WEEK 3: True Grit – Charles Portis (1968)

                The novel True Grit, written by Charles Portis and published in 1968, as well as its two film adaptations from 1969 and 2010 respectively, reflect, I believe, a great deal more than just an old western. Apart from the story being a meaningful one, going far beyond the usual western tropes, True Grit explores the vengeance seeking Mattie Ross, and the bounty hunter Rooster Cogburn, whom she hires to help her exact her revenge. The story delves deeply into the mythology of the American landscape and worldview in several large ways. True, it challenges the stereotypes and expectations of women, but beyond this, the story also taps into the pulse of the eternal American mindset. The term “true grit” implies tremendous resolve, determination, and perseverance in the face of great adversity. While this film does take place in the “wild west”, the story has been retold numerous times throughout American history, though with characters wearing different faces, living in different times.

The founding of this country was handled by men and women with true grit. With the oppression of the English monarchy, the American colonies started a revolution, and broke away to eventually win their freedom, and establish a new nation – despite the unnumbered odds against them. Other historical heroes like Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King Jr. follow similar archetypal roles. But on the other hand, particularly in this country where there is seeming epidemic for fame, status, and self-promotion, we certainly also have our LaBoeufs – men and women who lack true grit but have no qualms about riding the coattails of those who do for the sake of their own gain and pride. This is a country of innovators and imitators – those who take charge, and those who follow and seek opportunity at every turn. And so once more, even though True Grit is on some level a classic western story or revenge, it is also a story that speaks deeply to the American consciousness, found within our nation’s own history