As Individuals' progress and experience obstacles In their lives, they become familiar tit the different aspects of their mind, such as their persona, shadow, and self, ultimately achieving Individuation. In Corm McCarthy No Country for Old Men, the state of Individuation is demonstrated by the antagonist Anton gulch at the onset of the novel. In Anton Chigger's quest for the stolen satchel of money, Chirurgic remorselessly murders all those who are obstacles to attain the satchel, including competitors.Through Chigger's varying experiences during his expedition, Chigger's constant impersonal persona, sadistic shadow and sociopath self, portray him as an individual who has attained individuation prior to the onset of the story.
Chirurgic demonstrates that he has achieved individuation at the onset of the novel by maintaining a constant impersonal persona throughout his expedition. A requirement for individuation is a stable persona. Chirurgic understands that in order to survive he requires a facade in order to not standout in society.As seen throughout the novel, Chirurgic demonstrates a deep understanding of his persona by manipulating it to match societies social norms when faced with social interactions, specifically, Chirurgic restricts his social interactions to low key small talk without veiling the specifics of his own life, "And you? What about your enemies? I have no enemies.
I don't permit such a thing. He looked around the room. Nice office, he said. Low key. He nodded to a painting on the wall. Is that original?The man looked at the painting.
No, he said. It's not. But I own the original. I keep it in a vault. Excellent, said Chirurgic" (McCarthy 253) In a conversation between Chirurgic and his unnamed new employer (owner of the retrieved satchel of money), Chirurgic immediately deflects the conversation away from his personal life (questioned about his enemies) to any other resource of conversation, in this case, arbitrarily he changes the topic of the conversation to a painting in the room.
Gulch's social Interactions with all characters In the book follow this guideline; he malignant a distance from the characters, but remains socially Integrated by Limiting the conversation to collects most basic Interface of Interaction, specifically small-talk. Moreover, the stability of Gulch's persona Is further exemplified later In the novel when he encounters two adolescents after a car accident, "The boy In the T-shirt stepped forward and knelt and knotted the sling. That arm don't look good, he said.Gulch thumbed a bill out of the clip and put the clip back in his pocket and took the bill from between his teeth That's a lot of money. Take it. Take it and you don't know what I looked like.
You hear? The boy took the bill. Yester, he said. " (McCarthy 262) Again because Chirurgic is a sociopath he fails to reciprocate conventional social norms, specifically the general good intentions of the adolescents. When the youth approaches Chirurgic and gives his shirt, Anton responds in a distant manner. He does not come to realize that the gesture can pass without providing a monetary reward as it meets society's norms.
Chigger's impersonal persona is kept at a fix to other norms, such as those of small- talk; he fails to respond with a correct gesture to match the adolescent's good intention. As a result, Chigger's persona allows him to avoid having any personal relationship with the boy, distancing himself yet again, while still meeting society social standard of norms. Therefore, Chirurgic, understanding his unconventional sociopath self, allows him to create an impersonal persona which provides the necessary fade to interact in society, contributing to individuation, something that is already achieved at the onset.Chirurgic further demonstrates individuation through the understanding and the acceptance of the more sadistic portion of his psyche, his shadow. Chirurgic facilitates his shadow by holding his principles to the extreme (to kill anyone who he sees to be held accountable, in other words, those who he feels are obstacles in his path), allowing him to perform remorseless actions, "The man was lying slumped against the tub holding an AK-47. He was shot in the chest and the neck and he was bleeding heavily.
No me mate, he wheezed. No me mate.Chirurgic stepped back to avoid the spray of ceramic chips off the tub and shot him in the face. (McCarthy 104) When hunting for Lonely, he comes across other competitors who seek the same satchel. Even when his competitor is at his mercy, Chirurgic, whose ideologies are already solidified in the sense that the other individuals have now come in his way and are held accountable, cause Chirurgic to feel compelled to perform heinous actions which function to satisfy his shadow. As a result of Chigger's ideologies he makes no effort to stop his impulses, as they serve to satisfy his shadow.
It is evident that the acceptance of his sadistic shadow as displayed through his radical ideologies and reminisces portray him as an individual who already attained individuation, as his ideologies are applied consistently to relevant scenarios (kill those who serve as obstacles to his goal) throughout the novel. Furthermore, Chirurgic continues to demonstrate characteristics of an individual who has achieved individuation through his attempts to block his shadow; "She looked at the gun. She turned away. She sat with her head down, her shoulders shaking.
Oh Mama, she said. None of this was your fault. She shook her head, sobbing. You didn't do anything.
It was bad luck. She nodded. He watched her, his chin in his hand. All right, he said. This is the best I can do. " (McCarthy 257) Soon after Lonely Moss was gun downed, Carla Jean, his wife, held a funeral for her mother, mourning for her mother and her husband both.
Upon returning to her home, she found Chirurgic. Chirurgic gave his word to Lonely that if he did not cooperate with him, he would kill his wife.Despite Lonely now dead, Chirurgic, a man of his principle, feels compelled to carry out the act as his word is solidified and cannot be undone. Again, Chirurgic holds his ideologies and principles to the extreme, where in this case he fulfils his word he gave to a dead man, resulting in the already attained individuation by showing a slight resistance to his shadow (the shadow is not suppressed completely).
