Blood Meridian

by Cormac McCarthy

Blood Meridian: Foil 1 key example

Foil
Explanation and Analysis—The Judge and the Kid:

Over the course of the whole novel, but especially toward the end of the novel, the Judge serves as a foil for the kid. To the extent that there is a protagonist in Blood Meridian, the kid is that protagonist, and the novel is a coming-of age-story that begins with a reflection on his birth and ends with his death. The Judge, meanwhile, is evil incarnate, a version of the devil himself who lies and kills his way through the story. The tête-à-tête between the Judge and the kid –– including in the desert with Tobin, in jail after the Judge has framed the kid for Glanton's crimes, and in the bar to end the novel –– informs the reader about the kid and what he represents in the story.