Cormac Mccarthy No Country For Old Men Literary Analysis

As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one”

Known for his raw, punctuation-barren prose and biblical symbolism, Cormac McCarthy is one of the most highly regarded writers of our time. In his novel, No Country for Old Men, McCarthy explores biblical doctrine in a parabolic manner and illustrates the depravity of society through his signature macabre lens. Through a story about a drug deal gone awry and the deadly chase that ensues, McCarthy unravels a theological discussion about man’s relationship with sin. His bloody story is one that parallels Romans 3:10, which says: “There is no one righteous, not even one”(English Standard Version Rom. 3:10). Through the actions of a hitman, a war veteran and a sheriff, he reveals that human righteousness is impossible due to our

inherent sinful nature.

The antagonist of No Country is an emotionless, compassionless hitman by the name of Anton Chigurh; his victims do not understand him, police are baffled by his exploits and the reader is stunned by his ruthlessness. McCarthy created this Herod-esque character to represent a man who is driven solely by his evil nature, possessing “principles that transcend money or drugs or anything like that” (McCarthy, 153), and are instead rooted in pride, power and death. The opening scene of McCarthy’s novel describes a brutal killing that involves an innocent state trooper, Anton Chigurh and an asphyxiation with handcuffs. Later, Chigurh reveals that he “let [the trooper] take [him] into town in handcuffs”(174), because he “wanted to see if [he] could extricate [himself] by an act of will”(175). Not only did Chigurh commit a sin of murder but also, he arrogantly flaunts his murderous talents in a self-righteous manner. Clearly, this murder was in effort to satisfy an inner sinful pride. Further, This demonstrates Chigurh’s susceptibility to his sinful nature; he was consumed by his evil pride and consequently committed a sinful act, thus making

him unrighteous. Intertwined with his evil pride is a strong lust for power that influences many killings of innocent people. During the murder of Carla Jean, Anton remarks that “even a nonbeliever might find it useful to model himself after God” (256). Here, Anton reveals that The reason he kills so many innocent people is because he has a blasphemous desire to act as though he were God. By determining their fate through his murderous sin, Chigurh is able to satisfy this primordial covetous for power. In addition, Chigurh possesses a desire for murder itself. During a deadly confrontation with another hitman named Carson Wells, Anton refuses a bribe saying, “It’s a good payday. It’s just the wrong currency… [death] doesn’t mean to me what it does to you” (174-177). This passage contrasts both hitmen’s motives. Wells is a hitman for monetary gain while, Chigurh murders to quench his thirst for the sin itself. Subsequently, Chigurh dispatches Wells despite his knowledge of the stolen money and satisfies his desire for murder. Chigurh did not oppose his inherent evil nature in any of these situations but instead embraced it and was consumed by it and as a result, he committed countless sins.
In Contrast to Chigurh’s homicidal opening, Llewelyn Moss appears to be a source of righteousness at the outset of the novel. Despite this initial perception, Moss quickly demonstrates that he is plagued by the love of money, a sinful desire similar to that of Chigurh and detrimental pride. At the beginning of the novel, Llewelyn stumbles across a large sum of money within the carnage of a spoiled drug deal. Even though there “was the dead certainty that someone was going to come for the money”(19), Moss was undeterred from stealing the money, because in his opinion, “His whole life was sitting there in front of him. Day after day until he was dead. All of it cooked down into forty pounds of paper in a satchel.”(18). Moss’ love of money is so strong in this situation that he disregards the implications of theft and exposes himself and his loved ones to the imminent wrath of the cartel. This impulsive decision catalyzes his descent into more sin and instigates Chigurh’s relentless torment. Parabolically, McCarthy reveals the truth that: “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils… through this craving some have… pierced themselves with many pangs.” (1 Tim. 6:10). Moreover, Moss’ love for money lead him to realize a desire to continue his sinfulness. When questioned about his criminal status, he remarked that: “[he was] sorry [he] didn’t start sooner” (228). At this point, it is evident that Llewelyn has possesses a natural inclination and attraction to sin. He no longer commits sins for protection from Chigurh but, instead continues to sin for pleasure. Ultimately, Moss’ criminal activity comes to an abrupt halt when he is captured and murdered by Chigurh. However, only after his death does the power of his pride fully manifest itself. Even though Moss “had the opportunity to remove [Carla Jean] from harm’s way... he chose not to do so”(256), because his Chigurh’s conditions were humiliating. Although he valued Carla Jean’s life, his pride was worth more. Through this, McCarthy illustrates the strength that evil pride has upon a man. Essentially, McCarthy’s portrayal of Moss shows that even men who appear righteous are inherently evil within.
Although Sheriff Ed Tom Bell may seem to be the most righteous character in the novel, he too is driven by sinful motives. Subtly, through pride, selfishness and realizations McCarthy uses Sheriff Bell to illustrate unrighteous nature. Early on in the novel, Tom describes an incident where a he parked his cruiser outside a cafe just after a killer had “ shot all the glass out of one side of [it]” (39). In his recollection, Tom admits that he arrogantly “show[ed] out” (39), in effort to impress the cafes patrons and gain their admiration. As Sheriff, Tom has the obligation to enact justice upon criminals to protect his county's people but he failed to do so. In this situation, Tom disregarded the safety of his people to quench his sinful pride. Later in the story, McCarthy begins to reveal Tom’s struggle with selfishness through a flashback to his experience as a soldier. After taking a “blood oath to look after the men”(268) in his regiment, Tom selfishly abandons his post, leaving behind wounded and unprotected men to be killed by Nazis. Regretfully, he admits that: “if [he] was supposed to die over there doing what [he]’d given his word to do, then that’s what [he] should have done”( 278). Naturally, when faced with the possibility of death, Ed Tom’s intrinsic self-preservation won out over his obligation to protect his comrades. McCarthy’s parabolic writing is evident, as he uses Tom’s selfish nature to show that: “whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin”( Jam. 4:17), furthering his argument about man’s unrighteousness. At the end of the novel, Bell’s trajectory concludes with the realization of his sinfulness, saying: “I always thought that when I got older I’d be good enough for God to come into my life in some way. he didn’t. I don't blame him. If I was him I’d have the same opinion about me that he does”(283). This expression of conviction shows that Sheriff Tom understands he is still sinful despite his good works. As hard as he tries, he is unable to be righteous like God because of his sinful nature. Ed Tom Bell is portrayed as a righteous character but, with inspection, it is revealed that McCarthy wished to show that even great men are unrighteous at their core.
In No Country For Old Men, the actions of Chigurh, Moss and Bell contrast on the surface. With further analysis, it is evident that each character possesses an inherent evil nature that has been present since their conception (Psa. 51:5). McCarthy’s illustration of this sobering truth provokes