Jeremy Clark
Dr. Childs
English 1301
08 December 2012
Destiny or Coincidence
Is our existence prearranged and are we to
follow a supernatural diagram in which events and understandings are governed
by coincidences therefore creating our destiny? Some believe our lives are
predetermined which poses an interesting question: what would be the point of
living if everything were already preset? The main antagonist in the film No Country for Old Men Anton Chigurh
gives people a choice: heads or tails. You have the choice to make and must
suffer the consequences of this choice. There is a strong connection between
the choices we make, succumbing to life’s evil temptations and the
repercussions we face as a result. The main characters in this film perform
parts that leave us wondering whether destiny or coincidence has taken a hold
of them.
The morals we possess
are often put aside in a life altering time, where it seems destined that the
events playing out before us are symbols or a sign leading to prosperity. Llewelyn
Moss is the main character in this film, which is seen in the opening scene of
the movie hunting antelope. During this hunt, Moss stumbles upon a drug deal
gone sour and its aftermath. The choice that he makes to take the temptation of
money in front of him is the beginning of his navigation down life’s bumpy road
of consequences. This simple man of few words puts not only his own life in
jeopardy by stealing the cash, but also endangers all of those surrounding him
as well. Most would view this scenario as fate or luck, but it’s just not that
simple.
As Emerson states: “Chigurh
sees himself, however, as destiny personified. He is simply the Reaper, who
does what must be done... because that's what he does. The way he sees it, he
is not the one responsible for the decision to kill or not kill. There are
rules and he must enforce them, if only because he's the only one who understands
them (as far as he's concerned). So, he doesn't choose to kill or not kill; but
if fate puts someone in his way, then so be it.”(Emerson)
Chigurh’s unforgiving evil is shown time and
time again during this epic struggle of life and death. His outlook on life is
terribly dark and he shows us that the choices we make don’t just revolve
around fate or luck, but actions and consequences. To comprehend where Anton’s
mentality comes from, one would have to think like a sociopathic hit man as
well. He has no fear of the unknown because he sees life as being predestined
and himself as a tool of the trade. The coin that he uses to determine whether
his victim lives or dies is not a symbol of destiny in his eyes. The truth is
that Chigurh makes the choice of letting one live or to kill even when the coin
flips. He is responsible for the deaths of many, justified in his own moral
less mind.
“He's a strict, conscientious, self-taught
psychopath who vigilantly maintains his mental ill health. He's purged himself
of all qualms and second thoughts so as to function smoothly in the world that
Bell, the Goldwaterian granddad, has grown unfit for. When in doubt -- and
Chigurh rarely is -- he shoots someone point-blank or pierces his forehead with
a pneumatic instrument designed for slaughtering cattle. He wears this tool
strapped to his body like a prosthesis, and the story leaves no doubt that
he'll prevail over beings who aren't so well equipped. Chigurh has achieved an
evil state of grace that the ambivalent masses will never know.” (Kirn) Anton shields the light of day with his
darkness that prevails in all circumstances. This dark side has a way of
bullying viewers into thinking that the actions taken by him are indeed
predestined and that is just the way the cookie crumbles.
Moss chose to tempt
fate and go for it all rather than playing it safe and staying on the good,
slow rate of life he was living. He makes many decisions or choices that dig
him deeper and deeper in the hole, eventually causing him to lose everything.
These choices seem to revolve more around fate or luck, than destiny or
coincidence. “Llewelyn’s love for his wife and his compassion for others turns out
to be his tragic flaw; most obviously, he is pursued after bringing water to a
man who lay dying in the desert, something he knows is “dumber than hell.””(McClure
48) This was his first choice of several “dumber than hell” decisions, which
led him to the trials and tribulations he faced head on as a repercussion.
The concluding scenes of No Country for Old Men seem to spin
around destiny. A variant of the line, "a man cannot escape what's coming
to him," is vocalized numerous times by several of the characters. It
leads up to the ending scene in Sheriff Bell's household, where he is
reminiscing about his dreams. “Anyway, first one I don't remember too well but
it was about meeting him in town somewhere, he's gonna give me some money. I
think I lost it.”(No Country for Old Men)
The first one is about lost money; this could be the two million dollars being
chased, the loss of the flip of a coin, or any number of things, but ultimately
it's about loss. Sherriff Bell’s outlook on the world and the way he conducts
himself within it shows he is losing touch with all around him. Maybe it's just
that he's discouraged with all the unwelcomed newness around him which leads
him to his choice of retirement. In the second dream, he dreamed of his father,
who passed away twenty years earlier than Bell's present age. I think the dream
he describes is a representation for death, but more so, the death of the old
way of life, the life that he knew.
