![]() ![]() Portis describes this environment with a liberal use of Southern idioms that creates what one critic described as “a yarn with swagger, color and song.” The novel also highlights elements of the Arkansas frontier: decent folks farming and living on the edge of civilization, strong religious institutions, Judge Parker–type justice, outlaws, and a lively commercial center straddling civilization and wilderness. Yet despite these differences, the characters discover a common “grit” in each other that becomes a basis for respect and personal growth. Pair her with a one-eyed, fat, middle-aged, hard-drinking, good/bad man, plus a Texan who thinks too highly of himself, and the contrasts produce a wellspring of conflict and humor. She speaks with such “implacable stoniness” that one never doubts her mental and physical fortitude. Mattie’s narrative tone is naïve, prim, proper, and full of Old Testament resonances. True Grit’s fame rests on its skillful blend of quirky characters, Southern regionalism, and Western-style adventure. Mattie arranges for Cogburn’s body to be returned to Dardanelle and buried in her family plot. She decides to meet him, but he dies before she arrives. Years later, Mattie hears that Cogburn has fallen on hard times and is performing in a traveling “Wild West” show. Mattie’s faith in Cogburn is well placed-against formidable odds, he saves her life. In the climax, LaBoeuf and Cogburn rush to her aid as she dangles in a snake pit. She shoots and wounds him with her father’s gun, but Chaney carries her off to his hiding place. Ironically, it is Mattie who unexpectedly stumbles upon Chaney. ![]() The men hope to rid themselves of Mattie as they enter the territory, but she proves to be tenacious and accompanies them despite their attempts to lose her. She views LaBoeuf as arrogant and smug, but the three form a reluctant team. Mattie also meets LaBoeuf, a Texas Ranger holding a warrant for Chaney’s arrest in another murder. She chooses Cogburn, considered the “meanest” marshal but a man she believes has “true grit.” marshal jurisdiction, so Mattie decides to entice a lawman with a reward to hunt down her father’s killer. ![]() The novel True Grit is narrated by Mattie, an elderly unmarried woman, who recounts her teenage adventure: “I was just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and robbed him of his life and his horse and $150.” Seeking revenge and justice, Mattie travels to Fort Smith (Sebastian County) and learns that Chaney has crossed into Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). In 2010, a second film adaptation of the novel, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Jeff Bridges, was released. The movie garnered veteran actor John Wayne the first and only Oscar of his career for his portrayal of Deputy Marshal Rooster Cogburn. Published in 1968, True Grit was adapted into a movie and released the following year. Set in western Arkansas and the Indian Territory of the 1870s, the novel True Grit, written by Arkansan Charles Portis, mixes this unlikely trio of personalities in a bestselling Western adventure. The book moves quickly and is well-written, with great dialogue setting many of the scenes.“Here is what happened.” With those simple words, Mattie Ross of Dardanelle (Yell County) begins her reminiscence of the time she avenged her father’s murder with the help of a one-eyed deputy marshal and a dandy Texas Ranger. The three companions eventually develop a friendship and appreciation for each other by the story’s end. The tale is at times humorous as well as heartfelt. The two are eventually joined by a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf who is tracking Chaney for a crime he committed in Texas. “Rooster” Cogburn to help track and kill Chaney, who has aligned himself with the “Lucky” Ned Pepper Outlaw Gang. Through a series of events, Ross hires a drunken Deputy Marshall named Ruben J. True Grit tells the story of Mattie Ross who, as an elderly woman, recounts when she, at the age of 14, sought revenge for the death of her father who was gunned down one evening by the outlaw Tom Chaney. Many critics and fans alike, including myself, see this book as a near-perfect novel. In 1968, Portis published his masterpiece, True Grit. It was eventually adapted into a film starring Glen Campbell, Kim Darby and football player Joe Namath. Portis published his first novel, Norwood, in 1966 through Simon & Schuster. After leaving his journalism career in 1964, Portis began writing fiction full-time. Portis started his career working for the Arkansas Gazette and eventually the New York Herald Tribune. Charles Portis, who is probably most well-known for writing the classic Western novel T rue Grit died Tuesday at the age of 86. On February 17, 2020, the world lost a true literary giant. ![]()
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