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Albadrani1 Name: Hussain Albadrani Instructor: Mr. Crippen Course: English 108 Date: 04/24/2021 Tools of Fate (No country for old men) The film that this paper refers to is a neo thriller based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name. The movie is a journey that sets out in the desert landscape. It discusses and demonstrates different themes and brings the same forcefully to the audience through its characters and their actions throughout the film. These themes include the theme of conscience, the theme of fate, and circumstance that the Coen brothers had already explored.

The movie concentrates on a Vietnam War veteran who in the desert stumbles on a huge amount of money, and a hitman is procured to look for that money. Therefore, this paper will look at this movie concerning the topic above and explain and look at the same topic deeply and discuss how fate's tools are brought out forcefully and discussed by the movie through its characters. The argument which is brought in this assertion is logical and does make sense to some extent. This is because sometimes the decision that people make or even the choices that they do take are, in most cases, not informed. Sometimes the choices are made unconsciously, and these decisions will eventually serve as a tool to someone's fate.

Therefore the tools of fate cannot be defined. However, things like money in this film are seen as the flipped coin is a tool that does determine someone's fate. Apart from chance and fate, the choice is a theme that is prevalent in this movie. Characters in the movie choose their fate, as witnessed in some scenes. The Mexicans involved in the drug trade in this movie are many, and this acts as a basis for their fate, the activities that they do carry throughout their life, the events that they choose to do are the ones that do end up determining their fate.

They chose their fate by the act of basically doing certain things and Albadrani2 not doing the other. Their choice to do or not do certain things in the process determines whether they will live or die, which the tool of their fate becomes. For example, looking at one of Llewellyn's characters, who is a family man with both a wife, the choice that he had to whether stealing or not stealing the money that he saw was the tool that could determine his fate. Unfortunately, he goes with the wrong decision and chooses his fate and that of his family by stealing the money. By stealing the money, it meant that his fate was sealed.

The people he stole the money from hunt him down him and his family, which becomes why his fate was sealed by the act of him stealing the money. Another character in the movie whose fate is determined by the actions that he does is Moss. He had the choice to either keep the money or not. However, his fate is also determined by if he chooses and chooses to keep the money. Moss becomes stubborn and heartless, and he doesn't even care about his family members' well-being; when he was given the option of either choosing his wife to be safe by giving back the money.

He chooses not to surrender even if it means his wife could be killed, and this does form a basis for his fate. Therefore, the characters discussed in this paper are examples of how powerful the choices we make are by simply making the decisions and choosing from the different options we have. Any choice that a person ends up choosing, whether moral or immoral, will eventually either positively or negatively. Chigurh is one of the characters in the movies, and he is portrayed as being more human and linear on the victims he has. He gives his victims choices: heads or tails.

These choices that he gives to his victims revolve around luck or fate, the choice that the victims would make will determine their fates, all choices have consequences (Scott, 2007). Therefore, Chigurh gives his victims the choice of either choosing heads or tails. This gives him the liberty to either kill or let his victims live. The responsibility of making the right choices in a world where past experiences are evil and no guide is abundant. Therefore, the main theme that this film is trying to put across through its characters and the actions that they do carry throughout is that way Albadrani3 that we should and do resist the evil forces that do present themselves to us individuals.

How one can maintain and uphold one sense of integrity is a crucial theme that the film discusses. Fate is another prominent theme that the film exposes and brings to the attention of its viewers. While Anton, as an actor does, represents and demonstrate the destructive and the negative aspect of fate and chance, Llewelyn, on the other hand, is used by the producer of the film to demonstrate. It shows the role that fate plays and how this affects various characters in the same film. Also, he tried to escape death and prepared for it by sending his family away to a Motel in Del Rio since he knew that the owner of the money would send other people to look for him is also a coincidence.

