True Grit

by

Charles Portis

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Themes and Colors
Revenge Theme Icon
Maturity, Independence, and Expectations Theme Icon
Collaboration, Companionship, and Loyalty Theme Icon
Violence, Courage, and Intelligence Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in True Grit, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Collaboration, Companionship, and Loyalty Theme Icon

In True Grit, Portis pays special attention to the ways in which people band together to defeat mutual enemies. When Mattie—who wants nothing but revenge—hires Rooster to catch Tom Chaney, the cantankerous old U.S. marshal accepts her offer simply because he’s interested in making money. Similarly, LaBoeuf wants to catch Tom Chaney for his own reasons, meaning that each of the novel’s three central characters have their own motivations when it comes to the manhunt. However, they wind up working together to catch Chaney and the gang of outlaws with whom he travels, putting aside their individual agendas and exemplifying the power of collaboration. Portis uses this success story to suggest that it can be worthwhile for people to work together even when they have opposing motivations. And since Rooster eventually risks his life in order to save Mattie, Portis intimates that the very process of collaboration can also lead to genuine feelings of friendship and loyalty.

Mattie and Rooster’s relationship begins as nothing more than a transaction, since all Rooster cares about is earning money for catching Chaney. This impersonal arrangement doesn’t bother Mattie, who’s only interested in making sure her father’s death is avenged. As such, their companionship is based on the fact that they both want to achieve the same thing but for different reasons. It is because of the emotionally detached nature of this relationship that Rooster goes out of his way to emphasize that he doesn’t care what happens to Mattie herself, insisting that she shouldn’t accompany him on the journey because he can’t be bothered to protect her. “If you want this job done and done fast you will let me do it my own way,” he says, eventually adding, “What if you get sick […]? I can do nothing for you.” This doesn’t matter to Mattie, since she is uninterested in friendliness and companionship. As long as Rooster helps her get what she wants, she doesn’t mind how he treats her. As a result, they decide to work together to find Chaney, each one accepting that their alliance has nothing to do with true companionship and everything to do with convenience.

Unfortunately for Mattie, the impersonal nature of her arrangement with Rooster gives him no reason to remain loyal to her when LaBoeuf informs him that he could make more money if he brought Chaney to Texas. This, of course, is not what Mattie wants, but Rooster tries to convince her to go along with the new plan, clearly enticed by the idea of sharing LaBoeuf’s cash prize. “Well now, he might come in handy,” he says regarding LaBoeuf’s involvement, but Mattie insists that they don’t need the Texas Ranger’s help. Nonetheless, Rooster can’t resist LaBoeuf’s tempting offer, and though he has already agreed to help Mattie, he decides to change course. To justify this, he tries to act as if he isn’t betraying Mattie, pointing out that he will still be catching Chaney regardless of where he brings him. “You are being stiff-necked about this,” he says. “You are young. It is time you learned that you cannot have your way in every little particular. Other people have got their interests too.” This final sentence is worth noting, since it spotlights Rooster’s tendency to fend for himself above all else. In this moment, then, Portis suggests that Rooster is a man who doesn’t care about pleasing his companions or remaining loyal to other people. This also casts doubt on the notion that people with disparate motivations can actually work together successfully on a single task.

Although it might seem unlikely that Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf will be able to work together despite their conflicting interests, Portis intimates that it takes time for collaboration to take hold and transform into genuine companionship. This is made evident by the fact that Rooster eventually demonstrates his willingness to stand up for Mattie, despite his initial lone-wolf mentality. Shortly after Rooster and LaBoeuf set off on the journey without her, Mattie rides after them, and when she finally catches up, LaBoeuf starts whipping her with a small wooden “switch,” but Rooster interferes by pointing his gun at the Texas Ranger and ordering him to stop. In doing so, he reasserts his loyalty to Mattie, proving that he’s not quite as self-interested as he might seem. Even LaBoeuf soon comes to accept and appreciate Mattie’s presence, later admitting that she deserves to continue the manhunt with them when the going gets tough. In this way, the three characters put aside their contrasting motivations and work together to find Chaney, proving that it’s possible to work together toward a mutual goal even when each person has their own reasons for undertaking the task.

