these things with me… What do they expect of us if a time ever comes when the war is over? Through the years our business has been killing;—it was our first calling in life. Our knowledge of life is limited to death. What will happen afterwards? And what shall come out of us?” (194)
In Blood In Blood Out is a drama directed by Taylor Hackford, and starring Damian Chapa (Miklo), Benjamin Bratt (Paco), and Jesse Borrego (Cruz), produced by Hollywood Pictures. The film was based off everyday life in East Los Angeles, from the 1970’s through the 1980’s. Damian Chapa stars as Miklo in the film, a Mexican-American who wanted to be accepted, not by his skin but for the Mexican within him. Benjamin Bratt (Paco) was the older cousin of Miklo, who learned his lesson throughout the movie and changed his ways. Jesse Borrego (Cruz) is the step-brother of Paco who was a talent artist, who ended up turning to drugs because of back problems caused by a rival gang incident.
War has been around for centuries. From the time modern civilizations began, war has played an integral part in human history. It shaped the world into the modern world we live in. War has been said to be a great motivator, for example, the Great Wall of China was built to fend off the attackers from the north. However, the negative aspects of war far outweighs any positive effects it might have. The destruction of civilizations, cities and countries, mass killings of men, woman and children alike, the disastrous effect it has on economy and the after effects of war can last for centuries.