Many people might find the ending of No Country For Old Men unsatisfying. It is abrupt, with two weird stories about some dreams, and the bad guy that freaks us out walks away injured, but not dead, after having killed most of the people for whom we were rooting. But I would argue that this is a perfect ending.Questions for discussion:What is your role in fighting evil? (What if the evil is beyond you? How might you fight it then?
What does the title have to do with it? (Consider how Ed Tom Bell is the main character and focal-point of the story.)
Who or what might Anton Chigurh represent? Why does he live and what is the author saying in Anton's survival?
What might other characters represent?
Why do Carla Jean and Llewelyn Moss die? What moral might the author and filmmakers be trying to get across with the deaths of the Mosses?
Why doesn't Anton Chigurh die? What moral might the author and filmmakers be trying to get across with Chigurh's survival?
Verses for consideration:1 Peter 3:8-18; Ephesians 6:12; Psalm 23:4; Isaiah 41:13; Deuteronomy 31:6; 1 Peter 5:8
After seeing the end of the movie, I realized that the story isn't about Llewellyn, it is about the sheriff. I don't go out in the world and look for evil. The sheriff, however, does. When he wants to retire he has a hard time dealing with all of the evil he's seen. His job is to go out and fight evil. I only fight evil when it is something really bothering me. I think it is not worth it to go out and try to fight every evil. Evil is everywhere and there will always be evil.
ReplyDeleteAs Christians, we are supposed to fight evil with good, as said in Matthew 5: 44-45: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be children" of God, who "makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." The title "No Country For Old Men" involves fighting evil since the sheriff, the main character, is in a battle with evil throughout the movie. Anton Chigurh represents evil, or the Devil. Despite Llewelyn's efforts to take him down, he gets back up and keeps on going. It almost seems that Anton is immortal. This parallels with the fact that evil is ceaseless; it will always reign, despite our efforts to take it down. The other characters, such as Carla Jean, Llewelyn, and the sheriff, represent us. Carla Jean and Llewelyn Moss die in order to make the point that we are not invulnerable to evil. Anton Chigurh doesn't die in order to make the point that evil is persistent.
ReplyDeleteAs 1 Peter 3:9 says, "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing." As Christians it is not our job to try and seek justice on our own terms and based on our own faulty understanding of the word, but we should fight evil with good. However, the worst evils in this world cannot be fought out of our own power, but God's. We must trust in Him and ask that He grants us with His love and power to fight evil with good. Also verse 14 says, "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. 'Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened,'" and verses 17-18 say,"For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit." We were told as Christians we would suffer in this world, but as the Word says, it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Anton Chigurh represents the consistent evil that exists in this world. Even though we may try as we might to kill him, he will continue to exist until Jesus returns and eradicates all evil on this Earth. Carla Jean and Llewelyn Moss prove that you cannot escape evil, no matter how hard you try. There is "no country for an of us" where we can escape, kill, or hide the evil on this earth. We must fight it with good until Jesus carries us over into the final victory.
ReplyDeleteEvil is in every one of us, waiting to come out. There are those who fight it and those who embrace the evil. I fight it. The movie No Country For Old Men is a true title for the main character, Ed Tom Bell and has a realistic ending with all the good people being killed and Anton, a portrayer of death, living. Human beings cannot kill off evil, but we can fight it. The fact is is that most of us will die trying, like the other characters in the movie but there is glory in trying.
ReplyDeleteHumans all have sin and evilness in them. But, we should try to fight against it. We most fight it by doing the right thing. The movie wasn't really about who you thought it was about and technically at the end, evil wins when all the good people die but the man who represents evil lives.
ReplyDeleteI am not the most upstanding citizen ever and am evil enough myself that if I was the force going up against evil, we would really be in trouble. That fact is why I love the verse in Isaiah 41:13 so much. God tells us that we just have to trust him and he will take care of us, we just have to try and do as he asks us and asks for forgiveness when we come up short.
ReplyDeleteI believe evil with always be temping man kind until Christ returns, but until Christ does return we have to fight it are selfs or at least turn always form it as much as we can. As a Christian I trust in God and what he teaches. The title of the movie was spot on and that it tells us that you can't trust anyone in this sinful world.
ReplyDelete"are selfs"
Delete"evil with always"
Edit, yo.
