In Cormac McCarthy’s novel No Country for Old Men, the theme of fate is frequently discussed and plays a central role in many ways. Immediately after Llewellyn Moss discovers the briefcase full of money, the novel begins to create questions about fate, chance, choice, and free will. Fate becomes a theme that some characters struggle with and some embrace throughout the novel, and all are touched by it in some way – even if it is not actually real. In particular, Moss, Anton Chigurh, and Sheriff Ed Tom Bell have lives that are steeped in the concepts of fate and free will.
Moss’s initial decisions are what kick off the narrative about fate and free will. When Moss discovers the briefcase of money, he chooses to take it because he sees how the …show more content…
Chigurh views the world as a place ruled by fate, where individual human actions are not important, and where all choices are determinants of a persons fate progressively moving people towards death. Chigurh does not see himself as the one responsible to make the decisions about when death should come; rather he simply does what needs to be done. He has a set of principles that he enforces, and if fate (as he sees it) places someone in his way, then he is justified in killing them. Chigurh uses the idea of fate to shift responsibility for killing his victims, and even uses a coin to distance himself from what are ultimately his own decisions. Chigurh walks into a gas station, and after becoming irked with the questions of the proprietor he flips a coin, telling the man to “call it” (55). The proprietor protests by saying, “I didnt put nothin up” (56) and Chigurh responds “Yes you did. You’ve been putting it up your whole life. You just didn’t know it” (55), which implies that the shopkeeper is playing for his life. Chigurh tells the man “[the coin] has been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it’s here. And I’m here. And I’ve got my hand over it. And its either heads or tails” (56), a series of statements that imply the entire situation has arisen from mere fate, and that it is fate that will decide whether the proprietor lives or dies. The proprietor calls …show more content…
Like Chigurh, he is a man who decides people’s fate. The differences are that Bell follows the law instead of a set of principles, and Bell is haunted by his decisions. At the beginning of the novel, Bell recounts sending a “boy to the gaschamber at Huntsville” (3). Bell narrates that it was “[his] arrest and [his] testimony” that put the boy there, and since then he has thought about it often. Later on, Bell recalls his time in the war – he received a commendation for holding his position on the battlefield, but is troubled because he actually “cut and run” (276) and left wounded yet potentially living soldiers behind. Bell thinks it was his fate to die with his men, but instead his he chose free will and escaped, thinking he “[stole] his own life” (278). Throughout the story, Bell is feels as though he is facing a new type of criminal and violence in the world, and that he cannot match the evil he perceives. In the end, Bell is forced to accept his fate, saying, “Now I aim to quit and a good part of it is just knowin that I wont be called on to hunt this man” (282). Bell realizes he is outgunned by Chigurh and cannot match the violence of the world he finds himself in, so he must
Moss’s initial decisions are what kick off the narrative about fate and free will. When Moss discovers the briefcase of money, he chooses to take it because he sees how the …show more content…
Chigurh views the world as a place ruled by fate, where individual human actions are not important, and where all choices are determinants of a persons fate progressively moving people towards death. Chigurh does not see himself as the one responsible to make the decisions about when death should come; rather he simply does what needs to be done. He has a set of principles that he enforces, and if fate (as he sees it) places someone in his way, then he is justified in killing them. Chigurh uses the idea of fate to shift responsibility for killing his victims, and even uses a coin to distance himself from what are ultimately his own decisions. Chigurh walks into a gas station, and after becoming irked with the questions of the proprietor he flips a coin, telling the man to “call it” (55). The proprietor protests by saying, “I didnt put nothin up” (56) and Chigurh responds “Yes you did. You’ve been putting it up your whole life. You just didn’t know it” (55), which implies that the shopkeeper is playing for his life. Chigurh tells the man “[the coin] has been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it’s here. And I’m here. And I’ve got my hand over it. And its either heads or tails” (56), a series of statements that imply the entire situation has arisen from mere fate, and that it is fate that will decide whether the proprietor lives or dies. The proprietor calls …show more content…
Like Chigurh, he is a man who decides people’s fate. The differences are that Bell follows the law instead of a set of principles, and Bell is haunted by his decisions. At the beginning of the novel, Bell recounts sending a “boy to the gaschamber at Huntsville” (3). Bell narrates that it was “[his] arrest and [his] testimony” that put the boy there, and since then he has thought about it often. Later on, Bell recalls his time in the war – he received a commendation for holding his position on the battlefield, but is troubled because he actually “cut and run” (276) and left wounded yet potentially living soldiers behind. Bell thinks it was his fate to die with his men, but instead his he chose free will and escaped, thinking he “[stole] his own life” (278). Throughout the story, Bell is feels as though he is facing a new type of criminal and violence in the world, and that he cannot match the evil he perceives. In the end, Bell is forced to accept his fate, saying, “Now I aim to quit and a good part of it is just knowin that I wont be called on to hunt this man” (282). Bell realizes he is outgunned by Chigurh and cannot match the violence of the world he finds himself in, so he must