The Western Fairy Tale: True Grit as seen through a Proppian Analysis

Levi Bernhard
Media Criticism
Dr. Paul Kohl
September-October, 2016
 Bernhard 2

Fairy tales are one of the most often-told media of story in history. They provide human

society with ideas on how to live the virtuous life, as well as giving a narrative that many people

can identify with. The analyst Vladimir Propp recognized this, and determined that several

motifs in fairy tales can be used as functions which determine the actions of characters and plots

in different texts.1 As such, his methods, called Proppian analysis, have determined that many

texts resemble fairy tales, and can be analyzed based upon their linear format. In the original

1969 version of True Grit, this message becomes especially clear. The motion picture True Grit

showcases itself as an example of a modern Western fairy tale because of its use of Propps

functions, and because it still communicates the overarching message of good triumphing over

evil. However, it does not strictly adhere to Propps ideology, and so a quick analysis of the film

is necessary in order to understand the work as a whole.

In the first case, True Grit right away presents itself as the quintessential fairy tale setup.

The film begins with a soft song by Glen Campbell over the opening credits; these credits are

superimposed over a beautiful landscape, including a large farm with green pastures and

mountains in the background.2 While Propp did not focus on the initial situation as one of the

functions in his analysis, the setting for the tale does provide a significant starting point for the

rest of the film to follow.3 That is, the initial setting of the film provides the viewer an almost

mythical interpretation of the Old West, as a place that is green and lush yet still somehow

untamed, even by the invasion of man as seen by the farm.4 Following the opening credits, the

1
Arthur Asa Berger, Chapter Three: Semiotics and Media Aesthetics, Media and Society: A Critical
Perspective, 3rd ed., Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., New York: 2012, 44-45.
2
True Grit, directed by Hal Wallis, starring John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Paramount Pictures,
1969.
3
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 45.
4
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
 Bernhard 3

viewer is introduced to the main character, Mattie Ross, as played by Kim Darby.5 She is

introduced as being the hero of the story, in that the film spends a lot of time on her in these

opening scenes, and she is later shown to take the initiative in the film.6 The viewer then sees one

of Propps functions introduced in the film: Matties father, Mr. Frank Ross, announces that he

has to go on a short business trip to the town of Fort Smith, and so will be leaving Maddie in

charge of taking care of the family.7 This showcases Propps first function of plot, Absentation,

in which a family members absents themselves, such as leaving on a trip or dying, thus initiating

the plot of the story.8 That is, according to Proppian thought, the plot of the fairy tale has

officially begun, and will likely result in the hero being sent out on a quest.9 When Frank Ross

arrives in Fort Smith, he is murdered by his hired man, Tom Chaney.10 Chaney thus establishes

himself through the Proppian act of Villainy, which is defined as causing harm to a member of

the family of the hero.11 Thus, we see two examples of Proppian thought in the first five minutes

of the film, establishing the movie as a fairy tale concerning the Old West. It is also proven as a

fairy tale through this first section due to the somewhat mythic atmosphere of the scenery, and

relative two-dimensionality of the characters. More character traits are demonstrated by going

beyond this point in the film.

The Proppian method of analysis continues when Mattie decides to find Chaney and

avenge her fathers death.12 She learns of her fathers death shortly after it happens, and in true

5
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
6
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
7
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
8
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 45.
9
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 45-47.
10
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
11
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
12
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
 Bernhard 4

Victim hero fashion, goes off to Counteract Chaneys villainy.13 That is, because she was

victimized by Chaneys actions, Mattie was Mediated to Counteract the situation, or learned

about the death of her father and sought to bring Chaney to justice.14 All of these are functions of

the Proppian analysis, and so they contribute to the linear narrative of the story, which gives it a

fairy tale feel. When Mattie arrives in Fort Smith, she immediately begins to seek out

information on the murder, and the ways in which she can find Tom Chaney.15 As the victim

hero, Mattie is then tested in order to receive a helping agent in her quest. She attempts to contact

the U.S. Marshall Reuben J. Rooster Cogburn, played by John Wayne, who supposedly has the

courage or true grit of which the title speaks.16 However, Mattie is met with disinterest by

Waynes character, who initially decides to go after Chaney for his own personal gain (and to

fund his lifestyle of drinking and gambling), alongside a Texas Ranger named La Boeuf played

by Glen Campbell.17 At the same time, she must also purchase her own horse and other gear to

make sure the job gets done, and so must contend with the ornery horse salesman Colonel

Stonehill.18 Some may question whether or not Mattie is the hero at this point, since she seems to

be almost ruthless in her pursuits, and may come across as a bit whiny when negotiating for her

new horse.19 However, this may be because the people she has to work with are irritable in their

nature; for example, Rooster Cogburn, the most significant character in the move thanks in no

small part to John Waynes performance, is an uncouth drunk who is stubbornly opposed to

helping her unless she pays him a significant amount of money.20 After many trials, Mattie

13
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 45-46.
14
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 45-46.
15
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
16
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
17
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
18
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
19
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
20
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
 Bernhard 5

eventually proves herself by purchasing her own horse, Little Blackie, for less than he

originally would have cost, and relentlessly pursues Cogburn and La Boeuf to join in their

expedition.21 Through her acceptance and triumph over these challenges, Mattie seems to fulfill

the generic fairy tale idea of a quest for a specific goal, as well as fulfill the Proppian function of

First Donor Function, in which the hero can be challenged before receiving a magical agent or

helper.22 To put it another way, because Mattie was persistent to the point of annoying the

opposition, she overcame her challenges, and was awarded the magical helpers to her quest in

the form of her new horse, the repossession of her late fathers gun, and the assistance of Rooster

Cogburn and La Boeuf.23 At the same time, the movie also demonstrates how she reacted to the

possibility of helpers, and what happened with the Receipt of the Helpers.24 All these continue to

contribute to the fairy tale feel of the text, and prove that the Proppian analysis can be applicable

to the movie.

