Main Characters
This cold, relentless hitman carries a captive bolt pistol.
Who is Anton Chigurh?
This actor won an Oscar for playing Anton Chigurh.
Who is Javier Bardem?
This object in Chigurh’s pocket determines life or death by chance.
What is a coin (coin toss)?
This story unfolds along this border.
Where is the Texas-Mexico border?
This term describes a situation where all available moral choices seem wrong.
What is an ethical quandary (or ethical dilemma)?
This welder and Vietnam veteran finds drug money in the desert.
Who is Llewelyn Moss?
This actor played Llewelyn Moss in the film.
Who is Josh Brolin?
Sheriff Bell feels disillusioned because this is slipping away over time.
What are old values (traditional morals)?
The novel is set during this decade, a time of shifting values.
What are the 1980s?
This word describes the right or ability to govern oneself or one’s own activities.
What is autonomy?
This character is Llewelyn Moss’s loyal and strong-willed young wife.
Who is Carla Jean Moss?
This actor, known for Cheers and True Detective, played Carson Wells.
Who is Woody Harrelson?
The pursuit of stolen money in the novel symbolizes this destructive force.
What is the futility of greed?
The plot kicks off when this type of illegal activity goes bad.
What is a drug deal?
This word describes the belief that the worst will happen or seeing the negative side of things.
What is pessimism?
This weary sheriff reflects on a world he no longer understands.
Who is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell?
This Texas-born actor played Sheriff Bell.
Who is Tommy Lee Jones?
Anton Chigurh personifies this unstoppable force, linked to destiny.
What is fate?
Long stretches of silence in the novel amplify this narrative effect.
What is tension (or drama)?
This word refers to a god or divine being.
What is deity?
This hired hitman is brought in to clean up the chaos but meets his end.
Who is Carson Wells?
This Scottish actress portrayed Carla Jean Moss.
Who is Kelly Macdonald?
The novel challenges these two moral categories by showing characters as complex and conflicted.
What are heroism and villainy (good and evil)?
The harsh, isolated setting creates this overall mood or tone.
What is desolation (or bleakness)?
This word refers to the process of becoming outdated or no longer useful.
What is obsolescence?