Anton Chigurh: A Sociopath with Principles In Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men, Anton Chigurh is a hitman tasked with recovering drug money stolen by the main protagonist, Llewelyn Moss. Chigurh is completely ruthless and he allows nothing to interfere. Chigurh kills without thought or remorse but paradoxically follows “moral” principles that are based solely on chance. In the novel, Anton Chigurh is portrayed as sociopathic, arrogant, yet ironically trustworthy. First, Chigurh’s characteristics are consistent with those of a sociopath meaning he does not feel emotion and he lacks empathy. Throughout the novel, Chigurh kills every man and woman who obstructs him without expressing any sign of remorse. Chigurh callously states that his victims always say “you dont have to do this” just before he kills them (257). While he is explaining to Carla Jean why he must kill her, Chigurh tells her that it is pointless to plead for her life because he intends to kill her regardless. Given that he is sociopathic, Chigurh feels no compassion for his victims who are begging for their lives. They fear death, an emotion Chigurh has never felt. Shortly after their conversation, Chigurh shoots Carla Jean despite her pleas. Additionally, Chigurh ruthlessly kills anyone to accomplish his task more efficiently. For example, Chigurh kills a deputy and a bystander, Bill Wyrick, for the sole purpose of stealing their cars. After killing the innocent man with the cattle gun, Chigurh
In New Jersey, there are a set of teaching standards that all teachers must follow in their classrooms. Standard 2ii5 states, the teacher understands that learners bring assets [and liabilities] for learning based on their individual experiences, abilities, talents, prior learning, as well as language, culture, family, and community values. On the other hand, standard 3ii2 says, the teacher values the role of learners in promoting each other’s learning and recognizes the importance of peer relationships in establishing a climate of learning. In this paper, I will be talking about standards 2ii5 and 3ii2 and how they relate to the novel The Pact. The Pact talks about three young doctors and their journeys in getting there. All three of the
Jimmy knows too well the agonies of abandonment. First, when his mother, Cecilia, ran away with Richard to pursue a better lifestyle. Then, due to his father’s, Damacio Baca, alcoholisms and violent behavior; he also had to leave Jimmy behind. In spite of the drawbacks from abandonment to being a maximum security prisoner in Arizona State Prison, Jimmy preserver’s the darkness of prison by overcoming his illiteracy. However Cecilia and Damacio is not as fortunate as their child; Cecilia is shot by Richard after confronting him for a divorce and Damacio chokes to death after he is released from the detox center(Baca 263). Therefore the most significant event in this section of the memoir, A Place to Stand by Jimmy Santiago Baca is the death of Jimmy’s parents.
Arthur Bauer was hanging out with his friend Erik Fisher. He knew that he would be unpopular if he did not obey Erik. Recently, Arthur even killed a man named Luiz Cruz. He always hated to carry out these evil plans, but he felt forced to do it to protect his status. The first thing that Erik got Arthur to do was to make fun of the death of his old friend, Mike Costello. “Ha! Do you remember the picture of his face! Priceless!” Erik laughed. “Pretty soon we’ll get to see the close up!”
In this essay, I will be discussing Cather’s views on three philosophies of life and I will attempt to draw a conclusion about the one to which she personally adheres. I have took my time and read this book and it has been a really good one. It had many romantic points of views and lots of naturalistic moments.
Those who forsake their conscience achieve and gain more than those who stay faithful to their moral integrity. In Bolt’s ‘A Man for All Seasons’, we see that ‘every man has his price’ and that most are willing to compromise their principles in order to attain what benefits them. Bolt’s guile villain, Thomas Cromwell captures the radical behaviors of men when they forsake their conscience. His personal philosophy that “so much wickedness purchases so much worldly prospering” leads him to do what is ‘convenient’ and disregard his morality completely. Similarly as how Johnny Friendly ‘worked [his] way up from nothing’ through manipulation of the laws and exploiting those below him. Both antagonists are able to successfully use their power and influence and prey upon weak-minded individuals for their advantage. In both texts, we are shown the vicious cycle of where those who posses power can easily attract those who lust after power. Once individuals have gained their selfish desires, it becomes a precarious game maintaining their position by sacrificing what is necessary. For the duration of the play, Rich gradually ‘lose[s] [his] innocence’ to Cromwell as his desire for status grows, inevitably causing him to sever his friendship with More. Rich’s desire is only satisfied when he “gives his soul…for Wales”. His perjury is necessary to convict More. Through Cromwell’s wicked
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
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, it takes place in Salem, Massachusetts during colonial America. Throughout the story a group of girls makes accusations a mass of people of practicing witchcraft, one of the worst crimes to commit during that period, and people are being sentenced to hang for denying witchery. In the Crucible there are many lessons that Arthur Miller wants to teach you. To me a lot of the lessons that were taught in this story are important but I feel like one of them is the most important. Arthur Miller demonstrates that one of the lessons implied in the story is people’s character and how it affects those people and others. Examples of character are Giles Corey, John Proctor, Abigail Williams.