The movie then enters the third act, in which the heroes have several confrontations with

the villains, thus continuing to establish the Proppian ideas of linear plotlines. A large part of the

movie involves the main characters engaging in Spatial Change, or searching for the objects of

pursuit.25 That is, we do not see the other villains, including Lucky Ned Pepper (played by

Robert Duvall) until over halfway through the movie; a lot of the content from Matties Receipt

of Helpers until the first confrontation involves the characters riding through the west, searching

for the villains.26 There is one confrontation that occurs on their journey, but it happens at a

21
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
22
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 45-46.
23
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 45-46.
24
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 46.
25
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 46.
26
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
 Bernhard 6

distance, and little is impacted from the exchange of gunfire.27 However, Mattie soon has her

request granted when she stumbles into Tom Chaney as she and the others were camping. 28 She

attempts to kill him using her fathers Civil War-era pistol, but it misfires and only succeeds in

wounding him.29 However, the pistol is still significant, as it can be considered Matties magical

helper in at least disabling Chaney and allowing her to have a small revenge on him.30 At the

same time, one could point out that this was the second Struggle of the film, since Mattie had to

fight against the villains by herself.31 She is then immediately captured by Ned Pepper and the

rest of the outlaws, who threaten her life unless Rooster and La Boeuf agree to leave her as their

hostage and ride away from the campsite.32 This then fulfills the Proppian function of having the

hero, Mattie, Branded by the villains, or held in a negative situation and marked in a certain

way by the bad guys.33 This Branding is both evident in the fact that they treat her as a captured

person, but also because they brand her as being a different kind of woman than anyone they

have encountered before.34 As an example of this, Ned Pepper asks Mattie if she likes guns,

since she succeeded in injuring Chaney; when she replies that she doesnt, he does not seem to

respond to this, instead remarking upon the progress Rooster has made in taking out some of his

gang members.35 Shortly after Mattie is captured, Rooster and La Boeuf return, and all the heroes

engage in the last big struggle of the film.36 In one of the most iconic gunfights in Western movie

history, Rooster kills all of the outlaws, except for Ned Pepper, whom La Boeuf finishes off. 37

27
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
28
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
29
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
30
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 46.
31
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 46.
32
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
33
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 46.
34
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 46.
35
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
36
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
37
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
 Bernhard 7

Unfortunately, their struggle is not over yet; Chaney, who was not involved in the gunfight, kills

La Boeuf and attempts to kill Mattie before Rooster shoots him.38 Mattie was still bitten by a

rattlesnake, so it is a race against time as Rooster attempts to get her help.39 As seen in Proppian

analysis, this Struggle against the villains symbolized the way in which the heroes and the

villains joined in direct combat with each other.40 With the almost impossible way Cogburn

fights against the villains, one could reach the conclusion that it was whimsical in a way, and

thus continues to fit in with the fairy tale motif that exists in the text.41 Because Mattie

ultimately survives her injuries,42 the film ends on a happy note, which would be considered a

Victory according to Proppian logic.43 In the end, there is also a marriage, or the reward given to

one of the heroes as a result of their actions in the story.44 In this case, Mattie Ross, in her great

appreciation to Rooster Cogburn for his help, offers him a place in her familys burial plot, thus

inviting him to be part of the family, and rewarding him for his actual good actions in the story.45

Following that, Rooster symbolically rides off into the sunset, thus fulfilling the fairy tale

obligation of having the hero experience a happy ending.46 By examining the conflict in the

movie, then, one can see that Proppian analysis can reveal certain qualities of the text.

As one can see, while True Grit fulfills many of the functions presented in Proppian

analysis, it deviates slightly in the order they occur in. By examining the text through the

Proppian analysis, however, one sees how True Grit fits into a type of Old Western fairy tale,

38
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
39
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
40
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 46.
41
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
42
True Grit, Paramount Picutres, 1969.
43
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 46.
44
Berger, Chapter Three, Media and Society, 46.
45
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
46
True Grit, Paramount Pictures, 1969.
 Bernhard 8

which has some messages of good triumphing over evil. As emphasized by Propp, there are

several different ways in which this is communicated, ranging from the motifs that can be

discovered to the message which it provides. Thus, True Grit is a kind of fairy tale which can

help human society understand aspects of their existence, and provides one of the most common

story types people read and hear.

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Works Cited

Berger, Arthur Asa. Chapter Three: Semiotics and Media Aesthetics. Media and Society: A
Critical Perspective. Third Edition. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. New York:
2012. pp 44-47.
True Grit. A film directed by Hal Wallis. Starring Kim Darby, John Wayne, and Glen Campbell.
Produced by Paramount Pictures. 1969.