#although catboy Anton is way superior

[spoopieere]

EXTREMELY LONG RAMBLE ON HOW: Book!Anton has parallels with a Ram & Book!Carson has parallels with a Bloodhound/scent dog

All of the lines I referenced are taken from the physical book: "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac Mccarthy & Published by Picador in the "Picador Collection"

Word count: 3k words

This is an insane rambling with barely any beta readers btw, so any is feedback appreciated. I hope y'all enjoy this :3 -Love, Orange-

1. Anton

Animalistic traits: - ”He tore strips from a hand towel with his teeth” (pg.7) -“Chigurh opened the plastic package of cashews with his teeth and doled a third part of them into his palm and stood eating” (pg.53) “Chigurh ate another handful of the cashews” (pg.53) “Chigurh poured more cashews into his palm” => There is no indication of him putting down the cashews packet while he ate. He only puts the cashew packet down at: “Chigurh poured the last of the cashews into his palm and wadded the little bag and placed it on the counter” (pg.55) - One can build the image of him tearing things with his teeth and eating from the palm of his hand, like an animal would during that whole time. Of course, he could’ve both used the hand he’s holding the packet to pick up the nuts, but it only states that he “stood eating”- so this is up for interpretation. - ”The car started and pulled off from the gravel apron onto the highway south. The lights never did come on” (pg.57-58) [Context: It was almost dark. Sheeps in general can see in the dark better than humans can, good night vision.- but so does any other predator animal] - “He tore the packet with his teeth..” (pg. 164)  - Employer: “...He killed two other men a couple of days before and those two did happen to be ours. Along with the three at that colossal goatfuck a few days before that. All right?” Carson: “All right. I guess that will do it” Employer: “Good hunting, as we used to say. Once upon a time. In the long ago.” Carson: “Thank you sir. Can I ask you something?” (pg. 141- 142) [I’m not sure if the “good hunting” is the employer referring to Anton’s killings and comparing him to a hunter; or telling Carson to have a good hunt (on Anton). But for the sake of this argument, I am interpreting it as the latter.] => Because Carson replies with “thank you sir” afterwards, it’s safe to assume that the “Good hunting” was directed at him to go… hunt Anton. Indirectly degrades and compares Anton as some sort of prey animal, or an animal in general. => BUT if we take the other interpretation route: Calling Anton killing people as “hunting” doesn’t equate him to a *human* hunter either, as predator animals also *hunt* for their prey. So this “good hunting” can be interpreted as calling Anton either a prey animal, or a predator animal.  - Anton just stands and listens, like an animal standing in the woods listening for either predator to run away from, or prey to hunt. (“Listening” appears 24 times in the book: 10 of them is dedicated to describing Anton’s actions) - (Llwellyn does the same thing, which is interesting)  +“He drove across the bars of the cattle guard and got out and closed the gate again and stood there listening” (pg.58) +“ He reached over into the passenger seat and turned the dial slowly forward and then back, listening” (pg.98)  +“ He stood listening at the door. Then he punched out the lock cylinder with the airgun and kicked open the door”  (pg. 103) +“ When he came back up he stopped and stood listening in the hallway outside his door.” (pg. 172) +“He stood leaning against the door with the shotgun in both hands, listening. He went down the hallway and picked the crushed cylinder out of the floor and put it in his pocket and went on to the elevator and stood listening again” (pg.198) +“He crossed the room and stood at the doorway listening”  (pg. 200) +“He opened the screen door and punched out the cylinder and walked in and shut the door behind him and stood listening” (pg. 203) +“He put the shotgun in the crook of his arm and took out a can of orange soda and opened it with his forefinger and stood drinking it, listening for anything that might follow the metallic click of the can.” (pg. 203) +“ After a while he rose and crossed the room and went up the stairs. He stood listening at the head of the stairwell.” (pg. 203)