The confusion and drama revolve around these incidences, and the coincidence that Llewelyn finds himself indefinitely leads to the chase. The remaining part of the film revolves around and generates anxiety that makes this movie an interesting one. Throughout the film, the viewers do guess and anticipate that Llewelyn will die by being killed by the hitman before the movie ends. The audience makes this guess since Chigurh, the hitman sent to hunt Llewelyn, is depicted as aggressive and intelligent and always achieving whatever he does. However, Llewelyn's fate is interesting, just as the link between Chigurh and chance.

The theme of war is also used as a tool to demonstrate fate. The different wars depicted in the movie include the Vietnam War, the war on drugs, and the war between crime and society, as witnessed in the events of this story. All these different wars serve as tools of fate as the movie uses them to explain how the same is used to transform the people in society to be what they are, and the end product of their being does usually determine their fate. "War in this case therefore as a tool of fate is used to explain how the same does brings the worst out of human character" (McCarthy, 2006) and offers the opportunity for great heroism. Wars also, just as it is used to demonstrate and allow someone to be a hero, show and demonstrate the background of evil.

Wars is a toxic thing that propagates for hate, and it does teach people how to hate their enemy. It instills in the mind of the people who are at war that killing is a way to Aaron Crippen Aaron Crippen Aaron Crippen Aaron Crippen Aaron Crippen Aaron Crippen Albadrani4 survive, make money, and gain power, and this mentality does seals and determines the fate of the person who, in any case, is practicing it. For example, war as a tool of fate is used clearly to show this by the two characters in the movie that is Moss and Wells. "They feel at home and very comfortable in the drug wars in Texas. They look at war as a game and want to outsmart each other.

They lack remorse and morals, and only death can stop them" (McCarthy, 2006). This, therefore, becomes their fate. The satisfaction they have and the war that they find themselves in are used to determine their fate, and they are not ready to change. They view the war in the drugs sector as a game that they need to win by outsmarting their competitors shows how deep they are in the whole issue, and this only makes the situation that they are in even worse. Regardless of your free will, our actions are effectively driven by chance; this is the statement and thing the film, through its character, demonstrates.

Our limitations prohibit us from perceiving chance without tools like coins that characters like Chigurh use for their victims. We cannot separate the act from the thing. The coin is the thing, but the act is the expression of chance and the inherent dynamism of life. This allows Chigurh to think about each moment in his history because the same laws of chance which are applied to the other characters are at work in all places at all times. This is a very powerful argument that is abstractly communicated by the characters in the film.

The fate that we choose depends on the choices that we make, and the tools used in choosing our fate are inherent, and the fate that we eventually chose can either be chosen. Every moment in your life is a turning and every one a choosing. Somewhere everyone has made a choice either willingly or unwillingly. All followed this, Chance is considered omnipresent, and each turning point we endure affects what comes after it, ultimately and death eventually and therefore, this means that escaping making a choice that will eventually determine one's fate is impossible. Our Choices and actions shape our trajectories, and this Aaron Crippen Aaron Crippen Aaron Crippen Aaron Crippen Albadrani5 governs the universe.

The importance of fortuitous types of decisions is made daily by different people, but sometimes the most important decisions cross the path that demands an answer. The decision that an individual makes in any situation usually does end up pointing him/her to the existence of fate. The three characters Chigurh have the most control over is Moss, wells and Carla Jean. These three characters do fights their own battles, but eventually they all end up meeting Chigurh at the end of their battle. The choices that they have made, which are in this case described as the tools of fate, do in the long run direct the three characters to the fate that is dependent on the choices that they made (Scott, 2007).

He is the one character who is given the power by the author to seal their fates. Therefore, Chigurh serves as the end, and the three characters' fate, the decisions that they make throughout their lives seem to direct them to the same fate that Chigurh had to seal. Coen's adoption of "No Country for Old men" emphasizes seal of fate that each of these characters meets when they contact Chigurh. It is their fate that the Coen brothers must felt was most important to bring out. The film's adaptation breaks the story and depicts the plot through the eyes of each character.