Portis also demonstrates the practical benefits of collaboration and loyalty, as each of the three characters escapes death because of their alliance. To this end, LaBoeuf saves Rooster’s life by shooting Lucky Ned Pepper (the leader of Chaney’s gang) from afar just as the outlaw is about to kill Rooster. As LaBoeuf celebrates this fantastic shot, Tom Chaney—who is at his side with Mattie—smashes a rock over his head. Before he can finish off the incapacitated Texas Ranger, though, Mattie shoots Chaney in the head, thereby saving LaBoeuf’s life. Unfortunately, the force of this shot throws Mattie into a snake pit, where she becomes lodged in the mouth of a bat cave and a rattlesnake bites her hand. Just as she’s about to slip further down, though, Rooster propels himself into the treacherous snake pit, at which point LaBoeuf hoists them out. Although Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf’s collaboration began because it was convenient, this moment of self-sacrifice and teamwork reveals that it has blossomed into a real sense of companionship—one that encourages them to protect each other. By tracking the development of this unlikely camaraderie, then, Portis suggests that simply going through the motions of collaboration often leads to very real—and valuable—connections.

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Collaboration, Companionship, and Loyalty ThemeTracker

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Collaboration, Companionship, and Loyalty Quotes in True Grit

Below you will find the important quotes in True Grit related to the theme of Collaboration, Companionship, and Loyalty.
Chapter 1  Quotes

Tom Chaney raised his rifle and shot him in the fore­head, killing him instantly. There was no more provocation than that and I tell it as it was told to me by the high sheriff of Sebastian County. Some people might say, well, what business was it of Frank Ross to meddle? My answer is this: he was trying to do that short devil a good turn. Chaney was a tenant and Papa felt responsibility. He was his brother’s keeper. Does that answer your question?

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford), Frank Ross (Mattie’s Father), The Sheriff
Page Number: 16
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

“I want Chaney to pay for killing my father and not some Texas bird dog.”

“It will not be for the dog, it will be for the senator, and your father too. He will be just as dead that way, you see, and pay for all his crimes at once.”

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), LaBoeuf (speaker), Rooster Cogburn, Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford), Frank Ross (Mattie’s Father), Stonehill
Page Number: 73
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

“I want him to know he is being punished for killing my father. It is nothing to me how many dogs and fat men he killed in Texas.”

“You can let him know that,” said Rooster. “You can tell him to his face. You can spit on him and make him eat sand out of the road. You can put a ball in his foot and I will hold him while you do it. But we must catch him first. We will need some help. You are being stiff-necked about this. You are young. It is time you learned that you cannot have your way in every little particular. Other people have got their interests too.”

“When I have bought and paid for something I will have my way. Why do you think I am paying you if not to have my way?”

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Rooster Cogburn (speaker), LaBoeuf, Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford)
Page Number: 97
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“In my country you can ride for days and see no ground water. I have lapped filthy water from a hoofprint and was glad to have it. You don’t know what discomfort is until you have nearly perished for water.”

Rooster said, “If I ever meet one of you Texas waddies that says he never drank from a horse track I think I will shake his hand and give him a Daniel Webster cigar.”

“Then you don’t believe it?” asked LaBoeuf.

“I believed it the first twenty-five times I heard it.”

“Maybe he did drink from one,” said I. “He is a Texas Ranger.”

“Is that what he is?” said Rooster. “Well now, I can believe that.”

LaBoeuf said, “You are getting ready to show your ignorance now, Cogburn. I don’t mind a little personal chaffing but I won’t hear anything against the Ranger troop from a man like you.”

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Rooster Cogburn (speaker), LaBoeuf (speaker)
Page Number: 118
Explanation and Analysis:

I thought it was in LaBoeuf’s favor that his first shot had struck and killed Lucky Ned Pepper’s horse. If he had been shooting from panic would he have come so near to hitting the bandit chieftain with his first shot? On the other hand, he claimed to be an experienced officer and rifleman, and if he had been alert and had taken a deliberate shot would he not have hit his mark? Only LaBoeuf knew the truth of the matter. I grew impatient with their wrangling over the point. I think Rooster was angry because the play had been taken away from him and because Lucky Ned Pepper had beaten him once again.

