Depravity and Destruction in Blood Meridian Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian is a passionate, lyrical, and ugly novel about the depravity and destruction of life in the Old West. It is the story of a hellish journey where violence and corruption are commonplace in a life of murder and betrayal. The contrasting scenes of scenic beauty, poetically described by McCarthy, are negated by his gruesome accounts of despicable scenes of human cruelty during the examination of evil. Like all of McCarthy's previous novels, Blood Meridian (1985) had a lukewarm arrival in the literary world in terms of sales and publicity, partly due to McCarthy's own aversion to self-promotion (Woodward 28 ). Yet critics and scholars have been captivated by the story's senseless violence and its tale of deception, genocide, and horrific realities unfolding around the United States-Mexico border in the 1840s (James 31). Blood Meridian, McCarthy's fifth book, was met with varying reactions from critics. Terence Moran, while finding McCarthy's writings "evocative", felt that the author "had failed, in Blood Meridian, to tell a simple western with his haunting and original voice" (37). Conversely, Steven Shaviro wrote: "Cormac McCarthy, the solitary poet of his exultation, is our greatest living author... [this novel] manifests a sublime visionary power matched only by irony even more fierce” (144). The novel, because of its frank narration of barbaric events, stands out as one of the rare books that challenges traditional molds of literature. Not a story of redeemable antagonist or helpless victim, Blood Meridian blurs the lines of sanctity and depravity in this lawless and demoralized land. This examination of th...... middle of paper ......the most unimaginable stance in a world of depravity that seems alien to the reader, but is all too normal in the world created in the book (147) While the novel recounts the child's harrowing journey, much of the action seen centers on Judge Holden. The interpretation of the mysterious and evil man varies from that of a god to that of a child. Many critics have commented on Holden's manipulative power, his ability to remain unchanged over the years, and his appearance in multiple locations at what appears to be the same time. Many lines are drawn between Judge Holden and the devil (Wallach 125). Although not a literary success in terms of book sales and overall recognition, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian tells an intriguing story in a light in which the Wild West is rarely seen. Mindless violence, diabolical characters and breathtaking landscapes fill this novel without morals or rectitude..