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Review Of Cormac Mccarthy's Novel 'No Country For Old Men'

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In the Cormac McCarthy novel “No Country For Old Men”, Llewellyn Moss makes a gruesome discovery while on a hunting trip in Texas. Moss finds dead bodies, bullet ridden trucks, guns, drugs and money in the desert. He decides to steal the bag of money that contains millions of dollars which changes the course of his life and many others. A local sheriff, Ed Tom Bell, and crazy hit-man killer, Anton Chigurh, are both on the hunt for Moss. McCarthy’s novel depicts how society has been adversely affected and desensitized by the exposure to violence and accepts that evil acts are a part of life. As Sheriff Bell narrates his story, his past is revealed which helps explain his emotions. As a veteran and a law enforcement officer, Bell has had …show more content…

As an experienced sniper in the Vietnam war, Moss is used to relying on himself and thinks he can steal the drug money, cover his tracks and live a good life. Vietnam taught Moss how to survive and he feels his skills are worthy of the risk of stealing the money. The war in Vietnam was fought differently than previous wars because “In contrast to World War II, American soldiers in Vietnam served individualized tours of duty rather than remaining attached to their units throughout the war. This sometimes produced difficulties in adjusting to life back at home” (New American Nation). Once Moss is in his survival mode he detaches from others in order to focus on his personal mission. He leaves Carla Jean behind it says that he can not make any promises about the future (McCarthy 66). Moss believes he can overcome any obstacle and will use whatever force necessary to survive when he says “By the time he got up he knew that he was probably going to have to kill somebody. He just didnt know who it was” (McCarthy 87). Moss behaves as though he does not have a choice about killing another person in order to keep the stolen money. In Vietnam the average age of a soldier was only nineteen years old (New American Nation). To be exposed to so much violence at a young age is proven to be destructive. When given the opportunity to save Carla Jean’s life Moss refuses to give himself up. He once again chooses to focus on his personal mission, not thinking of Carla Jean as a part of his team. A study of college age students found that “Diminished empathy at high levels of exposure to violence may also serve as a protective mechanism to shield individuals from assuming more emotional and cognitive burdens than they can handle. Similarly, high levels of personal trauma may make individuals more callous and dismissive of others’ experiences that may be viewed as insignificant compared to one's own”

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