Changing Times: Past, Present, and Future Theme Analysis

The title of No Country for Old Men speaks directly to the theme of changing times. Throughout the novel, Bell continually considers the distinction between the old ways and the new. He holds to a nostalgic view of the past, reminiscing about a time where order and justice reigned. He talks about a time in America where police officers didn’t need to carry guns and knew the people of their communities. Children were safe at school and striving to become good citizens. The senseless violence he encounters, however, leads him to believe that this nation is heading toward chaos. He states that he is seeing “a new type,” a kind of person who has “another view of the world out there and other eyes to see it…” Chigurh is the definition of this new type, as shown through his complete disregard for law, God, and the value of human life. His disregard of the value of human life is embodied in his use of the bolt gun, a tool used in the slaughter of cattle, to kill people. Chigurh does not operate in the world with the same orientation as the old type. Bell begins to feel that men with his moral leaning can no longer compete with the changing face of society, which leads to his longing for the past and his fear of the future. As the narrative continues, it becomes clear that this “new type” is not an individual, but a new framework and set of values that have taken hold in American society. Bell realizes that in order for the drug trade to flourish as it does, the market must exist, and that market is comprised of everyday citizens. He laments the young people he sees who live their lives outside of his understanding of societal norms.

Moss holds a different position to the world, one between Bell and the young people Bell refers to. While Bell fought in WWII, a war with clarity around the moral objectives in its resistance against Nazi Germany, Moss is a veteran of the Vietnam War, in which moral clarity was hazy at best. Unlike Bell, who ultimately submits to the fact that he can no longer compete with the new ways and resigns, Moss attempts to compete, but fails. While Moss doesn’t quite fit the category of a “new type”, he feels able to compete in a way that Bell doesn’t.

At the same time, the novel continually challenges Bell’s nostalgia for a “morally clear” past. During his visit with Uncle Ellis, a retired Sheriff and representative of the generation that Bell romanticizes, we begin to see the unreliability in Bell’s memory. Ellis did not become sheriff out of a sense of duty, but because it paid well, and he didn’t see any other options. He explains that he was too young for WWI and too old for WWII, so policing became his outlet. He believes in God, but doesn’t think God cares or has any control over human affairs. Ellis recognizes the way in which this country is hard on people, and sees the absurdity in the way people still love it. He still loves it, but recognizes his ignorance. This alternate view of the past knocks off kilter Bell's romanticization of the past and the older generation. Through Ellis’s commentary, it becomes clear that the old generation is not as steadfast in their values, love of God, and love of country as Bell thinks. Through the conversation, it becomes clear that violence, greed, and the struggle for power has always been a fundamental part of American society. While the characteristics and limits of this violence, greed, and power seeking may have changed (or may not have), they are not in any way new to our society, and will likely carry on into the future.