Captive Bolt Pistol and Carla Jean
No Country For Old Men: Character Notes
Llewellyn Moss
Apparent protagonist in story
In his mid-30’s,and lives in a trailer park with his wife, Carla Jean Moss
Ordinary man who gets caught up in a “drug deal gone bad”
Character turning point in the story was when he found the money
Stereotyped character- Overly influenced by money, and the author exaggerates his stubbornness; Seems like the classic “badass” until his death; Demonstrated traits of narcissism all throughout the story
Finds $2 million near the drug deal scene and runs away with it
Never considers possibilities of what might happen, always acts in the moment
Takes the money and is destroyed by his desire for money and power
Indirectly kills his wife- He is offered the chance to hand over the money and ensure his wife’s safety, but he refuses to do so
Overly stubborn- He is repeatedly shot and injured, and yet he pushes on and denies any opportunity to get out of the mess that he is in
No matter what, he never gave up- Although a common heroic trait, Moss did it for his own selfish reasons
Overly self-confident- Repetitive image in the story was his involvement in Vietnam; he thought he could handle any situation
Contrary to Sheriff Bell’s humiliation in Vietnam, Moss seems to be more sure of himself, and was likely a decorated soldier- This could explain his self-confidence
He thinks he can get away with stealing millions of dollars from a sociopathic serial killer, Anton Chigurh (Pronounced “Shi-Gr”)
It is only until he is severely injured that he realizes that he is going to die (Chigurh must inform him of this, Moss just accepts it)
Despite Moss’s arrogance, stubbornness, and ignorance, readers become emotionally attached to Moss
He never actually did any good in the story, but readers were given access to his thoughts
In the end, just before Carla Jean’s death, we dislike Moss even more after Chigurh informs her that Moss could have saved her, but didn’t do so out of his
Llewellyn Moss
Apparent protagonist in story
In his mid-30’s,and lives in a trailer park with his wife, Carla Jean Moss
Ordinary man who gets caught up in a “drug deal gone bad”
Character turning point in the story was when he found the money
Stereotyped character- Overly influenced by money, and the author exaggerates his stubbornness; Seems like the classic “badass” until his death; Demonstrated traits of narcissism all throughout the story
Finds $2 million near the drug deal scene and runs away with it
Never considers possibilities of what might happen, always acts in the moment
Takes the money and is destroyed by his desire for money and power
Indirectly kills his wife- He is offered the chance to hand over the money and ensure his wife’s safety, but he refuses to do so
Overly stubborn- He is repeatedly shot and injured, and yet he pushes on and denies any opportunity to get out of the mess that he is in
No matter what, he never gave up- Although a common heroic trait, Moss did it for his own selfish reasons
Overly self-confident- Repetitive image in the story was his involvement in Vietnam; he thought he could handle any situation
Contrary to Sheriff Bell’s humiliation in Vietnam, Moss seems to be more sure of himself, and was likely a decorated soldier- This could explain his self-confidence
He thinks he can get away with stealing millions of dollars from a sociopathic serial killer, Anton Chigurh (Pronounced “Shi-Gr”)
It is only until he is severely injured that he realizes that he is going to die (Chigurh must inform him of this, Moss just accepts it)
Despite Moss’s arrogance, stubbornness, and ignorance, readers become emotionally attached to Moss
He never actually did any good in the story, but readers were given access to his thoughts
In the end, just before Carla Jean’s death, we dislike Moss even more after Chigurh informs her that Moss could have saved her, but didn’t do so out of his