No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men is the story of a drug deal that ended in a shootout, the man who takes the money, a sociopathic hitman, and the small-town sheriff who tries to find both of them. Sheriff Bell’s recollections, which take the form of monologues, develop several themes that strongly inform the narrative, particularly the evolving evil in society and the inevitability of change, which always leaves people behind.

The chapters, with one exception, all follow the same pattern. The first section presents a monologue from Bell told in the present tense, while the following sections focus on recent events related to Chigurh, Moss, and the shootout. Together, the two types of sections build the plot while digging deeper to explore the novel’s themes.