True Grit

A Novel by Charles Portis

Title:
True Grit

Author:
Charles Portis
(Dec. 28, 1933 -- Feb. 17, 2020)

Copyright Date:
1968
About the Author
Born in 1933, Portis grew up in
several small Arkansas towns—El
Dorado, Hamburg, and Norphlet,
where his father was a school
superintendent.
In his teen years, Portis worked as
an apprentice mechanic at a
Chevrolet dealership . . . .

After high school, he enlisted in the

Marine Corps and fought in the
Korean War.
After receiving his discharge in
1955, he enrolled in the University
of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He
graduated with a degree in
journalism in 1958. Portis began
writing in college, for both the
University of Arkansas at
Fayetteville student newspaper,
Arkansas Traveler, as well as the
Northwest Arkansas Times, and the
Arkansas Gazette.
After college, Portis moved to NYC,
where he worked at the Herald
Tribune, where he served in the
Manhattan and London offices.

He covered the Civil Rights

Movement in the south in 1963,
before transferring the the Herald
Tribune’s London office, where he
was bureau chief.
. . . in 1964, Portis quit journalism
and moved back to Arkansas to
write fiction full time.

. . . in the words of Ray Midge, the

narrator of “The Dog of the South,”
the author’s return fit a familiar
local pattern: “A lot of people leave
Arkansas and most of them come
back sooner or later. They can’t
quite achieve escape velocity.”

He died in Little Rock, Feb 2020

Film Adaptations
True Grit (1969) True Grit (2010)
The Plot
Plot Summary

Mattie Ross, a smart, confident, 14-year-old girl from rural Arkansas goes on a
quest to avenge the death of her father, Frank Ross, who was killed by one of his
employees, Tom Chaney.
The Setting
Setting
Where did it happen? When did it happen?

Dardanelle, Arkansas The events for the story are set in

(Yell County) 1873.

Ft. Smith, Arkansas The story itself is being recounted

30 years later (in 1903) by Mattie
The Indian Territory (i.e. Oklahoma) Ross.
Memphis, Tennessee (briefly)
The Characters
Mattalyn “Mattie” Ross
A smart, confident, 14-year-old girl from
Dardanelle/Yell County, Arkansas on a
quest to avenge the death of her father,
Frank Ross, who was killed by one of his
employees, Tom Chaney.

Mattie is the point-of-view character. She,

now an old woman, narrates the events of
her youth in first person.

Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross

Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn
A forty-year-old, heavy-set, one-eyed federal
marshal with a reputation for violently
resolving problems and for having “true
grit.”

Jeff Bridges as Cogburn

Tom Chaney
The villain of our story and object of our
quest, Tom Chaney had been a hired hand
at the Ross’ farm, having been given a job
by Mattie’s father, Frank Ross. He kills and
robs Frank Ross, then flees the area.

Josh Brolin as Chaney

LaBoeuf
A Texas Ranger who has been tracking Tom
Chaney for months. He joins forces with
Mattie and Rooster, though Mattie is
suspicious of him, especially at first.

“Boeuf” (French) is “beef.”

Matt Damon as LaBoeuf

Characterization
Examples of Characterization

Direct: Indirect:
Literary Devices
Examples of Metaphor
Historical Elements
Judge Isaac Parker

Popularly dubbed the “hanging judge”

because of the seventy-nine executions
carried out during his tenure, Parker
was federal judge over Arkansas’
Western District. He also, for a time,
had jurisdiction over the Indian
Territory.

Parker, circa 1975

Cole Younger & Frank James

The Wild West Show featuring famous

outlaws Cole Younger and Frank
James, mentioned in the final chapter,
did happen in 1903.
Questions?
Thanks for your attention