Parallels to a ram (male sheep): There are enough parallels to know that Anton is compared to an animal. Both prey and predator. But there was never an exact predator that can be applied to Anton, he’s just IS a predator; and I’d assume most people would think of Anton as such too considering his job. While the imagery comparing Anton to a prey animal, especially the sheep, is more implied. - His main car is literally a RAMcharger. (hehe) -”It was cold out on the barrial and he had no jacket but he didn’t seem to notice” (pg 59-60) [Sheeps can generally withstand the cold to as low as 25F ~ 3.8C. So a little bit of the desert cold won’t bother a ram as much, plus it adds to how *alien* Anton is.] -“When he was done disinfected the wound a final time (…)  and bound them with gauze off of a roll packaged for sheep and goats” (pg. 164)  => ???Like… couldn’t he just steal human bandages? I'm pretty sure a pharmacy would be more likely to have normal bandages than Veterinary wrap. -“Chigurh watched it all without turning or looking”  ” Chigurh lay there pulling back on the bracelets with his knees between his arms and his face averted” (pg.6) => Sheeps can almost see 360 degrees around them without turning their heads. So if this applies to Anton, it’s almost like he can see what’s going on without having to directly look at them. - Anton: “Even a nonbeliever might find it useful to model himself after God” (pg.256) + RELIGION BABYYY. In catholicism, it is believed that Jesus is the son of God. AND WHAT ANIMAL IS TYPICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH JESUS??? THE *LAMB* - A SHEEP. And a Lion. (Isa. 31:4; Hosea 5:14; Rev. 5:5) [Though in Christianity alone, God is associated with only a lion] + Anton explicitly said here that he is an atheist, but he finds it useful to model himself after God, not God’s teachings, but God. I think it shows how… psychopathically egotistic he is, that he is a non-believer and doesn’t see himself as God/ a god- but rather someone who imitates the image of God, then uses it as an excuse to keep his word to murder Carla. Which is also blasphemous as it counts as using God’s name in vain, so Carla was right to call him a blasphemer.  [Does following the image of God give him a sense of superiority over those who don't? Or is it because he models himself after god that it justifies him killing others?] + It is also interesting how the book both gives Anton parallelism to animals but gives him both prey and predator traits. Just like that of the image of God is both a Lamb, and a Lion. => I think by admitting he is an atheist, yet models himself after the image of God due to its *usefulness*, we can assume that Anton’s image is comparable to a sheep, yet his nature isn’t. Sounds corny, but I do think it is a “Wolf in sheep’s clothing” situation. + Eyes: “at once glistening and totally opaque” (pg.56) Eyes are the window to the soul, as they say. But Anton’s eyes are “totally opaque”, as in unable to see anything deeper beside the “glistening” on the surface. Whatever is “glistening” on the surface is purely for aesthetic or to deceive those who only look at him at a glance. But even if they look deeper, they won't find anything.  => Anton “modelling” himself after God, can be interpreted as him masking himself as a “sheep” to blend in, to disguise himself as unassuming as possible to hide his true nature.  => We can see that this “modelling” himself after God also reveals Anton’s predatory nature. Because he uses that as an excuse to explain why he *has to* kill Carla. => If we are talking about this sentence in “Anton’s ideology” route, we can interpret this as Anton using the words/ teaching of God and twisting it to fit his own ideology. (bc y'know… the Bible is largely up to interpretation of those who read it)

No, I don't think Anton is the Antichrist. Anton is unpredictable, yes, but he is not Lawless (A sign of the Antichrist). Like Carson said in the book “You can even say that he has principles. Principles that transcend money or drugs or anything like that”- Anton has principles, and rules that he follows despite how Lawless he might seem to most. - The boy’s confession with Sheriff Ed Tom at the end: This is like, the most descriptive description of how Anton looks like we’re gonna get.

