“No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy has been hailed as one of the greatest pieces of literature for its cunning storytelling and dense characters. One of the more interesting characters in this novel is Llewelyn Moss for his ability to run from the unstoppable killing machine that is Anton Chirgurh. For about two-thirds of the story, it would not be unreasonable to assume that Moss is the protagonist of this thriller. However, Moss meets an unfortunate demise rather early in the plot which leaves readers questioning, “why kill off the protagonist so early?” This is because Moss is not the protagonist—Sheriff Ed Tom Bell is. But what would make Llewelyn Moss not the protagonist in this story? Some say that a protagonist has to have hero qualities which you could argue that Llewelyn d;oes not possess. Could any moral person justify taking two million dollars from anyone no matter how corrupt they are? One thing to take in consideration is that Moss’ moral compass could be swayed due to his tribulations he had to undergo during his tour in Vietnam. Unlike Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, Moss expresses a less altruistic worldview. Bell sees violence as unnecessary and senseless while Moss sees it as a means that should be resorted during troubling times. …show more content…
The way and reason this is done is one of the many aspects that makes No Country for Old Men stand out from other novels in its genre’s: it is because it takes a very real look at the nature of morality. The way it communicates morality through the characters Chirgurh (Evil), Bell (Good), and Moss (Neutral) is unique in it of itself. McCarthy essentially gave us the ending we didn’t want, but needed. There are times where the world is unfair and there are times where evil prevails. There is likely nothing we can do that to change that because that is the nature of our
Bell loses his identity after the event but is shown when he promises himself to save Moss. After Moss’ death, Bell feels defeated and recalls to the time he left his comrades dead on the battlefield and he just left. But after Chigurh flees and the mexican hitman is gone, Bell learns that fate cannot be changed and nothing can be done about it. Later on when Bell retires from sheriff, he then fully regains his identity after thinking about the tragedy in the war and realizing that he must live with it and just accept fate. Through Bell and Moss’ struggles and the ability to conquer them, Northrop Frye 's theory of literature is present in No Country for Old Men.
Cathy Ames has been criticized because she is completely evil. It has expressed throughout the novel that Cathy is inhuman. She has no emotion, no feelings, and no good in her. Many state that she is a symbol for Satan or a witch, who is pawn of Satan. People go so far in declaring that she is one of these evil spirits because even from birth she was filled with extreme evil and darkness, lacking characteristic that make up a human.
The thrilling novel “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy is a story about a post apocalyptic world following the lives of a man and a boy as they head south to escape the cold winter that is headed their way. Along with the cold of winter approaching they also have to deal with the new dangers of the land while traveling such as cannibals, robbers, and many more dangers. This is a tale of a unnamed man and a boy who must not only learn how to survive but find a inner “fire”, establish a code of ethic, and continue in finding reasons to live in this “new world”. With McCarthy’s unique approach to the characters of the book having no names or the cause of destruction of the world unknown it helps the reader feel the confusion and whats really important
People tend to be judged by how others perceive them to be, rather than how they actually are. This statement is shown in the play, Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. One example from the play in which this type of unfair judgement is displayed is when the news of Henry Drummond being the defense attorney for Bert Cates was announced. “Henry Drummond, the agnostic… A vicious, godless man… Henry Drummond is an agent of darkness.
Throughout the book, Where The Red Fern Grows, character's actions are constantly affecting each other. However, the grandfather is one character that is unique in a way that he impacts others in ways others are not able to. The grandfather's actions mainly affect others in positive ways. Two examples of this are when he gives Billy, the protagonist, his own tricks for catching raccoons on pages 55 and 87. By doing this he helps ensure Billy's success with his hunting hounds.
