No Country for Old Men Chapter I Quotes

No Country for Old Men Chapter I Quotes

How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Section.Paragraph)

Quote 10

The deputy's right carotid artery burst and a jet of blood shot across the room and hit the wall and ran down it. (1.2.4)

And there ya go. When one of the first major scenes in your book involves a lawman murdered in grotesquely violent fashion, it's scary to imagine where you're headed next.

Quote 11

He placed his hand on the man's head like a faith healer. The pneumatic hiss and click of the plunger sounded like a door closing. The man slid soundlessly to the ground, a round hole in his forehead from which the blood bubbled and ran down into his eyes carrying with it his slowly uncoupling world visible to see. Chigurh wiped his hand with his handkerchief. I just didn't want you to get blood on the car, he said. (1.2.11)

As if the choking-a-deputy-with-a-chain part weren't awful enough, this scene emphasizes how coldblooded Chigurh is when it comes to murder. He kills a stranger, yet he's concerned about upholstery. Well, that's what he says, anyway. It's more likely that he just got a kick out of toying the guy.

Quote 12

In the first vehicle there was a man slumped dead over the wheel. (1.3.16)

The body count is racking up pretty quickly, and Chigurh isn'teven responsible for these guys. This was a Mexican standoff gone bad, which resulted in the killing of basically everyone involved. There are no winners in the drug trade. (Well, except Chigurh, we guess.)