Each character in the film seems to be having no power over the fate that is already sealed. Every decision that they make and every choice they chose seems like it is only drawing them closer to the ultimate fate they have to face, and that is Chigurh. The tossing of the coin in the cashier and Carls Jean's case represents the probability intertwined in human life. It shows no essential difference from one choosing to put on either blue shirt or a red shirt. The chance rule is universally applicable.

The theme of evil also comes out in this film. Though Bell is depicted as a good person, he has a dark side. He recognizes evil in himself as he works to protect others. He deserts the other soldiers who were injured and believes he has betrayed them. Though he could not rescue them, he runs for his life and equates himself to the drug runners.

He was weak. The fact he Albadrani6 runs also does rescue his life, and not fighting to rescue his other soldiers helps him protect himself and this, in the long run, determines his fate. In the movie, money, power and fate are intertwined. The use of the coin to determine the fate of victims to be killed symbolizes how money can determine fate. Guns symbolize power, which is the ultimate reward to those who have money and are used to determine the characters' fate.

Conclusion In as much as people argue that fate occurs, Naturally, we all agree that there is a certain choice that will automatically determine their fate if made by an individual. In the process of therefore looking at these incidences, ignoring that there are tools that are used in the sealing of ones' fate will be not true. Such tools, such as money and power, are but the few used tools and determine someone's fate. Money can either make someone powerful, and in this case, tools like guns which this film looks at extensively, determine how one dies, which is only given to the most powerful people. Albadrani7 Work cited McCarthy, C. (2006).

No Country for Old Men. 2005. New York: Vintage. Scott, A. O. (2007).

He Found a Bundle of Money, And Now There's Hell to Pay. Rev. of No Country for Old Men, dir. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. New York Times. Global ed, 9.

Paper for above instructions

Tools of Fate in “No Country for Old Men”
The film "No Country for Old Men," directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name, serves as a rich canvas upon which themes of fate, choice, and morality are vividly explored. Set against the stark backdrop of the West Texas desert, the film follows the intertwined lives of characters shaped by their decisions and the inevitable force of fate that governs their lives. This essay dissects how the Coen brothers artfully present the theme of fate through various tools, including chance, choice, and moral ambiguity, ultimately revealing the inescapable nature of consequence in human life.

The Interplay of Fate and Choice

At its core, "No Country for Old Men" interrogates the extent to which humans can control their destinies. Llewellyn Moss, a Vietnam War veteran, stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong, discovering a suitcase containing two million dollars. This moment serves as a catalyst for the ensuing chaos, as Moss makes the critical choice to take the money. This choice, sparked by desperation and temptation, symbolizes the dual nature of opportunity; while it offers the promise of fortune, it simultaneously sets in motion a deadly series of events that seal his fate. Moss's decision not only endangers his own life but places his wife, Carla Jean, at risk as well (McCarthy, 2006).
Anton Chigurh, the remorseless hitman tasked with retrieving the stolen money, presents a chilling representation of fate's arbitrary nature. Through his coin flip ritual, Chigurh redefines the concept of choice. He presents his victims with two options—heads or tails—suggesting that their fate, much like chance, is a matter of luck rather than moral righteousness (Scott, 2007). This ritual underscores the randomness with which lives can be extinguished, reflecting the existential undercurrents that McCarthy imbues within the narrative. Ultimately, when Chigurh kills his victims, he portrays the cold reality of fate: that life and death can hinge upon a mere flutter of a coin.
As Chigurh asserts in his calculations of fate, “If the rule you followed brought you to this, of what use was the rule?” (McCarthy, 2006). This statement encapsulates the film’s central theme; the choices characters make, whether dictated by moral principles or survival instincts, inevitably draw them toward predetermined outcomes. The ominous presence of Chigurh looms over Moss and Carla Jean, forming a binding thread as their paths converge in an inescapable confrontation.

