No Country for Old Men Chapter VIII Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote 1
They asked me if I believed in Satan. I said Well that aint the point. And they said I know but do you? I had to think about that. I guess as a boy I did. Come the middle of my years my belief I reckon had waned somewhat. Now I'm startin to lean back the other way. He explains a lot of things that otherwise dont have no explanation. Or not to me they dont. (8.1.4)
It might be hard to be believe in true, all-consuming evil until you have seen it and what it can do. Bell returns to believing in evil after seeing Chigurh's work; for him, there is no other explanation for Chigurh's behavior.
Quote 2
One of the things you realize about gettin older is that not everbody is goin to get older with you. (8.1.1)
If you're looking for a gift for Sheriff Bell, we recommend the book All My Friends Are Dead. Is there anything good about getting old? It seems that it's just one sadness after another.
Quote 3
I think if you were Satan and you were settin around trying to think up somethin that would just bring the human race to its knees what you would probably come up with is narcotics. (8.1.4)
In case you haven't realized that the characters in this book believe that drugs are evil, Bell flat-out compares them to Satan here. Do you agree with him?
Quote 4
I'd smoke some weed if you had some. (8.2.216)
The moral of this story is "don't do drugs, kids." The pot-smoking young hitchhiker ends up dead a couple pages later. We doubt she would have survived if she had not asked for marijuana, but McCarthy includes this dialogue for a reason. Drugs are bad news.
Quote 5
You dont start over. That's what it's about. Ever step you take is forever. You cant make it go away. (8.2.159)
Llewelyn is talking to the unnamed hitchhiker here, and he's basically telling her that it's a bad idea to stick around with him. (He's right.) However, he can't make that choice for her; she has to decide herself. And she chooses wrong.