Bless the Beasts and Children (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Glendon Swarthout
- First Published: 1970
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: 1960’s, Suicide, Escapes, Courage, Social issues, Friendship, Abandoned children, Child abuse, Emotions, Death or dying, Idealism, Cruelty, Southwest, Heroes or heroism, Westerns, Hunting or hunters, Bison or buffalo, Boys, Endangered species
- Locales: Arizona
In Bless the Beasts and Children, Box Canyon Boys Camp becomes a microcosm for American society; a process of “natural selection of age and cruelty and regionalism and kindred interest” divides the boys of the camp into a ranked tribal structure. The boys strive to outdo one another and to usurp the places of those higher in the social order, either by excelling in the weekly competition or by stealing the totem of another tribe. Each tribe has its special totem: the Apaches, a mounted buffalo head; the Sioux, the head of a mountain lion; the Comanches, the head of a black...
[The entire page is 1167 words long]