Fate is not the only
thing chasing evil in this film. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell is a step behind in the chase
of Chigurh’s coat tail as he tries to conquer the man of black and vaguely striking
appearance. “Bell defines himself as a composite self, a self whose core
identity exists in constant relation to other people. Love and goodness, for
Bell, only occur in relationship, and outside of such relationships, all that a
human possesses would need a box. Chigurh, of course, recognizes no such
ethical or metaphysical obligations and therefore epitomizes the disease whose symptom
is catastrophic violence.”(Cooper 56)
This is the good versus evil aspect of the film that leaves us awestruck
and clinging to the hope of virtuous luck saving the targets of this savage
being. We are to believe that only fate could have brought such rotten outcomes
to these characters. This leaves the viewer wondering whether destiny or
coincidence played the final role of their walk of life.
“Llewelyn Moss is
searching for authenticity in the context of betrayal and moral hypocrisy. But
unlike other so-called existential heroes, who attempt to create meaning in a
meaningless world, Llewelyn remains entangled in ethical categories and will
ultimately be judged according to those categories.”(McFarland 167) Llewelyn’s
background as a two time Vietnam Veteran comes into play as he takes on the
challenge of defeating Anton Chigurh. We see that his survivalist instinct shines
through the “dumb luck” of coincidence. The test of defying the immoral destined
by the cluster he has created for himself makes for an entertaining, yet gloomy,
dramatic affair. The darkness that ensues the light of the world is boldly
pronounced as being predestined in Chigurh’s actions and philosophies. Chigurh
says that the coin he carried had “been traveling twenty-two years to get here.
And now it’s here,” (No Country for Old
Men) “as though all of history had unfolded to the precise moment of the
coin toss.”(Cooper 56)
The choices that we
make in life ultimately control the outcome of our lives. “Sheriff Bell’s
choices in confronting his fears lead him to a fate that is loaded with regret.”(Spino)
As Ed Tom gradually fell further and further behind in the case against Anton
Chigurh, so did his grasp on reality around him and the fight against the evils
of life. “We make decisions based on wrong or right. Some people however, have
a sense of unexplainable evil that lingers inside them. The actions of evil
would be considered cold blooded and ruthless.”(Nick)
Do we succumb to those evil forces, become a part of them, or do we do our best
to maintain our own sense of integrity even if we lose everything? These are
the questions that lingered in the minds of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell and Llewelyn Moss
throughout this film. The answers were easy enough to find, but without faith
these questions were answered with destiny or coincidence.
Works Cited
Cooper, Lydia R. "He's A
Psychopathic Killer, But So What?": Folklore And Morality In Cormac McCarthy’s
"No Country For Old Men." Papers On Language & Literature
45.1 (2009): 37-59. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 Dec. 2012.
Emerson,
Jim. "No Country for Old Men: Out in All That Dark." Suntimes.
Jim Emerson, 27 Nov. 2007. Web. 08 Dec. 2012.
Kirn,
Walter"'No Country for Old Men': Texas Noir." Rev. of No Country for
Old Men by Walter Kirn. New York Times 24 July 2005. Newyorktimes.com.
24 July 2005. 07 Dec. 2012
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/24/books/review/24KIRNL.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0>.
McClure, Christopher. "No Country for
Old Gods." Perspectives on Political Science 39.1 (2010): 46-51. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 30 Nov. 2012.
McFarland, Douglas. “No Country for Old
Men As Moral Philosophy.” The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers. Ed.Mark
T. Conrad. Lexington: University of Kentucky, 2009. 163-175. Print
Spino, Tammy. “Fear and Fate in No Country
for Old Men.” Blogger. Blogger.com. 25 November 2012. Web. 8 December 2012.
Arrazola, Nicholas. “Determining the
Good and the Bad .” Blogger. Blogger.com. 28 November 2012. Web. 8 December
2012.
No
Country for Old Men. Dir. Joel Coen. Prod. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. Perf. Tommy
Lee Jones and Javier Bardem. Miramax, 2007. DVD.
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