Global Issue: Inner Thoughts Of Sheriff Bell

“Quite a few people didnt believe in it. Even them that worked on the row. You’d be surprised. Some of em I think had at one time . . .”
(Page 63-64)
Global Issue: Beliefs
Author’s Choices: Throughout this passage, Mccarthy uses colloquial language when showing the inner thoughts of Sheriff Bell. Omitting traditional grammatical rules such as the use of apostrophes and beginning sentences with conjunctions makes the text mirror the inner thinkings of a person. In Sheriff Bell’s case, his contemplation about the past and his prior career of working in the execution yard is making him lose his belief in the good of the world. The improper grammar makes the scene appear like genuine thought that the character has about the subject.
Anecdote:

The repeated use of words like “squattin”, “thinkin”, and “somethin” show the rural background of Bell that makes up his identity. Also, the repeated use of rhetorical questions such as “Why was that?” and “What was it that he had faith in?” show how Bell contemplates the actions of other people. Although Bell comes from a rural area where people are often ignorant of outside ideas and refuse to make personal change, a crucial part of Bell’s identity is that he reflects on his own actions and does not have a set standard for what is wrong or right, and good or bad. This is a primary difference between the identity of Bell and Chigurh. Although both men at first appear to have a strict code to live by, Chigurh is always glued to his roles, whereas Bell is able to contemplate the methods he uses in navigating the world. For Chigurh, the coin toss is an essential part of his identity, as he acts as a director of fate and chance. For Bell, being a sheriff is a major part of his identity, but Bell’s decision to resign from the position shows how Bell’s identity is less set in

Bell thought about the man who chiseled the rock, and how he spent a long time making the trough to last thousands of years. Additionally, Bell reflects on how the man did this while living in a violent time during war and conflict. Bell is intrigued by the idea that the man would put effort into such a creation during a time when invention and creation were constantly being destroyed and recreated. Ultimately, Bell realizes that it is the man’s faith in both his creation and in people that spurred the man to create the trough. The faith in people used to be a crucial part of Bell’s identity. Evidently, it was what Bell used to justify his role as county sheriff. However, the horrors of the new world separated Bell from his identity as a protector of the people, and I think that this is haunting Bell after his resignation. All of Bell’s life, he was raised by people who valued the ultimate goodness in people. In the end of the anecdote, Bell states “And I dont have no intentions of carvin a stone water trough. But I would like to be able to make that kind of promise. I think that’s what I would like most of all.” This quote shows how Bell wants to bring back his commitment to caring for civilization itself. As a sheriff, he was able to protect people and offer a service to the people, and Bell wants to bring that part of his identity