Possible Sequel

From the beginning of the novel there has been lots of description, and now that the story is over I am starting to wonder will there be a part two.  The last couple of chapters of this novel were very scarcely described which leaves me thinking that the author is trying to set the mood for  a second novel.  Another reason i believe this will happen is the fact that Chigurh walked free at the end, yes he was hurt but the reader does not get to see the final leg of what exactly happens to him. 
I personally hope there will be a part two because this book had my attention from the first to the last word.
If i could talk to Cormac McCarthy I would personally thank him for writing this book, and telling such a riveting story.

teaching points from the novel

In my mind Cormac McCarthy, the author, is trying to teach the readers some key points about life.  Starting at the beginning of the novel all the way to the end there are little points that spark the readers mind making them think of how they could do better. 

Starting in the beginning of the novel, McCarthy shows how not to underestimate the determination of a person.  When Chigurh was arrested he did not want to go without a fight, he blind sided the deputy and killed him, all so he could once again walk the streets.  The lesson here is not to turn a blind eye to a potential dangerous situation, and to always pay attention to your surroundings. 

Lesson number two was when Llewelyn was first pursued by Chigurh, and the way it changed his life forever.  The lesson that I noticed was that of greed, not to be greedy and that doing the right thing although it doesn't sound as good as the wrong thing is usually the correct decision. If Llewelyn had done the right thing he would still be alive, his life would not have been cut short by the gun of Chigurh. Another part to this lesson is that money cannot by you happiness, Llewelyn became rich after taking the money but he was not a happy person. 

Finally, live every day to the fullest, because you never know when your life could be cut short.  Look at Llewelyn, he had most of his life still ahead of him, but it was tragically ended by Chigurh and his gun.  Llewelyn's last days sadly were not the best of his life, and those were his last memories.

Novels are full of lessons and this novel is no exception.

Riveting parts

This novel has been amazing to read, there has been suspense, human emotion and most of all violence.  Violence in this novel is actually overwhelming, from the first scene to the last there is constantly someone being hurt, or even killed and that is what kept me reading.  From one point to another people have been getting injured and the connection that the reader has to the characters makes that fact hit home.  For me I was most shocked when Llewelyn died at the end, the person that is portrayed as the main character gets slaughtered by the so call bad man.  For McCarthy to do this is a big unsuspecting point, most of the time when you read a novel the main character pulls through the tough times and becomes better for it, where as Llewelyn paid the ultimate price for his greed earlier in the book.  Finally the way the author finished the book is quite interesting, once again the so called bad guy "wins", yes he is injured in a brutal car crash but he walks away, once again avoiding the authorities.  What a way to end a novel, with the reader hanging, not knowing if there was justice done for Llewelyn, not knowing if this monster is still walking the streets. 

The Movie, and how it relates

After i finished the book, I decided to watch the movie and see what the resemblance/differences are. 

Starting with the plot, the plot of the novel and the movie are identical, the director of the movie did a very good job of following the novel.  From the hunting at the beginning to the death of Llewelyn.

Secondly the characters and the setting, in the novel the Cormac McCarthy (Author) tried very hard to make the characters come alive in the readers mind. The director of the movie must have tried very hard to duplicate what what coming to light in his mind because the characters in the movie looked the same as they did in my mind when i was reading the novel.  Next comes the setting, McCarthy made a point of describing every small detail of the characters surroundings and the movie met those descriptions to a tee. 

Now that I have read the novel and watched the movie I am happy that I read the novel first.  The movie yes was almost identical to the novel but it left nothing to the imagination.

Questions for the Author

The novel No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy has left me with a head full of questions, and if i could have a chance to sit back with the author and discuss these questions i would.  The first question being what happens to Chigurh, all we find out is that he gets in a car accident and get severely injured but we do not hear if he gets caught or if he continues to live and terrorize others.  As for question number two i want to know why McCarthy had the gang war in the middle of the desert, and why he leaves some of the group alive and some dead? What is the dramatic reasoning for this is it all to show the brutality of the skirmish or is it just because that is how he wanted to write it.  Finally I would like to know how the sheriff dealt with his grief of not being able to save Llewelyn does he continue with his life as it is, or does he slip into oblivion?  McCarthy never really described what happened to this man, a person that the reader is forced to feel remorse for.

Ending, how it differed

Unlike the rest of the story, the ending of this novel was not very explained.   When Llewelyn died the story took a dramatic down turn the description became vague and the style of writing became completely different.  For the most part the entire book was written in first person but after the death of Llewelyn the writing style flip flopped and became a third person view.  Finally the amount of description at the end fell very short, the descriptive points became very broad and they became few and far between.   By ending the novel in this manner the author leaves a lot to the imagination, I have the thought that there could be a sequel to the novel, possibly describing the life of Chigurh, or possibly his capture.  All said and done the ending left me confused and stuck guessing what is yet to come, in a way a very good tactic to get people to read further.

Tools of violence

Death, killing, and weapons all things that are apparent in the novel.  Killing, and conflict is the main part of the novel, they are a key symbol of what the author is trying to teach.  McCarthy is showing the reader that guns, and tools of death are a key part of life,  they are not good but they are always there, killing is happening every day and the use of these weapons makes life a constant struggle.  Every time these tools are mentioned something else happens in the story, either someone dies, or someone gets hurt.  These tools bring a dark side to the story that makes all readers think, they give the novel the background meaning the author wanted to show.