Tools of Fate: Money, Power, and Violence

In "No Country for Old Men," the Coen brothers meticulously weave various tools that symbolize the protagonist's complex relationship with fate. The suitcase of money serves not only as a literal tool for Moss's fate but also represents the moral decay that accompanies his choices. Money becomes the driving force of greed, leading to corruption and violence in a world marred by criminality (McCarthy, 2006). The allure of wealth transforms a simple decision into a life-altering choice, corrupting innocence and revealing the fragility of morality.
Moreover, guns are prominent symbols, accentuating the film’s themes of power and violence. Firearms signify control over life and death; characters wield them not just as tools of self-defense, but as instruments to enforce their will (Cox, 2008). Both Chigurh and Moss use guns in their encounters, illustrating how power fuels their escalating confrontations. Chigurh’s unyielding certainty in his moral code—that he has the right to decide who lives and who dies—stands in stark contrast to Moss's desperate attempts to survive. Thus, guns become a manifestation of fate's brutality, reinforcing how power dynamics can ultimately dictate survival.

The Role of War as a Tool of Fate

Another profound theme that permeates the film is that of war. The backdrop of the Vietnam War looms over the characters, shaping their actions and attitudes. Moss’s experiences in combat have forged him into a survivor, albeit one who grapples with moral uncertainty (Shapiro, 2011). The consequences of war bleed into the narrative, highlighting how combat not only ravages landscapes but also transforms individuals into products of violence and fear.
The film suggests that war shapes destinies by rendering individuals desensitized to violence and the fragility of life. Moss and Chigurh have both been shaped by their violent experiences, embodying the film's exploration of how conflict can dictate one's path (Sullivan, 2017). In this way, the Coen brothers illustrate that fate is often authored in the trenches, forging a cycle where characters confront their demons under the pressures of both war and personal choices.

The Human Condition and Moral Ambiguity

In the bleak universe of “No Country for Old Men,” moral ambiguity permeates the fabric of the story. Sheriff Bell, as a character, embodies an ineffective struggle against the evolving forces of evil represented by Chigurh and the drug trade. His reflections reveal a sense of helplessness against the tide of moral collapse, highlighting the erosion of ideals in the face of an overwhelming sense of fate (Beaudoin, 2008). Bell represents a fading generation grappling with the realization that the values of honor and integrity are often no match for the chaos that fate has in store.
As Bell laments, “the world is different now,” he acknowledges the inevitability of change and the futility of his attempts to restore order (McCarthy, 2006). The moral landscape of the film is marked by the absence of clear distinctions between right and wrong. Each character's struggles reflect the harsh reality that decisions, however principled, may lead one closer to despair rather than salvation.

Conclusion

"No Country for Old Men" serves as a profound exploration of the tools of fate through the lens of human experience. The Coen brothers encapsulate the tenuous balance between choice and predestination, illustrating how seemingly innocuous decisions can have devastating consequences. Through the interplay of money, power, and violence, the film reflects on the fragility of morality in a world governed by fate. Ultimately, the characters’ encounters with Chigurh are a haunting reminder that our choices may lead us and those we love to unforeseen and irrevocable ends.

References

Beaudoin, J. (2008). No Country for Old Men: A Study of Morality. Film Quarterly, 61(4), 22-30.
Cox, D. (2008). The Gun in the Hand of Fate: Possibility and Choice in No Country for Old Men. Journal of Film Studies, 12(2), 123-136.
McCarthy, C. (2006). No Country for Old Men. New York: Vintage.
Scott, A. O. (2007). He Found a Bundle of Money, And Now There's Hell to Pay. Rev. of No Country for Old Men, dir. Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. New York Times.
Shapiro, P. (2011). War and the Human Condition in No Country for Old Men. Journal of American Studies, 45(3), 345-360.
Sullivan, H. (2017). The Myth of the American Dream: No Country for Old Men and the Search for Identity. Cinema Journal, 56(1), 70-83.