For many, the events one lives through shapes the kind of person they are, and for some, one event can be the key difference between an innocent child and a mature adult. In Cormac McCarthy’s, “All the Pretty Horses,” this is just the case with character John Grady. At first, Grady is able to see the world with fire-like imagery, adding a sense of imagination and desire to even the most mundane tasks. Yet, when he kills a man, the
A deceiving student, Macca, dominates both Ruth and fellow victim, Philip. No one attempts to control this, not even Mrs Canmore who only warns the bullies. One student, Ruth, comes from a tough background; she is a soldier against the Macca War. Despite the consequences, Ruth becomes a quiet hero; this inspires the audience. Throughout the story, the author portrays Ruth as a shred of hope for the other characters.
“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell is a story about a man, Sanger Rainsford, whose ideals and overall character change throughout the story, specifically about hunting, due to his encounter with General Zaroff. At the beginning of the story Rainsford is a stuck up man. He could not care less about any other living things other than humans. He believes all living wildlife are expendable and only there for his pleasure of hunting. During the story Rainsford has to make many quick and overall difficult decisions during his encounters with the ocean, General Zaroff, and the island wilderness to survive, that change how he thinks about animals.
Annotated Bibliography McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print. The Road is set in a grim atmosphere.
While these moral codes can be manipulated by conventions dictated by religion or law, they can also be developed through personal ordeals and events (and the lessons that people learn from these occurrences). All of the moral codes in No Country For Old Men are relatable to human society to a certain extent, including Ed Tom’s strong belief in religion and law, Moss’ determination to keep his loved ones safe, and even Chigurh’s fierce dedication to his dignity and honor. On the other hand, these characters are also relatable because of their moral flaws, from Moss’ greed and overconfidence to Ed Tom’s selfishness in the end, when he decides to retire instead of dedicating himself to apprehending Chigurh. In this Neo-western film the traditional archetypes of the hero and the villain are skewed.
"Of mice and men" a novel by John Steinbeck which will be discussed in this paragraph evaluating two specific points, one of them is that George did the right thing by killing Lennie for many circumstances to be discussed later; and the second is about George was not supposed to kill Lennie under any reason because the life of every human being must be respected by every person in the world. George, seeing that Lennie did not have the ability to live on his own, always got into very serious problems and seeing that neither of them could get ahead because of those motives as you can see in the next quote: "I done a real bad thing," he said. "I shouldn 't of did that. George 'll be mad.
Some days they go hungry, the weather uproots their lives, and other hindrances place a awful, dark outlook on life. Cormac Mccarthy writes about a disgusting world. It is the dying of lie on the planet, the end of the world. Not only do the gruesome events in the novel led the reader to take an opposing view, but even the setting of the novel
Imagine, a small, nearly silent hospital room filled with quiet apprehension about what is about to happen; the silence masked only by soothing voices trying to bring the room to a state of peace. A man lies in bed, only kept alive by the life support that his been sustaining him for days. Then in a moment, the life support is gone and so is the man, released in a harsh act prompted by mercy, compassion, and good intentions. In John Steinbeck’s book, Of Mice and Men, a another situation is prompted by compassion, but the result is a cruel act. Lennie attempts to show caring and tenderness to Curley’s wife, but it leads to her death in an example of situational irony.
Literature 1 Michael Arroyo August 28, 2015 4th Period “As Simple As Snow” by Gregory Galloway “As Simple as Snow” is a mystery novel made in 2005 that may confuse people’s minds with all the art, magic, codes, and love while reading. As a teen age boy who wants to find the secrets his girlfriend who left behind all these mysteries after her odd disappearance. It also tells about the lost gothic girl, Anna Cayne, who meets the young high-school aged narrator. Throughout the postcards, a shortwave radio, various CDs, and many other irregular interest.
The goal of this activity was to compare and contrast two main characters of Frankenstein whom are Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth Lavenza. Some of their similarities is their thirst for knowledge, and they are both very caring. Their differences include, how they approach and deal with problems, and their personalities (explained later). Both are very similar and barley have any differences but, the ones that they do have are very distinctable. Starting with similarities, Elizabeth and Victor share many such as their thirst for knowledge.