Blood Meridian

by

Cormac McCarthy

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Blood Meridian makes teaching easy.
A member of Captain White’s army, Sproule is, along with the kid, one of the few survivors of the massacre inflicted by the Comanches on White’s army. Though wounded in the arm, Sproule manages to trek through the desert alongside the kid. The two encounter merciful Mexican bandits, but one night Sproule is attacked by a vampire bat. He dies in a wagon en route to an unnamed Mexican town, and the kid is arrested by Mexican soldiers soon after.
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Sproule Character Timeline in Blood Meridian

The timeline below shows where the character Sproule appears in Blood Meridian. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
...he can’t see who is calling, but later learns that it is a man named Sproule, one of eight survivors of the massacre including Captain White. Sproule and the kid rest... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Witness and Mercy Theme Icon
The next morning, the kid and Sproule take to the plain again. They come upon turf trampled by the Indian war party,... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Witness and Mercy Theme Icon
In the afternoon the kid and Sproule reach a village in smoking ruins, all of its inhabitants dead. The men wander the... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Witness and Mercy Theme Icon
The kid and Sproule sit in the plaza and decide what to do next. Sproule tells the kid that... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Witness and Mercy Theme Icon
Religion and Ritual Theme Icon
The kid returns to find Sproule in a church where forty scalped, naked, and partly eaten corpses lay heaped. Flies walk... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Witness and Mercy Theme Icon
Come morning, the kid and Sproule leave the ruined village and set out across cruel terrain littered with “slag.” They spend... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Come morning, Sproule’s health has taken a turn for the worse. He collapses; his lips are blistered and... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Witness and Mercy Theme Icon
...the day turn out to be Mexican men on horseback, seven or eight of them. Sproule tells the kid to save himself, but the kid doesn’t respond. As they pass, the... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Racism and Partisanship Theme Icon
The kid and Sproule descend the mountain and reach the valley floor by dusk. There they march on in... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
In the morning, the kid and Sproule find a seep of water. The kid absorbs water into his shirt and sucks on... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Racism and Partisanship Theme Icon
In the afternoon, Sproule and the kid come to a crossroads. From there, they follow what seems to be... (full context)
Warfare and Domination Theme Icon
Racism and Partisanship Theme Icon
In the morning, the kid wakes to find Sproule dead in the wagon. He exits to urinate, but as he does so Mexican soldiers... (full context)