Instead of instantly killing her, as seen with his other victims, Chirurgic takes the time to talk to her, and slowly begins to feel empathy.Despite Carla Jean taking a shot to the face anyways, Chirurgic still attempted to resist his shadow, a key aspect of individuation that must be present for one to achieve it. Thus Anton Chirurgic is an individual who has already achieved selfless, as resisting his shadow in such manner reflects that he has acquired a deep understanding of his psyche. Chigger's achievement of selfless is further proven by another component of his psyche: his self.
The self as a psychological complex represents the entire psychological being of an individual; it unites the personality of an individual.In No Country for Old Men, Chigger's self revolves around one ideology he holds, to kill anyone who functions to obstruct him from attaining his goals. His ideology in his self, in comparison to his principle in his shadow, unites his personality and allows Chirurgic to express his true personality, that of a sociopath, "l have only one way to live. It doesn't allow for special cases. A coin toss perhaps. In this case to small purpose.
Most people don't believe that there can be such a person. (McCarthy 260) This is one of the few instances in the story where Chirurgic reveals any information about himself; however, it is noteworthy that he does shoot the listener soon after (Carla Jean). As Chirurgic converses with Carla Jean, Chirurgic attempts to explain the rationale behind his actions, specifically, that it is necessary to kill her because he must carry out his word. Despite her pleads for mercy, Chirurgic only shows empathy insomuch to explain to her his actions, as this functions as an attempt to make Jean pope with the inevitable consequence of his ideology (her death). Chirurgic acknowledges that, "l have only one way to live..
. (McCarthy 260), it is shown in this section of the quote that Chirurgic understands his entire psychological being or his self, and that he lives his life according to purely, one way, specifically that which follows his ideology (he accepts that his self is unified by this ideology). In the "Art of murdering: a multimedia-stylistic analysis of Anton Chigger's speech in No Country for Old Men" written by Elisabeth Guru; Guru analyzes Chirurgic as "A man who is blew to translate domination into words and to corner his Victim' on more than one occasion, until his aim has been reached. (Elisabeth Guru) Guru likewise reasons that Chigger's core principle or ideology is to ultimately reach his specific goal (in this instance it is to retrieve the satchel containing the money), by any meaner necessary, and by extension Guru further acknowledges that Chirurgic adheres to this principle throughout the novel.
Thus Guru implies likewise, that Chirurgic has achieved individuation prior to the start of the story, as a result of the recognition of his principles which function to form his collective self.Furthermore, Chigger's achievement of selfless at the onset of the novel is further proven through the demonstration of his self when faced with the task of achieving short-term goals, "The man stepped away from the vehicle. Chirurgic could see the doubt come into his eyes at this bloodstained figure before him but it came too late. He placed his hand on the man's head like a faith healer. The pneumatic hiss and click of the plunger sounded like a door closing. The man slid soundlessly to the ground, a round hole in it his slowly uncoupling word visible to see.
Chirurgic wiped his hand with his handkerchief.I Just didn't want you to get blood on the car, he said. " (McCarthy 7) At the start of the novel, Anton Chirurgic is faced with the task of escaping a prison. He comes across an innocent man driving, pulls him over, and then proceeds to kill him for his car in order to make his escape.
Chirurgic, understanding his self, and the ideologies and principles it consists of, enables him to remorselessly dispose of anything that presents itself as an obstacle between him and his goals, in this case, killing an innocent driver in order to make use of his car to escape inconspicuously (as he was initially driving a stolen police car).Thus, Chigger's sociopath self, composed of his principles (anyone who presents themselves as an obstacle will be disposed of), enables him to feel no remorse when he kills, even if they are innocent, for the sake of obtaining possessions that fulfill his goals, whether they are short- term as seen in this example of the book, or long-term (such as retrieving the satchel). Anton Chirurgic in Corm McCarthy No Country for Old Men exhibits qualities of an individual that has achieved individuation prior to the onset of the tale.Through Matron's impersonal persona, sadistic shadow, and sociopath self, Anton was successful in portraying an individual who has attained selfless. Firstly, Anton was able to maintain a constant impersonal persona, resulting in a fade that allowed him to cope with specific social norms. The consistency of Matron's persona reflects a deep understanding of his true character, and the measures that are required in order to survive.
Secondly, Matron's acceptance of his shadow, although overpowering, allows him to express his principles, such as his ideology on accountability. Lastly, Matron's self, the key component to his psyche and his overall psychological recessing, is associated with his ideologies, which function to both allow him to express his actual sociopath personality and to enable the comprehension of his psyche as a whole, and thus, allowing him to attain a state of individuation.Anton in No Country for Old Men represents a different outlook on character development in literature. More often than not with most characters in literature, progress and experiences usually lead to a deeper understanding of one's psyche, contributing towards individuation. In the case with Anton, however, individuation is something that has already been achieved at the onset of the novel.
