True Grit Analysis

Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, tells the story of a love triangle between Ethan Frome, Zeena Frome, and Mattie Silver. The book was set in the imaginary town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. The story starts with a flashback from an unknown narrator who is friends with Ethan Frome; he tells the readers that Zeena’s cousin, Mattie, is coming to the Frome household to care for the house while Zeena is sick. When Zeena leaves town for a visit to the doctor, Mattie and Ethan are home alone and begin to get to know each other better. Zeena becomes suspicious of the two and wants Mattie to leave their house, and get a replacement maid that was recommended by the doctor.

Amari tells polly she has never had a white friend , Polly tells Amaris she has never had a black friend. Mattie has a close bond with polly as she used to play with her. This was the first death that Mattie has to deal with

Living in the Frome’s home she had to learn and adapt to a lifestyle she wasn’t custom to. Being that she was impoverished it caused her to behave sometimes inappropriately because she wasn’t used to anything. First, Mattie came to live in Starkfield because she was left with nothing after the death of her parents. Zeena her cousin was the only family member who was willing to take her in.(Shmoop) Mattie’s duty was to take care of Zeena and tend to the

She no longer had a dad and wanted to make sure Tom Chaney received proper punishment for her father’s death. Besides Tom Chaney’s death itself, the road to this goal led Mattie to one of her many victories. To help her track down Tom, Mattie was accompanied by Rooster Cogburn and LaBoeuf, two very rugged and distinct characters. One was a drunkard U.S. Marshal and the latter a Texas Ranger who was on the hunt for Tom as the result of his crimes in Texas; initially Mattie saw these two men only as business partners, but with time got closer to the both. Cogburn is the character who becomes much more than an acquaintance to Mattie as they continue they’re manhunt.

By the way, he is dressed Mattie cannot understand how this is the man she has heard so much about. When she later goes to his house to discuss the details of what she want him for she is quite shocked by the state of his house. She thinks that by how messy and carelessly he dresses and by the disorganization of his house that he will not be able to help him out on her quest. But as the night goes one Rooster proves himself to be the violent man that the stories make him out to be when he kills the rat in his house. When he is in the process of killing the rat he is sarcastic and rowdy towards Mattie showing that all the stories about him are true (Portis 64-67).

In life we tend to see failure as a terrible thing. When we do fail, most of the time we want to give up and see it as the end of the world. However there are few that see failure as an opportunity to do better and rethink the mistakes that were made in the past. Angela Duckworth, Emily Hanford, and CarolDweck all provide their research on how one can have highachievement e in life. Angela’s Duckworthresearch on grit proposes the idea that if someone stays persistence for a long time they can master something.

Portis gives us as readers to see the two sides of Rooster, his cold side and his caring side with regards to Mattie. Mattie Ross is the storyteller of the True Grit story. Mattie is a fourteen-year-old young lady who is determined to get vengeance on Tom Chaney who slaughtered her dad. She chooses the meanest and hardest U.S. marshal named Rooster Cogburn. Mattie was so happy with the marshal; she picked she said he had True Grit.

Saving lives, jumping from tall buildings, and flying -- is heroic characteristics. Sammy in John Updike's story “A&P” is not a hero. I believe he is not a hero because Sammy never interacted with the girls, he quit his job to impress the girls, and they never saw his action. Sammy never interacted with the girls, his mindset was just lust and how pleasing they are. “She had on a kind of dirty-pink bathing suit and, what got me the straps were down” (Updike).

However, heroism can take place in our everyday lives by simple brave actions. A hero has many noble qualities such as courage, humility, patience, being selfless and caring. They will put other people before themselves and make sure others are content. Heros are also intelligent and like to think ahead to plan on a good result.

Mattie believes right from the beginning that she is the one that needs to avenge her father’s death. She believes that she needs to do it by herself, not involving anyone else. That way she knows that everything was done right, in the way she planned and wants. That way no one can stop her from doing what is

She asks strangers questions to identify themselves before she goes asking questions about her father’s death. She is brave and she took a woopen from Mr. Lebeef like a lady. She is a tough smart girl and she is serious when it comes to the people that she cares about. She plans her revenge ahead and go and ask people about how to get in touch with Chaney. Mattie being a girl, “They feel their way through the grief process and are usually able to disclose their most intimate feelings” (Wallace 2).

In the start of the book in chapter 1, Montage is walking home from the fire house. He meets a young, friendly girl named Clarisse McClellan. They converse for a bit and everything seemed normal to him until Clarisse starts asking him unusual questions and odd statements “I bet I know something else you don’t. There’s dew on the grass in the morning.”

In Anne Tyler’s short story, Teenage Wasteland, a teenage boy named Donny struggles in school. His teachers and family feel they try everything they can, even hiring a tutor, but within a year Donny simply disappears. Daisy, his mother, tries to find a scapegoat for her son’s downfall, but ends up placing most of the blame on herself. While Daisy certainly played a role in her son’s demise, not one single character is to blame for Donny’s eventual disappearance – they all played a part.

In many works of literature, women are portrayed as either dependent and madly in love with a man, whether he is a good man or a bad one, or they are seen as devious and only using men in order to gain something or succeed. This idea appears in society as well, even in the early 1900’s. In Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome, the audience is acquainted with a woman who can be portrayed as the loving, innocent and infatuated stereotype, but when looked at closely can be seen as the real antagonist of the novel. In the novel Zeena, Ethan’s wife, can be quickly judged and seen as the woman culpable for Ethan’s demise. The audience perceives her as nasty and miserable.

In the movie True Grit (1969), Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) depicts the negative effects of violence when he fails to notice blood on his corn cakes or when he kills a young boy whose name he can’t remember without any emotion. This shows Roosters lack of concern for violence since he has seen and caused so much bloodshed. Violence is shown as a normal part of life in this film and Rooster seems to be used to this fact. When Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) notices the blood on the corn cakes and Rooster continues to eat them, Ignoring the blood, it is made clear that he has become indifferent to violence and bloodshed. As the two prepare a fire on their first night seeking to avenge the death of Mattie's father, Rooster hands her a corn cakes and she takes one bite and notices that they are covered in blood.