No Country for Old Men Research Paper
No Country for Old Men
Cormac McCarthy’s novel, No Country for Old Men, enlightens the life of Llewellyn Moss, a welder and Vietnam veteran, who happens to stumble upon several murdered bodies, a sufficient supply of cocaine, and two million dollars of cartel drug money. Moss decides to seize the money and consequently sets off a chase for his life against the old hand sheriff Ed Tom Bell and hired psychopathic killer Anton Chigurh. However, McCarthy essentially exploits Moss’ and Chigurh’s escapade only as a subplot and ultimately conveys a deeper meaning. The novelist heavily relies on Bell’s failure to reconcile his morals of the approach crime used to take years before. Through analyzing the characters, moral relativism, and the apocalyptic theme, Bell’s grievances begins to seem more agreeable as the novel progresses.
Symbolically, Chigurh represents destruction that may soon overcome a current society. With the obsession of worldly items, people begin to lose all sense of integrity with the strong demand for desired wishes. Shipali Sharma justifies with, “the Greed of possessing materialistic things and the intense desire to have a luxurious life by any possible means leads a person to follow this track of crime” (Sharma). As for Chigurh’s character, he will execute a ruthless killing spree just for the return of the stolen money. In addition, Chigurh’s yearning for control ignites his motive for the countless murders. According to a recent article about criminal psychology, “The criminal usually attacks weak victims who are unarmed in order to be in control and to feel superior” (Radwan). For instance, the “Coin Flip” scene shows the mercifulness killer Anton Chigurh put the life of a gas station owner up against a flip of a coin. The reader can easily see how McCarthy sets up Chigurh as a warped world view that remains consistent throughout the entire novel. This profoundly dialogued scene opens with the gas station owner asking an
Cormac McCarthy’s novel, No Country for Old Men, enlightens the life of Llewellyn Moss, a welder and Vietnam veteran, who happens to stumble upon several murdered bodies, a sufficient supply of cocaine, and two million dollars of cartel drug money. Moss decides to seize the money and consequently sets off a chase for his life against the old hand sheriff Ed Tom Bell and hired psychopathic killer Anton Chigurh. However, McCarthy essentially exploits Moss’ and Chigurh’s escapade only as a subplot and ultimately conveys a deeper meaning. The novelist heavily relies on Bell’s failure to reconcile his morals of the approach crime used to take years before. Through analyzing the characters, moral relativism, and the apocalyptic theme, Bell’s grievances begins to seem more agreeable as the novel progresses.
Symbolically, Chigurh represents destruction that may soon overcome a current society. With the obsession of worldly items, people begin to lose all sense of integrity with the strong demand for desired wishes. Shipali Sharma justifies with, “the Greed of possessing materialistic things and the intense desire to have a luxurious life by any possible means leads a person to follow this track of crime” (Sharma). As for Chigurh’s character, he will execute a ruthless killing spree just for the return of the stolen money. In addition, Chigurh’s yearning for control ignites his motive for the countless murders. According to a recent article about criminal psychology, “The criminal usually attacks weak victims who are unarmed in order to be in control and to feel superior” (Radwan). For instance, the “Coin Flip” scene shows the mercifulness killer Anton Chigurh put the life of a gas station owner up against a flip of a coin. The reader can easily see how McCarthy sets up Chigurh as a warped world view that remains consistent throughout the entire novel. This profoundly dialogued scene opens with the gas station owner asking an