Ed Tom: “On the report you said he was maybe in his late thirties” (pg.289)  Boy: “Not real tall. Sort of medium” (pg. 290) -  “(...) He was kindly dark complected is all” (pg.291) -  “He was medium height. Medium build. Looked like he was in shape. In his mid thirties maybe. Dark hair. Dark brown, I think. I don’t know, sheriff. He looked like anybody.” (pg.292) “(...) He didn’t look like anybody. I mean there was nothing unusual looking about him. But he didn’t look like anybody you’d want to mess with. When he said something you damn sure listened” (pg.292) 

=> Anton is literally so unremarkably average and unassuming looking that it was so hard to pinpoint anything special about him, aside from previously mentioned aesthetic traits (hair/eyes colors) BUT there is something unusual or uncanny about him that is hard to point out. Even the color of his skin is ambiguous because it's “kindly dark complected”- it's not that light or that dark either. It’s just kindly leaning to the darker shade. Even Llwellyn described Anton as “faintly exotic”- like he MIGHT be a foreigner, but he also might not be. But leaning to being foreign. =>Anton is so vaguely described, he is so ALIKE with anybody else that from a glance he CAN be anybody else. It’s like… he’s blending into the crowd… like a sheep blending into the flock. (I’m going insane, sorry) =>BUT THINK ABOUT IT. Aren’t Christians all modeling themselves after the teachings of God? So in a way, aren’t they all lambs in God's floc? And God/Jesus is their shepherd. (Jesus’s followers are called and compared to Lambs). Anton, is a non-believer, yet he finds it useful to also model himself after God. And so, his unassuming appearance only helps him blend in with the others easier, to look just like any other sheeps in God’s flock.  =>BUT. There will always be something uncanny about Anton’s appearance that gives it away- that even when Anton looks like anybody, “He didn’t look like anybody” either. Just like how his eyes glisten, but ultimately opaque underneath. Just like how his image will never be following the true words of God, there will always be something that gives it away that he is just a predator in sheep’s clothing. (It’s probably because of all the murders..) 

2. Weird comparisons when it comes to Anton & Carson?? (idk lmao i just think it’s funnie)

-Anton* “He placed his hand on the man’s head like a faith healer” (pg.6)

-Carson* “Wells shut the door and stood with his hands crossed before him at the wrist. The way a funeral director might stand” (pg.139) 

=> Why are both of them are hitmen, whose job is to KILL people but it’s only *Anton* that’s associated with someone with a positive connotation like a Faith Healer- to heal people’s faith in Christ and/or physical maladies? (which is very ironic bc Anton’s about to kill someone right after this)  While Carson is compared to a funeral director, establishing his connection to death. Carson is *tasked* to kill Anton, but he never seems to have the intention of doing so, rather he seeks out Llwellyn to strike a deal & get the money, instead of going for Anton (probably bc he knows he can’t kill Anton- like Carson said, he himself is a “daytrader”, so I doubt he was planning to kill Anton in the first place). What he primarily did in the book was tracking Llwellyn down via the mess Anton & Llwellyn left behind, following the blood, examining the scene, sniffing around.. y’know, LIKE A DOG-

3. CARSON!!!

Carson being alluded to be a dog: - BEFORE CARSON SHOWS UP OR EVEN MENTIONED AT ALL, there are two mentions of dogs that are used to describe the silence of the environment around Llewellyn and Anton.  + Llewellyn’s: “He closed the bag and redid the fasteners and shoved it under the bed an rose and stood looking out the window at the stars over the rock escarpment to the north of the town. Dead quiet. Not even a dog.” (pg.23) + Anton’s: “ He waited. Then he tapped again. He turned and stood with his back to the trailer and studied the little park. Nothing moved. Not a dog.” (pg.80) - BUT the moment Llwellyn crosses the Mexican border, the *setting* before Llwellyn’s about to meet Carson, the presence of a dog being *there* is suddenly mentioned:  “The Mexican gateshack was just ahead (. . .) Over the low black hills beyond the town. The water moved beneath him slow and dark. A dog somewhere. Silence. Nothing.” (pg.117) - AND when Llwellyn finally meets up with Carson at the hospital, what was the animal that was explicitly mentioned to be completely there before Llewellyn opens his eyes to see Carson?? “ Moss woke in a ward with sheeting (. . .) Dim noises from the street. A motorcycle. A dog. He turned his face on the pillow and looked into the eyes of a man sitting on a metal chair against the wall holding a bouquet of flowers.” (pg.148) => A DOG!!!!!!!!!! COINCIDENCE?? I THINK NOT- 

