Symbols

The Judge in "Blood Meridian" is a symbol of evil and death, specifically, the devil

The Judge is excellent at many things, one of the most notable of these being his fiddle abilities

The fiddle has long been associated with the devil by religious leaders, similarly to the violin, an instrument the fiddle is closely related to

The Judge is an ever-present character

His weapon, a silver-chased rifle, is inscribed with the Latin phrase, "Et in Arcadia Ego," which translates to, "Even in Arcadia, I Exist."

• This phrase means that even in the most beautiful of places death is there

• Even in the most beautiful of places the devil, death and corruption persist

One of the Judge's most famous speeches is his sermon on war

• In this speech the Judge declares that war is man's highest calling, that all other jobs are a subset of war, that war is the ultimate game and that war is God

• "It makes no difference what men think of war, said the judge. War endures."

The Judge is also just a horrific child abuser and person overall

The Judge is a prime example of a man who's inner evils have been unleashed

His true evil has been realized and he knows it

"War is the truest form of divination. It is the testing of one’s will and the will of another within the larger will which because it binds them is therefore forced to select. War is the ultimate game because war is at last a forcing of the unity of existence. War is god."

"Only nature can enslave man and only when the existence of each last entity is routed out and made to stand naked before him will he be properly suzerain of the earth."

He has no care for others he is the ruler, the suzerain of his world and he enacts violence as he sees fit

In the ending of the book, during the final moments between The Kid and The Judge in the bar, The Judge talks about dancing

These moments are crucial in establishing the symbolic relationship between dancing and life

• The man takes his group into a bar and who does he see but the judge, watching him

• In the bar a performance is taking place

• A bear is dancing while a little girl cranked an organ handle

• One of the men in the bar shoots and kills the bear

• The judge and the man begin to talk

• The Judge talking to the kid about dancing saying, 

• " You're here for the dance," and "What man would not be a dancer if he could?" 

• The Judge talks with the kid about why he's there

• The Judge saying the kid is there to be with him, the kid argues that," Everybody don't have to have a reason to be someplace." 

• The Judge says that everyone is there for a reason, for an event and that, if even one man knew his role in the event he would not participate

• He says that, "each man's destiny is as large as the world he inhabits"

• The Judge says," I tell you this. As war becomes dishonored and its nobility called into question those honorable men who recognize the sanctity of blood will become excluded from the dance, which is the warrior's right, and thereby will the dance become a false dance and the dancers false dancers. And yet there will be one there who always is a true dancer and can you guess who that might be?"

• The man replies, "You aint nothin."

• The Judge says, "You speak truer than you know. But I will tell you. Only that man who has offered up himself entire to the blood of war, who has been to the floor of the pit and seen horror in the round and learned at last that it speaks to his inmost heart, only that man can dance."

• The man replies, "Even a dumb animal can dance."

• The Judge says, "there is room on the stage form one beast and one alone. All others are destined for a night that is eternal and without name. One by one they will step down into the darkness before the footlamps. Bears that dance, bears that don't."

• That night the kid goes to dance and, after choosing not to, is horrifically killed by the judge

This interaction between The Judge and The Kid, now called The Man, establishes the true theme of the book

That man can either dance and let fate take him, or surrender himself to the evils of the world