Themes of No Country for Old Men Essay

1. Schmitt’s purpose in writing this travel narrative, is to show the differences between the Chinese and American cultures, when it comes to many different things. Main examples in this narrative are; living under the same roof, loss of a loved one, and funeral etiquette. In the Chinese culture it is excepted to come into common areas in your under clothing. Where in America, this would not be appropriate at all. In most places in America, law enforcement would be called on some one outside of their living area in nothing but their underwear and shoes. The narrative shows the many differences in funeral etiquette. One such being, white floors being the

This quote helps resemble how destiny is shown throughout the book; we cannot plan everything correctly because some things are decided by destiny itself. “If you knew what was going to happen, if you knew everything that was going to happen next—if you knew in advance the consequences of your own actions—you'd be doomed. You'd be ruined as God. You'd be a stone.

There is a horde of explanations pertaining to the epilogue of Blood Meridian. The short passage has sparked ideas of the idealistic human nature of suffering, the search for enlightenment through Gnosticism, and the subtle persuasion that lies beneath eloquent language, both in Judge Holden’s claims and Cormac McCarthy’s narration. It is important, before delving into these ideas, that the passage is recounted.

Upon reading the book, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, readers may be shocked to see the way it is written. Cormac McCarthy’s style of writing differentiates from other famous authors. He does not use correct punctuations such as apostrophes for contraction words and quotation marks around dialogues or use correct sentence forms. His rhetorical mode makes it difficult for the readers to perceive it but there is a reason as to why he writes this way. The reason why his writing style is so different is because of the way his life influences it. Not only does his life influences his writing style, it also influences what happens in his novels. Everything that Cormac McCarthy writes in his books have a purpose. In order to understand McCarthy’s reason for writing so differently and the themes behind No Country for Old Men, the readers would also have to understand the writer’s life and the effect of its influences.

In the novel, No Country for Old Men, each character plays a role in bringing life to the novel and ensuring its overall message be portrayed. One of those characters, the Sheriff of Terrell County (Tom Bell), struggles to adapt to a changing world where he encounters violence on a daily basis. A thorough analysis of Bell shows the reasons why he did what he did, what his motivations were for doing such things, what his actions revealed about the overall message (theme) of the novel, and what his overall fate in the novel meant.

This text got me thinking more deeply about each character and how each one of them follow a archetypal pattern with folklores. Initially reading No Country for Old Men(before reading this Cooper’s text), McCarthy’s characters fit very well into the drug busted, scene and I could relate it to many other plots

He operates on his own transcendental principles rather than the influence of others. For example, when he encounters the proprietor, he adjusts the situation from a moral decision to chance by proposing a coin toss. He demands him to call on the bet, “And it's either heads or tails. And you have to say. Call it.”

Small things. Things you wouldn’t even notice. They pass from hand to hand. People don't pay attention. And then one day there is an accounting. And after that nothing is the same…you see the problem. To separate the act from the thing. As if parts of some moment in history might be interchangeable with the parts of some other moment. How could that be? Well, it’s just a coin. Yes. That’s true. Is it?” (McCarthy 57). In this quote, Anton asks the man to choose which side of the coin will land facing upwards (to “call it”) and because the man called it correctly, Anton let the man live and did not kill him. This small coin flip plays a such a large role in the idea of fate because it leaves Anton questioning if it was fate that caused the man to guess correctly, or if it was just pure luck and chance. Though not directly proving that fate causes the man to be left alive, it brings the overall idea to thought and then keeps the thought present for the remainder of the novel. One critic talking about the theme of fate in Cormac McCarthy’s novels says, “The killer’s presumed insanity is the natural outcome of a deterministic philosophy prefigured in the dialogue between John Grady Cole and Duena Alfonsa in All the Pretty Horses, when they ponder the role of fate, chance, and choice through the metaphor of the coin toss. The same chaos theory that formed the intellectual basis for that conversation motivates the thoughts and actions of Anton Chigurh” (Michael Hollister). In this analysis, of McCarthy’s novels as a whole, the critic helps push the idea that Anton is a symbol of fate and evil when he describes the relation of his coin to McCarthy’s other work, All the Pretty Horses. By means of the coin and the character of Anton, McCarthy is able to set fate in the mind of the reader and suggest its power when it comes to determining the outcome of a

There are ethical and moral dilemmas that the characters face and for that historical and social time period there were viable solutions. There are moral values that guide the characters and historical experiences that shaped them. After a brief summary I will show two moral dilemmas, their outcome and alternatives. Also relating the dilemmas to articles by Selective Moral Disengagement in the Exercise of Moral Agency by Albert Bandura and Investigating Social Dynamics: Power, Conformity, and Obedience by Philip Zimbardo.

Cormac McCarthy’s thriller, No Country for Old Men, is a story exploding with violence, drug deals, greed, murder, and the ongoing battle between good and evil in the world today. Driven by the pessimistic belief that little can be done to right the wrongs in the world, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell continually compares the world today to the world he grew up in -- one where good always triumphed evil. It is clear that Sheriff Bell believes that evil is a side of human nature that little can be done about to fix. Llewelyn Moss is a man caught in the midst of this great battle, often having to choose one side for the sake of his life. Although he frequently chooses evil, he is overcome by the guilt eating away at the back of his mind and performs virtuous

The film No Country for Old Men is based on the story lines of the three central characters: Llewellyn Moss, the main protagonist who is a young hunter who stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad; Anton Chigurh, the antagonist who is a psychopathic killer and the second main protagonist Ed Tom Bell, a local Texas sheriff. Throughout the film, many notations to fate and destiny are depicted in the film, which provides intricacy to the film; this is present in the film through utilization of symbolism and characterisation. Many aspects of symbolism is seen throughout the film, predominantly present in through the use of the coin by Anton Chigurh and scenes showing roads. Fate is also depicted throughout characterising Anton the antagonist of the film

This movie is one of many classic movies that have the ultimate understanding of life and the human physiological behavior. This movie entitles three mechanisms of hunting to describe critical aspects of life, hunting for animals, hunting for men and hunting for meaning. Hunting is the act of tracking and taking a life; this act differs from hunting an animal to a human. This particle can teach a lot of principles like being patient, good timing and the art of tracking.

Llewelyn was not an ordinary guy who could be easily manipulated. He was no punk at all; when push came to shove, he was ready to shove back.

Llewellyn Moss’s development as a protagonist revolves around his experience as a war veteran clouding his judgment and ultimately deciding his fate. Moss deals with inner conflict from his disillusionment of war. His sense of autonomy and freedom drives him into a corner he cannot escape. Moss proves to be an ideal protagonist through Mckee’s Story since he is a character dealing with conflict and striving to achieve his desires even though it ends in failure. No Country for Old Men also incorporates a controlling idea. Mckee’s thoughts on a controlling idea are that it has a value plus a cause. In McCarthy’s novel, this idea is reality giving the protagonist a new perspective in life can ultimately lead to his demise. This phrase is insight of how the novel should be displayed towards the audience. The protagonist should have an experience that makes them think differently of the world; however, this thought process yields to their demise. McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men applies ideas and theories crafted by Mckee making it acceptable to create a film from

“We did indeed offer the Trust (Free Will) to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it;- he was indeed unjust (toward himself) and foolish.”