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Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—Dancing :
From the novel's ending where the Judge is "dancing, dancing," to the Americans dancing with the family of entertainers, or dancing with the townspeople after selling scalps, dancing is a motif throughout Blood Meridian.
Dancing and fighting are often intertwined in the story, and the Judge's love of dancing both evidences this notion and can be better understood within this context. To dance is to celebrate, and in Blood Meridian this celebration is often a celebration of brutality successfully executed. The gruff nature of Glanton and his army, compared to the beauty and finesse of dance, creates an amusing dichotomy that makes their revelry seem out of place. In many ways it is out of place, especially when considering what precisely it is that they are celebrating.
The dancing bear, who is forced to dance like a person, parallels certain characters like the kid, who in many ways is forced out of necessity to commit acts of violence. The dancing bear, like the kid, is ultimately killed by the Judge, with the Judge then taking its place and dancing the novel to a close. In fact, the Judge's nimble and skilled dancing further separates him from those around him, setting the Judge apart in a way that subtly suggests his superiority to his compatriots. Considering the intertwining of fighting and dancing in the text, the Judge's skill as a dancer is wholly appropriate. For the Judge, dancing after killing the kid is the same as dancing after murdering Mexicans: it is a celebration of war and violence, no matter how out of place such a celebration seems to the reader.
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Motifs
Explanation and Analysis—Scalping :
The act of scalping, as well as dismembering, is a motif that reappears to some extent in nearly every chapter of the novel. This motif reduces people to parts of their body, both literally, through viciously murdering them, and figuratively, through scalping them for profit and thus reducing them to capital.
Scalping signifies the greed of those who participate in the trade: people and their lives are worth less than gold. Moreover, the scalp trade creates an economy that rewards the merciless and the violent in particular, privileging brutality above all else. The act of scalping appears to differentiate the violence of Glanton et al from the violence inherent in nature: to scalp is to commit a specific and intentional act of violence for money. However, many join Glanton's army out of some form of necessity, making their role in the scalp trade not unlike that of an animal that kills in order to survive. Scalping also equates Glanton's army with the gold-seekers migrating to California; both are groups of people seeking gold and spreading out across North America to do so.
In Blood Meridian, a novel the concerns itself with questions of mercy and innocence, to participate in the scalp trade is to kill without question for coin, and brutal acts of violence done in the name of wealth occur again and again throughout the story.
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