Patrick HoernerLanguage Arts 12Mr. Pitcher

Winner of the 2007 Academy Award for Best Picture

Author ◦ Cormac McCarthy was born on July 20, 1933 in

Rhode Island.

◦ He has written ten novels, ranging from the Southern Gothic, western, and post-apocalyptic genres.

◦ He received the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for The Road, and his 2005 novel No Country for Old Men was adapted as a 2007 film of the same name, which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Character: ProtagonistsLlewelyn Moss, a welder and Vietnam War veteran in his 30s. He enjoys hunting as a hobby as seen in the beginning of the novel.

Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, the main protagonist, he oversees the investigation and the trail of the murders. He struggles to face the enormity of the crimes he is attempting to solve. His reminiscence of the past provides the main themes for the book.

Character: Antagonist

•Anton Chigurh the main antagonist, a sociopathic hitman, prone to extreme violence. His exact age his unknown but he seems to be in his mid 30’s.

Favorite Character•Anton Chigurh• He is the most ruthless, yet sophisticated killer out there.

He loved to flip a coin to decide if he should kill someone, but he would always let the victim “call it.”

• When asked if he had any enemies, he replies by saying “I wouldn’t allow such a thing.”

(2:40)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4igGIRh3KSA

Least Favorite Character•Carson Wells, another hitman, who is hired to

retrieve the money from Chigurh. All he really does in the book is warn Moss about how dangerous Chigurh is.

Plot Summary: Exposition• Moss is hunting antelope in Odessa, Texas, when he comes

across a drug deal gone bad. He finds several dead bodies and a truck full of heroin. Moss decides to look around some more, and ends up finding $2.4 million in cash. Now Moss is on the run with the money, while Chigurh and Sheriff Bell are on his tail, in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase.

Rising Action• The tension gets thick once the drug lords find Moss and

he is forced to hide everywhere he goes. • At the same time Chigurh is killing everyone that crosses

his path, trying to get find the money.

Climax• The climax in this novel happens out of the blue when the

reader is caught completely off guard. Moss is found dead in a hotel. Neither the book or film go into great depth on how the event happened, but it his hinted the Mexican drug lords found him.

• Chigurh gets the money back, but nothing can satisfy his thirst for blood.

Falling Action• Chigurh promised Moss over the phone, that he would find

Moss’ wife(Carla Jean) and kill her. Even after Moss is dead, Chigurh finds Carla Jean, and tells her that he is a man of his word and lets the coin decide her fate.

• Chigurh gets in a car crash, and his last seen walking into the distance.

Resolution• The novel ends with Sheriff Bell at home with his wife. He

retires because he feels he has become to old for the job.• The last words are Sheriff Bell’s talking about two dreams

he had about his father.

Setting• Takes place in the United States-Mexican border in Terrell

Country, Texas. The year is 1980

Themes•Violence, murder, greed, drugs, and

coldhearted villains are the core themes for…

Rating •9/10• It is very rare for me to finish a book at all, but I

had a hard time putting this down once the plot had been established. I was always reading it with my eyes wide open with some of the close calls Moss had, or the brutal ways Chigurh would kill someone.

• Chigurh’s past?

Social Issue Drug Trafficking into the

U.S.

Drug Trafficking • Illegal drug trade happens all across the globe. The trade

of illegal drugs has been as around as long as the drugs themselves. It has a deep impact on all countries around the world, regardless to the economic state of that country.

• A 3 step process:1 Cultivation2 Manufacture3 Distribution

Cultivation/Manufacturing: Cocaine• Cocaine Hydrochloride can be processed from

the coca plant. The coca plant can be found through out most of Latin America, but are mostly in Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gh_9hrkkG0&feature=channel

Distribution• The final step (which includes the trafficking itself) can

come in all shape and sizes. From shipping the drugs in the coffins of dead American soldiers (Cadaver Connection), to boats, and even submarines. The drug lords/cartels will go to any length to get their merchandise distributed.

Song/Poem- Eric Clapton: Cocaine

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZGMLP2pK8c&feature=related

If you wanna hang out you’ve got to take her out; cocaine. If you wanna get down, down on the ground; cocaine. She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie; cocaine.

When your day is done and you wanna run; cocaine. If you got bad news, you wanna kick them blues; cocaine. She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie; cocaine.

If your thing is gone and you wanna ride on; cocaine. Don't forget this fact, you can't get it back; cocaine. She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie; cocaine.

She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie; cocaine.

Why should you care?• The creation of these drugs is very harmful to the environments

of the countries they come from.

• For those living in poverty in South America and other parts of the world, becoming a part of the drug trafficking system is the only way to survive.

• The illegal drug market in the United States is one of the most profitable in the world. As such, it attracts the most ruthless, sophisticated, and aggressive drug traffickers. Drug law enforcement agencies face an enormous challenge in protecting the country's borders.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mexico/drug_trafficking/index.html

(U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, 2004)

The stats

Source: 1999 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

What can we do about it?• The goal now is to turn what is a national security problem

into one that can be handled by law enforcement. That alone is a tall order since the cartels have infiltrated governments and police forces throughout Mexico( as well as many other countries), paying officials to protect their illicit business.

• Another possible yet very controversial solution is to legalize many of these drugs.

(Marc Lacey, The New York Times, 2009)

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mexico/drug_trafficking/index.html

Conclusion• We are not targeting the problem at its source. It is

our own fellow Americans that are creating the demand for these illegal drugs in the first place. It doesn’t matter how many drug cartels the U.S. government takes down, there will always be another one to take its place.

• There are an estimate of 12.8 million Americans using illegal drugs on a current basis.

• There is no simple solution to cease the illegal drug use in America, but that alone is its own social issue.

Bibliography • http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/GovPubs/COCCCP.htm• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ike_Atkinson#Cadaver_Connection• http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandter

ritories/mexico/drug_trafficking/index.html• http://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/policy/ndcs00/

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