True Grit

True Grit written by Charles McColl Portsis is an extremely interesting novel that has courage, love, revenge and trust. Mattie Ross is a fourteen year old girl that begins an adventure to avenge her father’s death. Mattie is determined to find the man that murdered her father. This story is told on Mattie Ross’s behalf. True Grit is considered to be a western considering the genre of the story. I believe it is a western drama because it does have action, great friendships between characters, guns, horseback, revenge that involves characters getting hung and killed by guns, the landscape/ frontier. There are many conflicts that are shown throughout this story as well as plenty of humor through Mattie’s dialogue. This story is set in in native Arkansas that argues values while the story has two major themes throughout the story. Justice plays a big part in True grit because Mattie sets out at the age of fourteen on horseback to avenge her fathers death. Another factor that is told through Charles Portsis’s True Grit is revenge. Revenge is a huge factor because that is what the who novel is based around and the adventure that Mattie has to overcome for revenge. When reading and watching a western the audience wants to see gun fights and show downs, a western is also supported from the values of the novel, the culture that is being told by the story, the frontier landscape, and indians vs. cowboys. I enjoyed reading and watching True Grit because of Mattie’s dedication and how well she bargains and does not take no for an answer while in the middle of a bargain or an argument. Mattie was determined to tag along even though she is fourteen and a girl. In the novel every character had their own sense of “true grit” which is told by the title.