No Country for Old Men Fate and Free Will Quotes

How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from No Country for Old Men.

Quote #7

"Well, I got here the same way the coin did."

Chigurh isn't having anything to do with Carla Jean Moss' claim that he is just an individual who's responsible for his own actions. He's prefer to think of himself as controlled by random forces traveling from place to place like a coin going from pocket to pocket. It's a poetic thought, but we're not really buying it.

Quote #8

"Mister, you got a bone sticking out of your arm."

Anton Chigurh believes that his life is controlled by random forces, but fate works both ways. It comes back to bite him when he gets randomly t-boned in an intersection by another car. But what can you do when destiny comes knocking? Chigurh knows what: despite the fact that there's a bone sticking out of his arm, he picks himself up and limps away.

Quote #9

"It's the dismal tide. It is not the one thing."

Sheriff Bell's cop friend in El Paso might be convinced that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, but he still believes that there is some larger force or "one thing" that should guide people's actions. Only problem is, it's awfully hard to in the modern world.