"Blood Meridian" - Ending?

[Manchegan]

So I just finished the book, and wow. Very interesting. But I'm a little confused on the vague ending. I assumed something epic happened with the man and the judge, but a friend told me he read some article saying the judge basically rapes him. That doesn't feel right to me. What did ya'll think happened in the jakes after the dancing bear was killed?

[dfloyd]

I don't think anyone knows, even Cormac McCarthy. Cormac left the ending wide open, knowing that people would be guessing about the ending. Harold Bloom thought the Judge was symbolic of Moby Dick. Who knows? Maybe the Judge was Bluto and the Kid was Popeye.

[Manchegan]

popeye, eh? It all makes sense now.