Differences & Similarities Between Chigurh and Satan
Everyone in the world has somewhat an idea of who Satan is. He is described as evil, eerie, and rebellious. And if you ever read, No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, you would know how sinister the character, Anton Chigurh, really is. But by reading Paradise Lost, you can tell how similar and different Anton Chigurh and Satan really are. I will be writing about the similarities and differences between Anton Chigurh and Satan, because there are some distinct differences some might not realize. Satan as some might know, used to be an Angel of God. But soon rebelled and wanted to overpower God. But of course, Satan failed. And as punishment, he was sent to Hell to suffer for all eternity. Hell is then a place where sinister souls go to suffer for eternity to atone for their sins. Now as for Chigurh, at times it can be inferred that Chigurh is an atheist. As he doesn’t seem to mention God nor Satan throughout his life. Chigurh is a bounty hunter, and will complete any task with one-hundred percent succession, no matter what. Although we know Chigurh murdered innocent people at times throughout his journey. He doesn’t do it with sinister intent. At times, he would use a cattle gun to give them a “painless” death. And he mostly kills the people that deserve it. Like the guy that sent another bounty hunter to kill Chigurh for example. So, these are just tiny details to summarize each being. And in continuation, I will present some examples on how they’re both similar and different.
As for this image, it depicts Chigurh’s evil nature. Even though Chigurh doesn’t kill out of malice, this situation could of been avoided. But Chigurh still murdered this deputy that had detained him.
One thing I’ve chosen that describes the similarity between Chigurh and Satan, is how it’s shown that both beings can’t be restrained. Even with tough obstacles ahead of them, they somehow overcome them. For example, in No Country for Old Men, Chigurh deliberately gets himself arrested by a Deputy. He did this to see if he could escape the handcuffs and the Deputy himself. He successfully finds a way to move his cuffed hands from his back to his front. Then he proceeds to strangle the Deputy with the cuffs, then uses the Deputy’s key to escape. “The Deputy left Chigurh standing in the corner of the office with his hands cuffed behind him,” (McCarthy 5) In, Paradise Lost, though it doesn’t go into full details of certain events, it explains how Satan was sent to hell, to be restrained with Adamantine chains. Adamantine meaning unbreakable. And somehow, he breaks free. “In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire,” (Line 48)
This article by Tess McClure, goes in depth about the Philippine drug war. How the Philippine government handles criminals by killing them, or the different tactics criminals use to kill people. But one thing I noticed about all this, is how the drug war will not end anytime soon. It seems to be like a presence that will always be there. And no matter how much you try to get rid of it, it will still remain. “ Although they say the war on drugs is temporarily on hold, it’s still happening. But the police have changed their wording. For example, the other night, there were some people killed, but the police say, oh no, it’s not drug related.” (Jes Aznar 2017)
Something Anton Chigurh and Satan are different in, is their reasoning, so to speak. Chigurh only has his principles he follows, meanwhile Satan wants power and destruction. Chigurh sticks by his principles till the very end. It’s his motives after all. When Moss inconvenienced Chigurh, it was Chigurh’s principles that motivated him to kill Moss. Even if Moss were to turn in the money, Chigurh would still kill him. But Chigurh doesn’t do his action, like kill, out of any sinister motives. He does it because of his principles. “You could even say that he has principles.” (McCarthy 153) Now for Satan on the other hand, all he seeks is power and destruction. Satan is pure evil and is why he was sent to hell. And it’s for that reason why he wants more power, why he rebelled. And because he’s sinister, he also seeks destruction. “One next himself in power, and next in crime,” (Line 79)
Now, we all know why Satan is damned in hell. But we also need to think why Anton Chigurh’s next place is hell too. Even though it’s true that Chigurh doesn’t kill out of malice intent, he is still killing innocent people. There are some innocent people that weren’t involved in any way shape or form. But Chigurh still gets rid of them. With this reasoning alone, it can be said that Chigurh is evil as well. And we know Chigurh is full of sin. As described in Paradise Lost, hell is like a prison for those who have sinned and are rebellious. “For those rebellious, here thir Prison ordain’d,” (Line 71) throughout the story, Chigurh’s murdered dozens of people. Some he doesn’t even let them speak their mind, he just kills them with no remorse. Therefore hell is the destination Chigurh is going to next. “There’s no one alive on this planet that’s ever had even a cross word with him. They’re all dead.” (McCarthy 153)
This Youtube video goes a little in depth about the infamous, Alcatraz Prison. The reason I bring up Alcatraz is because it would have been the most precise and suitable Prison to place Chigurh in. Alcatraz was made for the worst criminals to be placed in such as Al Capone. So there is no doubt Chigurh would have spent the rest of his days here. Alcatraz is a little like Hell on Earth for criminals who have rebelled against the Authority.
So in conclusion, there really isn´t much that separates the two stories. Just that Satan seeks power and destruction, whereas Chigurh is really only following his own mindset and does what he does to get the job done. But other than that, there really isn’t many differences at play here. It’s shown how they could both be seen as an unstoppable figure that can’t be restrained. And how they will both be inevitably damned to Hell for all eternity.
