The Historical Writing of Blood Meridian

Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, set against the backdrop of the American Westward Expansion, narrates the story of a young boy who follows a gang of scalp hunters and undergoes a series of bloody and violent experiences. Within its fictional narrative, the novel incorporates real historical figures and events from the era of westward movement. Drawing upon historical sources, McCarthy reflects “History with a capital H” through the accurate depiction of events, while simultaneously focusing on “histories with a lowercase h”—the destinies of marginalized groups—to reveal their states of survival within the grand sweep of history. Through the interweaving of fact and fiction, McCarthy exposes the violence and darkness underlying the Westward Expansion, interrogates the American faith in Manifest Destiny, contemplates the tensions between nation and individual, and conveys his ethical concern for the human condition.