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Rooster Cogburn, LaBoeuf, Lucky Ned Pepper
Page Number: 152
Explanation and Analysis:

“No, I am going along,” said I.

LaBoeuf said, “She has come this far.”

Rooster said, “It is far enough.”

I said, “Do you think I am ready to quit when we are so close?”

LaBoeuf said, “There is something in what she says, Cogburn. I think she has done fine myself. She has won her spurs, so to speak. That is just my personal opinion.”

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Rooster Cogburn (speaker), LaBoeuf (speaker)
Page Number: 167
Explanation and Analysis:

LaBoeuf pulled one of his revolvers and got two dodgers out of the sack and tossed them both up. He fired very rapidly but he only hit one. Captain Finch tried it with two and missed both of them. Then he tried with one and made a successful shot. Rooster shot at two and hit one. They drank whiskey and used up about sixty corn dodgers like that. None of them ever hit two at one throw with a revolver but Captain Finch finally did it with his Winchester repeating rifle, with somebody else throwing. It was entertaining for a while but there was nothing educational about it. I grew more and more impatient with them.

I said, “Come on, I have had my bait of this. I am ready to go. Shooting cornbread out here on this prairie is not taking us anywhere.”

By then Rooster was using his rifle and the captain was throwing for him. “Chunk high and not so far out this time,” said he.

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Rooster Cogburn (speaker), LaBoeuf, Captain Boots Finch
Page Number: 170
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

The bandit chieftain made no reply. He brushed the snow and dirt from my face and said, “Your life depends upon their actions. I have never busted a cap on a woman or anybody much under sixteen years but I will do what I have to do.”

I said, “There is some mix-up here. I am Mattie Ross of near Dardanelle, Arkansas. My family has property and I don’t know why I am being treated like this.”

Lucky Ned Pepper said, “It is enough that you know I will do what I have to do.”

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Lucky Ned Pepper (speaker), Rooster Cogburn, LaBoeuf, Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford), Frank Ross (Mattie’s Father)
Page Number: 183
Explanation and Analysis:

Who was to blame? Deputy Marshal Rooster Cogburn! The gabbing drunken fool had made a mistake of four miles and led us directly into the robbers’ lair. A keen detective! Yes, and in an earlier state of drunkenness he had placed faulty caps in my revolver, causing it to fail me in a time of need. That was not enough; now he had abandoned me in this howling wilderness to a gang of cutthroats who cared not a rap for the blood of their own companions, and how much less for that of a helpless and unwanted youngster! Was this what they called grit in Fort Smith? We called it something else in Yell County!

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Rooster Cogburn, LaBoeuf, Lucky Ned Pepper
Page Number: 190
Explanation and Analysis:

I hurriedly cocked the hammer and pulled the trigger. The charge exploded and sent a lead ball of justice, too long delayed, into the criminal head of Tom Chaney.

Yet I was not to taste the victory. The kick of the big pistol sent me reeling backward. I had forgotten about the pit behind me!

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Rooster Cogburn, LaBoeuf, Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford), Lucky Ned Pepper
Page Number: 204
Explanation and Analysis:

The lawyer had blamed Rooster for taking me on the search for Tom Chaney and had roundly cursed him and threatened to prosecute him in a court action. I was upset on hearing it. I told Lawyer Daggett that Rooster was in no way to blame, and was rather to be praised and commended for his grit. He had certainly saved my life.

Whatever his adversaries, the railroads and steamboat companies, may have thought, Lawyer Daggett was a gentleman, and on hearing the straight of the matter he was embarrassed by his actions. He said he still considered the deputy marshal had acted with poor judgment, but in the circumstances was deserving an apology.

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Rooster Cogburn, Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford), Lawyer Daggett
Page Number: 218
Explanation and Analysis: