"No Country For Old Men" Reflection

No Country for Old Men

By: Cormac McCarthy

Part One:

Throughout the novel, No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy challenges traditionalist values with the changing times. This is most evident in sheriff Bell’s character as we seem him progressively change. In the beginning of the novel Bell explains that he comes from a long line of “lawmen” as his uncles and grandfather were before him; however his father was not a lawman, he traded horses. As we learn in the end Bell is beginning to feel remorse for not caring for his father as he should, but he has two dreams. In the first dream Bell’s father gave him money, but he lost it. The second; however, is much more detailed, Bell and his father were seemingly back in time, riding horseback in the mountains. His father wrapped in a blanket with his head down, road past him and didn’t say a word. He was caring a horn with fire inside of it and Bell says,” I knew that he was goin on ahead and that he was fixin to make afire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold and I knew that whenever I got there he would be there. And I woke up.” Both dreams can be interpreted the same way. Bell and his father must have had a falling out after he came back from his stint in the war, thus his reason for not bringing him up that much. When Bell came he was honored as a hero, when in reality he left his country in its time of need. He also does this with his position of sheriff, when the county needs him most he bails on them. The money and fire can be seen as his father’s disappointment. Bell lost the money his father gave him, which would cause disappointment. The fire has a deeper meaning than the money, because, as Bell says, “…whenever I got there he would be there.” His father’s disappointment will always be with him, no matter what he does. Bell spends the entirety of the novel searching for his father’s approval, though his father has passed away, he wants to feel as if he can make up for leaving both the army and the office of sheriff.

Part Two:

The ending of No Country for Old Men, was not as I expected it to be. I expected Chigurh to be arrested for his crimes or at least try to murder the sheriff and his wife, but none of that happened. Though it was not as I expected it to be, I enjoyed it. The ending really wrapped up the book in a perfect way telling the roots of Bell and why he was the way he was.