I was pleased to have attended a lecture cosponsored by the Ethics Center, the Fresno State office of the president, the Fresno Bee and Valley PBS. The lecture began with Dr. Castro recognizing a few leaders on campus, including a past Fresno State president, Dr. John D. Welty and campus volunteer Mary Castro. Dr. Castro then mentioned a few things about Mr. Brooks stating that he is a columnist for the New York Times and an analyst for the PBS “News Hour” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Dr. Brooks also teaches at Yale University, one the finest university in the country. Dr. Castro continued by saying that he learned that Mr. Brooks office hours are from 9am to 1pm and how “cool” it sounded to him. I was surprised how many people attended the event. I was fortunate to find a seat. David Brooks mentioned how he has some remote roots in the Central Valley because his father grew in Chowchilla, CA but Mr. Brooks grew in New York.
The most critical character in the entire novel is the antagonist Anton Chigurh: a psychopathic hit-man who kills almost everyone he meets. Chigurh is completely eccentric and strictly abides to a moral code; he believes that he is an agent of fate, and that each and every choice we make determines our fate, no matter how small. This moral code is demonstrated in each of Chigurh’s interactions with the other characters. Throughout the novel it is not known if fate is necessarily either good or bad but it does not really matter because in the end the inevitable is going to happen. In this novel, McCarthy suggests that regardless of what path we choose, life will always end in death. Chigurh embodies this philosophy and throughout the novel he consistently serves as a reminder
Chigurh further demonstrates individuation through the understanding and the acceptance of the more sadistic portion of his psyche, his shadow. Chigurh facilitates his shadow by holding his principles to the extreme (to kill anyone who he sees to be held accountable, in other words, those who he feels are obstacles in his path), allowing him to perform remorseless actions, “The man was lying slumped against the tub holding an AK-47. He was shot in the chest and the neck and he was bleeding heavily. No me mate, he wheezed. No me mate. Chigurh stepped back to avoid the spray of ceramic chips off the tub and shot him in the face.” (McCarthy 104) When hunting for Lelwyn, he comes across other competitors who seek the same satchel. Even when his competitor is at his mercy, Chigurh, whose ideologies are already solidified in the sense that the other individuals have now come in his way and are held accountable, cause Chigurh to feel compelled to perform heinous actions which function to satisfy his shadow. As a result of Chigurh’s ideologies he makes no effort to stop his impulses, as they serve to satisfy his shadow. It is evident that the acceptance of his sadistic
“Everyone in society should be a role model, not only for their own self-respect, but for respect from others.” ~ Barry Bonds. In this world bad situations occur frequently and it takes a good strong person to handle them in a mature way. Dealing with them this way not only shows that the person has self-control, but also makes them a good role model for people to look up to. In the book The Chosen, Chaim Potok uses Mr. Galanter to express his opinions of a good role model. Acting as a baseball coach and gym teacher, young boys look to him for guidance and motivation every day. Having this kind of position causes stress at times, and requires him to stay calm and level headed. Throughout this book, Mr. Galanter
Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men has created controversial views on the significance of this novel. This piece involves a drug deal gone wrong when Llewelyn Moss, a veteran, happens to stumble upon three dead bodies, heroine, and a briefcase full of 2 million dollars. Told in different perspectives, the story continues with Moss on the run from a psychopathic killer Anton Chigurh in search of the money while also being tracked down by Sheriff Bell. Critics like James Wood from The New Yorker see this novel as “an unimportant, stripped-down thriller” solely based on the novel’s outer surface . On the other hand, William Cobb from the Houston Chronicle refers to McCarthy as the greatest living writer and that this novel “... has conjured up a heated story that brands the reader 's mind...and this is a novel that must be read and remembered”(Cooper 2). The literary merit of the novel becomes noticeable when looking beyond the thriller perspective. McCarthy’s literary merit in the novel is discrete, which is why it just appears to be a western thriller that many believe has no greater purpose other than an entertaining story. No Country for Old Men is a neo western thriller based on its writing style that divides the story into different perspectives containing elements such as fragmented sentences and untypical dialogue. The novel remains within the context of a 1980’s Texas plot which influences the diction so it can reflect a western atmosphere. Although it contains
Our actions and interactions with others and society are what define us. Society’s perception of an individual may contrast with that individual’s perception of self. Our actions and interactions with others create certain stigmas which may not change despite progression and change an individual has undergone. But however at the end of the day we are our own creators and we chose who we interact with.
Anton Chigurh, the antagonist of the novel, is the embodiment of this “new kind”. He is perceived as a personification of evil. Chigurh lacks any trace of empathy and operates solely to fulfill his personal aspirations. Throughout the novel, he has shown disregard for law and the value of human life. He embodies this through many things, including with the use of one of his weapons to kill people, a bolt gun, a tool used to slaughter cattle. He used this weapon to kill a man and steal his car. He used the weapon to avoid the law, being that he would not be traced caught by the cops because he is leaving nothing behind. Chigurh other weapon of choice he arms himself with is a Remington semi-auto shotgun, which he used to kill
Authors in many instances use the main elements in the story such as setting and narrative to prove a point in the story. For example, writers often use characters, their actions, and their interaction with other characters to support or prove a theme. In the short story “Our Thirteenth Summer”, Barry Callaghan effectively uses characters to develop the theme that childhood is fragile and easily influenced. One of the ways that Callaghan makes effective use of characters to develop the theme is by describing the tension between Bobbie and his parents. This usage of characters supports the theme because Bobbie’s childhood is no longer free to do what he wishes, but has to bow down to his parents’