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Getting it on: Human Struggles with Morality and Ethics
Cormac McCarthy’s novel, No Country for Old Men, is based on the stories of three main characters. The three men struggle with different perspectives on morality. Each of them has a personal expression of what is right and wrong. Throughout the novel, their actions and decisions show different perspectives of good and evil. They also pose several questions regarding human morality. It is a struggle considering that each character has a different view on how to change his society. Therefore, their decisions and actions do not provide a clear definition of morality especially, in a world that remains indifferent to the striving of human beings. McCarthy analyzes violence, murder, and drug trafficking as a means of illustrating their effects on society’s wellbeing.
On a further note, in his article, Sean McGrory shows how violent crime and social problems affect society. He explains that violent crimes are serious issues, and it has been increasing at an alarming rate. His study focuses on the five boroughs of New York affected the most by violent crimes of felony assaults and robberies. Secondly, the population for study involves people living below the poverty line and males aged 18-24 years with less than high school education. His study is based on literature reviews, methods, findings and conclusion. The findings show a coincidence between social problems and poverty and education. McGrory shows that poverty and lack of education significantly influences people to participate in criminal activity. Towards the end, he suggests that the government, police, and community should develop strategies to combat different crimes across the globe.
The characters in McCarthy’s novel struggle to overcome the prevalence of crimes in their society. Such struggles are notable through Sheriff’s monologue that depicts his dilemma; he wants to serve his country, but it is not easy. He is dedicated in enforcing the law, but criminals like Chigurh create significant obstacles. He claims, “You think about a job where you have pretty much the same authority as God, and there is no requirement put upon you and you are charged with preservin nonexistent laws and you tell me if that’s peculiar or not. Because I say that it is. Does it work? Yes. Ninety percent of the time. It takes very little to govern good people. Very little. And bad people can’t be governed at all (McCarthy 42)”. These words show that achieving morality and ethics in society is a significant struggle. Notably, the Sheriff is one of the characters in this novel who believes in doing what is right for his society, but the evils are undermining his dedication. He can no longer manage to overcome and eliminate criminal gangs involved in murder and trafficking drugs. He has power and authority, but the existing laws are ineffective. He feels that it is a challenging task to govern bad people. Similarly, McGrory explains, “The social organisation of a community is perceived as a critical aspect, where it all defines how the residents, leaders and police behave within a community, the relationships the community has within and to other communities and the strength of social networks”(McGrory 7). When applying these words to Sheriff’s dilemma, it becomes easier to understand his situation. For instance, the drug syndicate has social networks that make it easier to recover their possessions in case they are lost or stolen. They also hire smart criminals like Chigurh who know to evade the police to ensure their illegal businesses are successful. Seemingly, he feels some thrill and satisfaction when he commits crimes. For instance, he does not give up chasing Moss, a fight that causes tragic outcomes as innocent people such as Jean Clara, and Carlos. More so, the police cannot unveil Chigurh’s tactics, and the Sheriff feels so overwhelmed by the prevalence of different forms of evils makes it easier to understand Chigurh. He is a ruthless criminal who does not feel any remorse even after killing several people. He feels no empathy or compassion to anyone who crosses his path or hinders him to achieve his selfish interests. Besides, the gang members are so powerful and organized that it becomes too challenging for the police to eliminate these crimes. Sadly, despite his willingness to stop crimes in his community, the Sheriff feels overpowered and his determination does not seem fruitful.
Moss’ actions after discovering drugs and money depict the effects of crimes on society. He runs away with the money, and he is fatally wounded such that he is admitted in the hospital. However, he is not willing to return the money to drug dealers even when Carson tells him that he is risking his life. Carson tells Moss, “You’re not listening. You need to pay attention. This man won’t stop looking for you. Even if he gets the money back. It won’t make any difference to him. Even if you went to him and gave him the money he would still kill you. Just for having inconvenienced him (McCarthy 96)”. Carson’s words clearly portray Chigurh as an evil man who does not mind killing anyone who gets on his way. Even if Moss returns the money, Carson is convinced that he would not spare Moss. On a further note, McGrory explains, “However, it must be taken into consideration that violent crime is not only a problem in America but across the globe. Although, when studying crime within another country, it must be taken into consideration as to what type of crime these countries face, because one must remember that violent crime is only one type of crime within the broader term of crime”(McGrory 32). These words imply that there are many types of crimes, and as seen in McCarthy’s novel, in addition to violence, murder and drug trafficking are notable crimes too. In most cases, these crimes are intertwined as demonstrated by Chigurh. He is violent and a murderer and he commit these crimes because he is hired by the drug dealers. Unfortunately, the consequences of his crimes are tragic and painful. Chigurh is not remorseful, and he does not live according to societal expectations. For instance, the sheriff’s duty is to ensure that the law is followed; however, this does not help to stop crimes. There is a drug syndicate that hires criminals like Chigurh to achieve their goals without the fear of the law. This idea resonates with McCarthy’s description of Sheriff’s dilemma. That is, although there are good men in this world, they are caught in several cases of violence. For example, Sheriff is determined to do what is right, but to accomplish his desire and moral responsibility; sometimes he is involved in violence when enforcing the law. Unfortunately, as seen in both the novel and the article, the consequences of crimes make it difficult to avoid wrongs and do what is right.
In McCarthy’s novel, Chigurh represents evils that make to achieve morality and ethics. This is seen the Sheriff feels that he is overpowered by crime rates, and he can no longer enhance morality in society. He laments, “Now I aim to quit and a good part of it is just knowing that I wont be called on to hunt this man. I reckon he’s a man. So you could say to me that I aint changed a bit ad I don’t know that I would even have a argument about that. Thirty-six years. That’s a painful thing to know” (McCarthy 181).Chigurh has mercilessly murdered several people to achieve what he wants. He even kills innocent people because they are related to his targets as seen when he kills Moss’ wife, and Carson. He is not only involved in murder, but he is also involved with American and Mexican drugs. Therefore, his involvement in crimes symbolizes the evils in the society that are difficult for law enforcers to eliminate. In his explanation, McGrory states, “But the crime is identified with detailed patterns. These detailed patterns are extremely important for policing certain areas because it allows the police authority to control certain areas and concentrate on these hot spots for crime prevention efforts. However, the police authority can also identify if crime is spilling over to other areas by analyzing the crime patterns” (McGrory 30). These words show that the Sheriff and other law enforcers have strategies to combat crimes. However, considering his dilemma, he like the more he tries to maintain sanity, the more the crimes continue to escalate. He is represents the good men in his community who desires to maintain order; criminals like Chigurh make it difficult. He even decides to retire because he feels incapable of overcoming evils such as murder and drug trafficking. He finally concludes that his efforts are in vain, and the best option is to retire. Therefore, both McCarthy’s novel and Ligor’s article show that the world is so indifferent to the human beings’ struggle to overcome crimes.
McCarthy’s novel depicts how characters’ fate is used to illustrate the struggle with causes and consequences of crimes. It is easily notable that human beings strive to create a balance what is wrong and right. However, this is a struggle because there forces in this world that makes it difficult for people to be moral and ethical. His ideas also resonate with Balliu’s explanations that several factors such as conscious, willingness, and obedience influence people to make good or bad decisions. Unfortunately, both McCarthy and McGrory show that even the good men are unable to spread such goodness because evilness is so prevalent in society. Nonetheless, human beings should continue struggling to promote morality and ethics despite the obstacles.
Works Cited
McGrory, Sean. “The influence social problems have with violent crime and its impact on
society: An investigation on the five boroughs of New York.” (2018).
McCarthy, Cormac. No Country for Old Men. London: Picador, 2007.