Themes
1. Chance. Chance is a very important theme in the movie; when Chigurh is presented with the chance to kill, he lets the flip of a coin decide the person's fate (though it can be argued that the choice lies with Chigurh and not the coin, as Carla argues later in the film). This theme of chance is displayed many times throughout the movie when Chigurh flips the coin to let the person's state of existence rely on the coin.
2. Greed is another theme in the movie, mostly because it portrays the fact that greed leads to nothing good. Llewelyn was tempted by greed to take the money, and he did. It was this greed and the desire to keep the money that kept him running with it, even when it put his wife in danger, and it was this greed that ultimately led to Llewelyn's death. The greed that led to him picking up the bag of money was the same greed that led to him living on the run and his demise. This highlights the fact that greed never leads to anything good.
3. Justice could be a theme of the movie, though it is portrayed in a rather ironic fashion. Justice in the movie is carried out by serial killer Chigurh. He kills anyone who stands in the way of his prize, thus, in his mind, delivering justice to those that deserve it. They are doing him an injustice by helping his enemies, thus they are to be delivered to justice.
Meaning of the Work as a Whole
After thinking for hours about what the meaning of the movie could be, I was still left with nothing. The only thing I got from it was that Chigurh was killing people, and that was about it. After doing some research, the best answer I can come up with is that the meaning of the movie as a whole is that, when looking at the bigger picture of life, nothing matters. Life goes on, even when some things feel like they're coming to an end, and even when there are dramatic developments happening. The main point is that in reality, no one thing really matters when you're looking at the overall picture. In the end of the movie, everyone is dead, the money is no longer of importance, and the sheriff is retiring, all because nothing that got them to that point matters anymore, if it ever did at all.
3 Important Quotations
***Type out each quote and in 3-5 sentences explain how/why that quote is significant to the overall meaning.
Anton Chigurh: Well done! Don't put it in your pocket, sir. Don't put it in your pocket. It's your lucky quarter.
Gas Station Proprietor: Where do you want me to put it?
Anton Chigurh: Anywhere not in your pocket, where it will get mixed in with the others and become just a coin, which it is.
Gas Station Proprietor: Where do you want me to put it?
Anton Chigurh: Anywhere not in your pocket, where it will get mixed in with the others and become just a coin, which it is.
This quote really shows the overall meaning of the story. Basically this quote is saying that by chance, the gas station proprieter has called the coin and "saved his own life". Chigurh tells him not to put the coin in with others because once this happens, there is nothing special about the coin anymore. That one coin would no longer matter because it would be just like the others.
Carla Jean Moss: You don't have to do this.
Anton Chigurh: People always say the same thing.
Carla Jean Moss: What do they say?
Anton Chigurh: They say, You don't have to do this.
Anton Chigurh: People always say the same thing.
Carla Jean Moss: What do they say?
Anton Chigurh: They say, You don't have to do this.
This quote shows that when faced with a perilous situation, people always have the same kind of reaction. This reaction, however, does not matter. This goes to show that once something is decided, any other actions do not matter the slightest bit, which goes right along with the main theme of the movie.
Ellis: Whatcha
got ain't nothin new. This country's hard on people, you can't stop
what's coming, it ain't all waiting on you. That's vanity.
This quote goes right along with the meaning of the movie, as well. Basically this quote says that what's happening is nothing new, and the country is hard on people. Despite the efforts put into trying to ward off the bad happenings, nothing matters. The work put into saving yourself, it doesn't matter. Nothing matters, because once something is already in motion, nothing else is of importance.
Character Analysis
- Sheriff Bell- Sheriff Bell is a man that is clearly focused on his work and is determined to make a difference. He ends up pursuing Chigurh, who is chasing Llewelyn. He is really hard on himself and old fashioned. After chasing down the psychopath and witnessing the events that transpire, Sheriff Bell ultimately decides to retire, learning that he has not made a difference and that really, nobody can.
- Llewelyn Moss- Llewelyn is the main focus of most of the movie. He is a stubborn stereotypical cowboy. Once he has the money in his possession, he does everything in his power to keep it in his possession, even at the risk of putting his own wife in danger. When faced with that predicament, he takes matters into his own hands. He is a man that would confront his enemies and fight his own battles, head first, which is what he would have done with Chigurh if he hadn't been killed shortly after their last conversation.
- Anton Chigurh- Chigurh is a psychopathic serial killer that will take out anyone that comes between him and his prize - the money that Llewelyn is running with. Chigurh is driven by chance and fate; supposedly, he does not determine the outcome of peoples' encounters with him, but rather, fate does. It is this fate that leads people to him in the first place. Chigurh is also driven by the desire to inflict justice upon those deserving of it. In a way, when people are coming between Chigurh and his prize, they are doing him an injustice that he is hard pressed to correct.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
Choose 3 Chapters and Connect those
chapters to the movie. Go into specific detail as to how each chapter
connects to a part of the movie.
1. Chapter 1. Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It's Not)
In the movie, both Llewelyn and Chigurh are on quests, even if they don't exactly know that they are. Llewelyn is on a quest to both keep the money and keep himself and his wife safe. Chigurh is on a quest to get the money he feels he rightfully deserves. These quests intersect, thus creating the entire plot of the movie.
2. Chapter 12. Is That a Symbol?
This chapter relates back to many parts of the movie, but to keep this short, I'll reference it back to the scene at the gas station between Chigurh and the gas station proprieter. Chigurh tells him to keep the lucky coin in a place separate from his other coins, because once it's mixed with the others, there's no longer anything special about it. It will no longer matter. This is symbolic of people; when individualized, people are special and unique, but when thrown together as a group, there is no longer anything special about the individuals. What makes Chigurh, or Llewelyn, or any of the other characters, stand out as individuals will not matter if the characters are looked at as a group.
3. Chapter 11. ...More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence
Violence has a lot to do with the movie as a whole, and the violence in the movie is obviously symbolic, especially the parts that are inflicted by Chigurh. Basically, the violence Chigurh inflicts is symbolic of justice, as I've stated before. Chigurh is delivering justice upon those that stand in the way of him getting "his" money.
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