Judge Holden’s Disruption of Reverend Green’s Sermon
Cormac McCarthy use of vivid description and imagery in this part that involves sermon ceremony reveals Judge Holden as a demonically strong character in the novel. McCarthy, more so in this occasion of a sermon by Reverend Greens, clearly brings out attributes that reveal judge as nothing but the devil that has an affinity for war.
During the sermon, judge Holden gets into the tent where the congregation is assembled. From his appearance, Cormac McCarthy describes him as a giant with a smooth, childlike face and small hands which do not depict the features of human. He perceives him as a mystery from his outlook;
“The enormous dome of his head when he bared it was blinding white and perfectly circumscribed about so that it looked to have been painted”.
Cormac McCarthy describes the judge physical appearance to be unbelievable and full of contrast where the imagery of childlike display traits of a child and judge tend to complement each other. He grows up too fast and seems forever younger like healthy children who took too long to grow. He is believed to have the ability to move from one area to another and be at different places at the same time. For instance, he moves from the Reverend’s tent to the saloon where, despite the heavy rain, his body and clothes are dehydrated (7-8). As a way to clean his tarnished name from false allegation, the Reverend goes to the extent of crying out and denouncing the Judge is nothing but a devil. Such attributes labeled on the judge, reveal that he possesses traits of a devil. Thus, McCarthy uses the Reverend to portray the demonic qualities in the Judge.
Bearing in mind Green was a spiritual leader and a preacher, the judge, takes false witness claims on him. While addressing the congregation the judge alters several allegations towards the Reverent which are just false statements as to when asked how he knew the reverend so much he laments that he has never seen or heard of him in his life earlier(8). It is just his efficient way to cause violence to cool his bloodthirsty. Among such allegation are the claims that the reverend is only, but an imposter who has no qualifications to give a sermon and him is illiterate;
“ the gentleman standing here before you posing as a minister of the Lord is not only totally illiterate but is also wanted by the law in the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Arkansas.”
He also claims that the law wants the reverent.
On top of that, the solemn had sexually assaulted an eleven-year-old girl. Also, the levels another accusation at Green, that he had sex with a goat. Such false allegation disgusted the congregation, and all over sudden, a man in the tent draws his pistol and fires, which marks the start of chaos and violence breaks out (6-7). Through the tent, the judge cut away and escapes to a nearby hotel from which he watches the Green’s tent sway and collapses out of the war he initiated where the congregation is claiming each other’s life).
Such a stirring description by Cormac McCarthy of violence during the sermon, when read, depicts the judge as core because and when collaborated with his abnormal outlook, his demonically strong character emerges.