Tension In Blood Meridian

Blood Meridian is set in the American Southwest around the 1850s. This was a time period where there was tension between the Americans and the Native Indians, Apaches, was growing. This tensions was due the New Mexico Territory and the Mexican-American War. McCarthy uses the idea of Manifest destiny to show the Judge’s power and his larger than life persona (SM 4). This time period was known as the American Old West. The American Old West is known as the area west of the Mississippi, but the real setting of the novel is the area near the Mexican-American boarder. This is where the tension was the highest due to how close the two areas were. The setting plays a huge role in characterization of the Judge and the situations that the characters