Evil is among us and will always be among us. People try to fight it and some people give in. Ed Tom Bell is the main character because he is trying to fight the evil. He represents all the good and he dies in the end because that is the way the world works. Evil lives and good dies. that Is also what was represented in the end.
ReplyDeleteAnton Chigurh represents evil or more specifically, the devil. His survival is symbolic that one earth, sometimes evil appears to win. Sure bad people get burned by their own destruction but their wrong doings are not always exposed. His survival represents evils constant presence in our lives; it never fully disappears. Carla Jean and Llewelyn Moss' death are necessary to illustrate the points I just discussed above. Sometimes, evil does win and the protagonists' death by the antagonist shows that sometimes life just isn't fair or what you expected/hoped would happen.
ReplyDeleteThe movie is called No Country for Old Men because it shows that as people age, they pass the torch onto younger people. Older people know a lot of things, and may have great advice, but the world is changing and more advanced than ever before. That makes it hard for older generations to keep up. Ed Tom can't keep up with the evil of a man like Anton Chigurh. He's never seen anything like that and doesn't know what to do with it. Ed Tom knew how to track Anton, to follow him, and then learned that there was more to Anton than he ever thought. Our parents have great knowledge and life skills, but we live different lives today. They didn't have the things we do, so they don't know how our lives work. When the world moves faster than you, it's hard to catch up, and even harder to explain. Ed Tom doesn't want to catch up anymore. He can't keep up. There is no country for him anymore. Just like he dreamed about his dad lighting a fire in the darkness for him, he will have to do that for someone else. He tried to keep up but now has to pass on the job to someone else.
ReplyDeleteOur role in fighting evil is to combat it to the best of our abilities. This seems vague, but it will differ for each person on how much they really can do. But it most definitely involves going beyond what is expected and comfortable. I think evil is always beyond humanity. It is the driving force behind most of our desires. The only way to fight it is with the help of other people and God.
ReplyDeleteThe title carries significance because it represents the wise people who have lived a long time have seen and fought much evil. Despite how hard they might have fought against evil, it still seems to prevail. They have no heroic fulfillment and feel like they might as well giving up the fight.
Anton Chigurh represents the evil of this world. No matter how much people fight against evil: sending help to war zones, eliminating gang violence, rooting up the scammers; evil always pops up again despite how much people have done to stamp it out. Like 1 Peter 5:8 says, we must always be alert for where it may attack next.
We all have to fight evil. It doesn't even matter if the evil is so overwhelming that we know there is no chance of us prevailing. The title is referencing the old sheriff in the movie and how he tells his dad that he is retiring. Evil is always finding new ways to emerge and he is just unable to adapt to it hence the title "No Country For Old Men" because he is "too old for it". Anton represents evil in the world. By not dying, it is symbolic of the fact that evil is always going to be there. There is no way to kill it because it will always find a way to get back up and keep going after us. Llewelyn and Carla Jean died, I believe, because it shows how innocent people are just as vulnerable to evil as the people who are wrapped up in it.
ReplyDeleteOur duty is to do whatever we can to fight evil and stand against it. Even if it will kill us, we must fight against evil. The Mosses died because they stood up to Anton. The movie portrays evil as an unstoppable force and anyone who stands against it will die. Those who do not stand against it do not die but have no meaning in life. You can certainly hurt evil but there is no way to stop it. The Good News of the Gospel tells us that evil can and will be defeated by God. Our job as God's children is to fight it the best we can.
ReplyDeleteevil will always be tempting and the only way to fight evi is with Christ. we all have sin and have to come to appcentance with this or else we can never be truly saved. we must admit our sins and try our hardet to fight evil.
ReplyDeleteEvil is within all of us and there is no stopping our sin nature. My role in fighting against evil is to know God and share it with other to help stop the spread of evil. Evil is not something that we can just fight it requires great strength and that comes from God.
ReplyDeleteWe must drive out evil even if it cost us our life. That one sentence is something everyone doesn't want to hear. Even if our back is against the wall and we meet something just so pure evil we must attemlt to stop it. God will avenge those who died by evil.
ReplyDeleteEvil is eternal. No matter what happens there will always be evil in the world. Despite this it is our job to fight this evil. We will never when and our efforts will only be in vain but it is still our responsibility nonetheless. We all struggle with this because that evil is also within us. No matter who you are it is difficult to overcome your own nature.
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