Book #81: True Grit

Book #81: True Grit by Charles Portis

April 8, 2014


I've never been into Westerns. I think of Westerns, and I think of old men. Westerns were big when my parents were kids, but they seem to have made a comeback in the last decade. I watched the remake of the film True Grit with my former housemate a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it. A student of mine, a 7th or 8th grader, read the book and told me about it. I've been wanting to read it ever since.

The heart of the story is, of course, the narrator, Mattie Ross. She is 14, and admirably cool and pragmatic. She kept the family's books and had a relationship of mutual respect with the family lawyer; she liked to toss his name around whenever she thought it would be useful to her. She is not an adventure seeker or a tomboy. She is out for revenge, plain and simple, and she will pay to see it done.

The title of the novel (a satisfyingly quick read) originally refers to Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn. He is the fat, drunken, one-eyed federal marshal whom Mattie hires to go after the man who killed her father. She is told that he has "grit" (essentially, a badass), and she really wants this scoundrel Tom Chaney dead. But honestly, besides Rooster's drunkenness and his sordid past, he's a likable character. He and Mattie have a strong bond; he calls her 'sis' and with only a couple of exceptions near the beginning of the journey, he looks out for her and genuinely wants to help her. LaBoeuf, after Chaney for reasons of his own, starts out as a thorn in Mattie's side, but their connection is obvious before too long as well. All three of them, who join up to hunt down their man in the Indian Territory west if Arkansas (this was about a decade after the Civil War), all have grit. Obviously Mattie, who manages to shoot Chaney twice (though Rooster delivers the deadly blow) and loses her left arm to poison from a snake bite, had true grit herself. She is quite a badass.

But wasn't she all along? In her dealings with people, she is determined to get what she wants and not get fucked around with, even though she's still a kid. Mattie is just a larger than life character. She is true to her nature as she matures, never marrying but getting wealthier. She's seen as a cranky one-armed old maid, and I'm sure she comes off that way to people who don't 'get' her. She's religious, but reasonable. She judges Rooster as a thief but respects him anyway. I'm sure that while she's a shrewd businesswoman, she would be perhaps a little compassionate in her dealings, as she does mention people coming to her for loans.

I had thought that this book was a classic, but apparently it was obscure for some time until about 15 years ago (it was published in the 1960s). Of course, the original movie is rather famous, John Wayne's performance as Rooster won him his only Oscar. I'm shocked that this book isn't more widely read; I may use it in my own classroom, if possible. It's easy to read, certainly, and Mattie is such a unique character. Her interactions with various characters, like the bitching and moaning Stonehill or the illiterate outlaw Lucky Ned Pepper (awesome name!) are brilliant. I loved this book. If all Westerns were this funny, insightful, and clever , I would get into it more. Hell, maybe they are. I've debated reading something by Louis L'Amour...