In a modern society where all forms of media are inundated by violence, one becomes relatively hardened to violence in mass media. However, “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy will still jolt the modern reader out of complacency. Written as a sort of anti-Western epic, “Blood Meridian” follows its protagonist, “the kid” as he drifts through the southwest in the 1800s. The kid eventually joins an outlaw band of Indian hunters who have a taste for blood and violence like no other. As the story progresses and the amount of blood-soaked scalps increases, McCarthy’s message of man’s natural affinity for violence becomes clear. Thanks to McCarthy’s beautiful language, there is almost dreamlike quality about the piece that evokes a surreal feeling