Bloodhound-like traits: -What is a Bloodhound: The Bloodhound is a large scent dog, originally bred in the Middle Ages to track animals during hunts, and people. This breed has the ability to discern human scent over great distances, even days later. It is often used to track escaped prisoners, missing people, and lost pets. (according to Wikipedia) - I want to state that the way Carson ever so patiently sat and waited for Llwellyn to wake up for an hour reminds me of how dogs do. And incredibly alike how a bloodhound would find its target and sat guarding it until its master came to collect it. As bloodhounds have a better instinct to hunt, rather than kill.  + Recall to when the Employer said “Good hunting” ;) - I would also want to mention this line that Carson said to Llwellyn: “You need to throw me a bone” (pg.157) => And istg the only animal you ever throw a bone to is a dog.  -It only took Carson “About three hours” to track Llwellyn down, it shows how good Carson actually is at tracking someone and their shit (the money).  -As the name suggests “Bloodhound”, which is a breed of scent dogs, means that there has to be blood and a lot of sniffing involved right? WELL-  + The first thing Carson did upon reaching the room where Llwellyn stayed at the hotel last night was… Sniffing. Like a scent hound or any dog would do to start tracking something:  “It took him about 15 seconds to get into Moss’s room and he shut the door behind him without disturbing the tape. He leaned against the door and smelled the room.” (pg.146) “The first thing he did was to walk carefully over the carpet (...) He rose and picked up the pillows and smelled them.” (pg.146)  + Carson is also mentioned beforehand to be walking around with only his socks in this scene, similar to how Anton did it to make his walk silent. Hitman stuff ig. And also Bloodhounds are silent while on a trail themselves. +The next stuff Carson started to pay attention to was Blood. Get a whiff and take a look at the tracks. Like a scent dog would do: “ A  bloody towel lay in the floor (...) There was a bloodstained washcloth in the sink (...) Bloody handprints. A bloody handprint on the edge of the shower curtain (...) The pavement has been hosed off but you can still see the bloodstains in the concrete of the walkway where Moss had been shot.” (pg.146) “(...) A cotton robe that was black with dried blood” (pg.147)  +Carson’s sense of smell is also mentioned further into his investigation: “A darkened room. A faint smell of rot.” (pg.147)  +Carson also used Llwellyn’s blood on the pavement to track down the money: “He was standing where Moss had stood four nights ago.” (pg.166) “He studied the blood on the sidewalk. Where it trailed off to nothing (...) Faint outline of a boot print in blood (...)  He studied the chain link fence to see if there might be blood on the wire.” (pg.167)   +Carson takes pictures via his camera while he investigates. Kinda like how a scent dog would form “track pictures” (A “track picture” can consist of many elements: ground, earthy & air, in which includes a lot of other elements like dirt, sweat, skin, plants,...) to lock into a specific track so they follow that track instead of others. In this case, blood.  “ He took a small camera from his jacket pocket and took a couple of pictures of the dead woman…”  (pg.147) “He took out his camera and snapped a picture of the sky, the river, the world.” (pg.167)  I think it's cute.. to headcanon... Carson being into photography a bit.. - Unrelated but, when Anton and Carson were in the room together, Anton said this: “You think you can put it off with your eyes” Carson: “What do you mean?” Anton: “You think that as long as you keep looking at me you can put it off” (pg.176) => AND I CAN’T HELP BUT IMAGINE CARSON GIVING ANTON PUPPY EYES SO ANTON WON’T KILL HIM

That is all I have. Thank you for reading. I love you if you did so. I do accept feedback as I MIGHT use some of this to add into my uni subject's literature analysis on NCFOM. All of this just to have an excuse to draw Anton with sheep horns and Carson as a dog boy btw... Carson is a dog boy confirmed. Anton is that weird looking sheep standing alone on a field in the middle of the night and staring straight at your camera as you took the picture.

Again, thank you <3 -Orange-