The following is an assignment I use to teach types of literary theory. Blood Meridian is a selection from a larger body of literature that I ask my students to read throughout a semester, or quarter depending on how the term is structured.

The assignment asks students to read chapter six of Cormac McCarthy’s BLOOD MERIDIAN (attached to this post).

The assignment is laid out as follows:

BLOOD MERIDIAN is a fictional novel; however, historians argue that there is evidence of historical truth to the narrative. For context of the plot, “The novel follows a motley troupe of mercenary scalpers through what is now the American Southwest and Mexican Northwest but was, in 1850 when the novel is set, a territory contested by its Indigenous inhabitants, Spanish colonizers and American mercenaries… In an environment so hostile to meaningful human activity, one character in particular experiments with meaning-making. Judge Holden, usually called simply “the judge,” takes advantage of the troupe’s mercenary wanderings to collect wildlife samples, explaining at one point that ‘only nature can enslave man and only when the existence of each last entity is routed out and made to stand naked before him will he be properly suzerain of the earth’ ” (Black).  

So why are you reading this? Because this snippet of the book brings complexity to our critical thinking of the world around us. The human mind (the author’s in this case) conceived a world that must have some foundation in truth, human impulse, and an awareness for a human being’s innate goodness or wickedness. When we consider these factors in conjunction with our individual awareness (and understanding) of the world around us, we realize what about ourselves?

It is obvious that you will not have an entire understanding of the novel. You will not know the characters and you will not understand precisely what is taking place within this chapter. Putting those factors aside, I want you to read the chapter as a lone piece; a description of a world that you may or may not be familiar with, dialogue you may not understand, ideas that may or may not agree with you, language that may be offensive to you… recognize these elements and extract from them a deeper understanding of yourself and how you are developing as an individual thinker.

You may ask yourself, how do we do this then? By interrogating the author on what we are given- in this case, this one chapter. Interrogate the author by interrogating his text. Examine the words he uses, how he uses them, to what purpose? What imagery does he focus on? Do you detect tonal emphasis? From the chapter, what can you glean is the author’s perspective? Dissect this chapter to reveal the author’s biases, audience, beliefs, and influences. Complete the attached chart (cultural encounters chart). Minimum of three answers per square. You can add more, and I encourage you to do so.

When you are done filling in the chart, write a minimum of three FULL pages (you can write more if you wish) in response to this question, what have I learned about myself from reading this chapter that I did not know? To write your response you must perform research to establish a psychological foundation for your argument (what you believe you have learned about yourself from reading this chapter). Your response must include:

1. support for what you have learned about yourself by describing in detail three emotions, responses, or thoughts (etcetera) (or a combination thereof),
2. support for your argument’s foundation by incorporating research (minimum of three additional sources: at least two of them are secondary sources). This type of support can come in the form of literary interpretations of the text, studies on the text’s structure, or psychological correlations between the three emotions you identified in item one with symbols, language, setting, tone, etcetera. This is not an exhaustive list. If there are additional areas of support that you would like to use, you are welcome to.
3. direct references to Blood Meridian (minimum of three) in conjunction with your supporting evidence and ideas.
4. a properly formatted MLA Works Cited page listing the sources that you cite in your paper.

WHAT YOU WILL TURN IN: A completed chart followed by your three page response essay formatted in MLA style.

REQUIRED FORMATTING: Your response will adhere to MLA essay standards and include a Works Cited page. Organize your paper using standard closed form organization:

Introduction- your thesis is your last sentence.

Three body paragraphs

Conclusion

Organize your paper well and use proper sentence structure and grammar.

At this point you are probably asking, “Where should I begin?” Read the attached chapter six from Blood Meridian first. That is the text your entire essay is predicated upon. Get a sense of the writing… the tone, setting, language… Print the chapter and start annotating in the margins words that stand out to you, physical and mental reactions you have to the text, and questions that you might ask the author if he was in front of you. Look up the definitions of words you do not know and write them beside the word. Highlight words or phrases that you do or do not like and notate why.

After you have thoroughly extracted from the chapter everything you can, evaluate what you wrote down. Look for repeating words and themes. Write a list of the reactions you had from the text and see if any are recurring. Read the questions that you wrote and consider if any are worth pursuing through research.

Now that you have a firm idea of the text and your thoughts about it, define your criteria for your essay and forthcoming research.

1. Identify the three emotions, thoughts, epiphanies, etc. that stand out the most to you (your thesis).
2. Brainstorm why those three elements stand out to you, and make note of the areas in the text that arouse these elements.

Next step- the research. This is where theory becomes the conduit for literary analysis.

Where do you find your three additional sources and how do you determine if they are credible? First, look in your college library’s databases. Gale and Google Scholar are excellent launching pads for scholastic articles about literary theory and literature reviews. Use keywords from your prework to guide your research. Ask your school librarian if you are stumped for where to begin or if you feel overwhelmed. They are there specifically to help you.

Once you find a source that meets your criteria, look in there reference section for additional literature suggestions. From there, branch out. Look at theory websites, blogs, and critiques about McCarthy and Blood Meridian.

Now to an important vetting question- how can you tell if your source is reliable and relevant to your research? Consider the following factors when assessing for both concerns.

• Tone. Is the author or creater unbiased? If he or she has an opinion, how do they express themselves? With sarcasm? Overt cynicism? Mockery? Or are they earnest in relating to the topic, good or bad?
• If the source is a book, does the author stuff it full of opinions, or balance opinion with evidence? Are there footnotes and/or the source includes a bibliography?
• If the source is a video, is it informative, or overly coercsive? Look at the creators’ history- are they reputable? Assess their contributors and their backgrounds.
• If it is a blog post, assess its kairos. And look at the history of the writer. How do they present themselves? What kind of language do they use? Are they endorsed by someone in a related field?
• If the source is an article, is it peer reviewed? Has it been cited by other reputable writers? Does the author use facts and evidence to support assertions?
• If it is a website, is the layout professional? Do the owners of the website explain who they are and their experience in their field? Do they include equally reliable and credible journalists with proven histories? What organizations is the site affiliated with.
• Your thesis. Skim sources’ abstracts to see if they utilize key words or themes that you identified in your prework.

Be judicious when assessing your sources. Take the time to vet them properly.

Incorporating Evidence. Since this essay is a relatively short personal response supported with evidence, of course you will be including your sources when crafting your thoughts; however, refrain from relying on direct quotes. Instead, summarize and paraphrase your evidence and use narrative and parenthetical citations to distinguish your points from that of your sources. Remember, this essay should be about personal reflection. Your evidence should not overshadow your explanation; instead, it should clarify your insights about yourself. Evidence is there to underscore your reflections.

Need additional support?

Other books by Cormac McCarthy https://the-line-up.com/darkest-books-by-cormac-mccarthy

The Cormac McCarthy Society

Grunge article reviewing Blood Meridian

Google Scholar

Purdue MLA Formatting and Style Guide

Journal Reviews

Black, Zak. “Cormac McCarthy’s bloodiest book is also his most beloved. Why?” Toronto Star, 5 Jul 2023, https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/cormac-mccarthy-s-bloodiest-book-is-also-his-most-beloved-why/article_f3cccde3-38ec-596d-9a59-9b26cea19a21.html.

McCarthy, Cormac. Blood Meridian; or, The Evening Redness in the West. Vintage, 1992.

Muhlestein, David K. “Teaching Contemporary Literary Theory at a Church – Sponsored University.” Christianity and Literature, vol. 48, no. 1, 1998, pp. 79-93, https://doi.org/10.1177/014833319804800109.