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Page Chewing · September 26 · 9 min

Blood Meridian Chapter 20 | Chapter by Chapter Read Along

In Chapter 20, the remains of the gang are scattered and vulnerable. The kid is wounded, Toadvine and Tobin are trying to survive alongside him, and the hunters we've followed throughout the novel have finally become the hunted. Except for Judge Holden. The Judge emerges from the destruction of the gang seemingly transformed into an even more frightening figure. He stalks the survivors through the wilderness, calls out to them, offers forgiveness, and seems so capable of manipulating people through language that the others are afraid even to listen to him. In this episode, I look at the Judge as predator, the kid's transformation into a much more capable survivor, the recurring theme of dehumanization, and the way Chapter 20 completely rearranges the power structure of Blood Meridian. Glanton is gone. The gang is gone. And increasingly, it feels like we're being left with the two characters who have mattered since the beginning: the kid and Judge Holden. Page Chewing Blog Page Chewing Forum Support Page Chewing on Patreon Affiliate Links that support the show: Audible Standard Free Trial: https://amzn.to/4z1iKns Audible Standard Monthly Membership: https://amzn.to/3S6vadd Kindle Unlimited Free Trial: https://amzn.to/4wqkYdD Amazon Prime Free Trial: https://amzn.to/3UptxI9 Join Captivate.fm Send a message via SpeakPipe

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show notes

In Chapter 20, the remains of the gang are scattered and vulnerable. The kid is wounded, Toadvine and Tobin are trying to survive alongside him, and the hunters we've followed throughout the novel have finally become the hunted.

Except for Judge Holden.

The Judge emerges from the destruction of the gang seemingly transformed into an even more frightening figure. He stalks the survivors through the wilderness, calls out to them, offers forgiveness, and seems so capable of manipulating people through language that the others are afraid even to listen to him.

In this episode, I look at the Judge as predator, the kid's transformation into a much more capable survivor, the recurring theme of dehumanization, and the way Chapter 20 completely rearranges the power structure of Blood Meridian.

Glanton is gone.

The gang is gone.

And increasingly, it feels like we're being left with the two characters who have mattered since the beginning:

the kid and Judge Holden.

Page Chewing Blog

Page Chewing Forum

Support Page Chewing on Patreon

Affiliate Links that support the show:

Audible Standard Free Trial: https://amzn.to/4z1iKns

Audible Standard Monthly Membership: https://amzn.to/3S6vadd

Kindle Unlimited Free Trial: https://amzn.to/4wqkYdD

Amazon Prime Free Trial: https://amzn.to/3UptxI9

Join Captivate.fm

Send a message via SpeakPipe

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