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Explanation and Analysis:
No Country for Old Men is both a thriller and a western, incorporating characteristic elements of suspense and setting. The novel could also be classed as a "Great American Novel," considered to be a novel within the American literary canon that examines or embodies American culture and/or values.
Curiously, No Country for Old Men undermines the theming present in earlier "Great American" novels, presenting American society as increasingly degenerate rather than a site of wealth and opportunity. McCarthy uses his "Great American Novel" to critique American values; or, rather, to critique Americans' lack of values, questioning whether such morals have been lost or never even existed to begin with.
Each character in No Country for Old Men exists to critique "American morality" through one lens or another: Moss, every bit the traditionally masculine American hero figure, dies abruptly and without romance, simply unable to overcome the combination of forces working against him. His favored role as protagonist, his moral "superiority" to Chigurh—none of these aspects of Moss's character save him in the end.
Bell, the more socially conservative character in the novel, longs for a return to older American morality, critiquing the violence he experiences as a new and grim world order. Critically, Bell fails to consider his own limited perspective, assuming that such violence is novel and not a constant presence throughout American history.
Related Themes:
