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True Grit (novel)
Encyclopedia
True Grit is a 1968 novel by Charles Portis
that was first published as a 1968
serial
in The Saturday Evening Post
. The novel is told from the perspective of a woman named Mattie Ross who recounts the time when she was 14 years old and sought retribution for the murder of her father by a scoundrel named Tom Chaney. It is considered by many critics to be "one of the great American novel
s".
In 1969 it was adapted for the screen as a Western film
True Grit starring John Wayne
as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (a role that won John Wayne Best Actor
at the Academy Awards) and Kim Darby
as Mattie Ross. Wayne would reprise the role in Rooster Cogburn (1975) with an original screenplay. The sequel was not well-received and the plot was considered a needless reworking of the plot of True Grit.
In 2010, another film adaptation was released. Also called True Grit
, it was written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
and starred Hailee Steinfeld
as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges
as Rooster Cogburn. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director(s) (The Coen Brothers), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jeff Bridges), Best Actress in a Supporting Role
(Hailee Steinfeld), and Best Adapted Screenplay (The Coen Brothers).
In November 2010 The Overlook Press
published a movie tie-in edition
of True Grit, featuring an afterword by Donna Tartt
. It reached #1 on The New York Times
's Bestseller List on January 30, 2011.
distinguished by intelligence, independence and strength of mind. The novel is told from the perspective of Mattie as an older woman in 1928, where she recounts the story of her adventures many years earlier, when, at the age of fourteen, she undertook a quest
to avenge her father’s death at the hands of a drifter named Tom Chaney. She is joined on her quest by Marshal
Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn
and a Texas Ranger
named LaBoeuf .
As Mattie's tale begins, Chaney is employed on the Ross’ family farm in west central Arkansas
, near the town of Dardanelle
in Yell County
. Chaney is not adept as a farmhand, and Mattie has only scorn for him, referring to him as "trash", and noting that her kind-hearted father, Frank, only hired him out of pity. One day, Frank Ross and Chaney go to Fort Smith
to buy some horses. Ross takes $250 with him to pay for the horses, along with two gold pieces he always carried. He ends up spending only $100 on the horses. When Ross tries to intervene in a barroom confrontation involving Chaney, Chaney kills him, robs the body of the remaining $150 and two gold pieces, and flees into Indian Territory
(present day Oklahoma
) on his horse.
Hearing that Chaney has joined an outlaw gang led by the infamous "Lucky" Ned Pepper, Mattie wishes to track down the killer, and upon arriving at Fort Smith
she looks for the toughest deputy U.S. Marshal in the district. That man turns out to be Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, and although he is an aging, one-eyed, overweight, trigger-happy, hard-drinking man, Mattie is convinced that he has "grit", and that he is best suited for the job due to his reputation for violence.
Playing on Cogburn's need for money, Mattie persuades him to take on the job, insisting that, as part of the bargain, she accompany him. During their preparation, a Texas Ranger
named LaBoeuf appears. He too is tracking Chaney, and has been for four months, for killing a senator and his dog in Texas
, with the hopes of bringing him back to Texas dead or alive for a cash reward. Cogburn and LaBoeuf dislike each other, but after some haggling, they agree to join forces in the hunt realizing that they can both benefit from each other's respective talents and knowledge. Once they reach a deal the two men attempt to leave Mattie behind, but she proves more tenacious than they had expected. They repeatedly try to lose her, but she persists in following them and seeing her transaction with Marshal Cogburn through to the end. Eventually she is jumped by Cogburn and LaBoeuf, who had hid themselves from view and Laboeuf begins to spank Mattie. Mattie appeals to Cogburn and he orders LaBoeuf to stop. At this point Mattie is allowed to join their posse
.
Together, but with very different motivations, the three ride into the wilderness to confront Ned Pepper's gang. Along the way, they develop an appreciation for one another.
for the screenplay of the 1969 film True Grit, directed
by Henry Hathaway
and starring John Wayne
as Rooster Cogburn
. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor
in 1970.
A film sequel, Rooster Cogburn, was produced from an original screenplay in 1975, with John Wayne
reprising his role, and Katharine Hepburn
as an elderly spinster, Eula Goodnight, who teams up with him.
A made-for-television sequel, titled True Grit: A Further Adventure
, was shown in 1978, starring Warren Oates
and Lisa Pelikan
. It featured more adventures of Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross.
In 2010, Joel and Ethan Coen
released another film adaptation of the novel, also titled True Grit
, with thirteen year old actress Hailee Steinfeld
as Mattie Ross, veteran actor Jeff Bridges
playing Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon
as LaBoeuf, and Josh Brolin
as Tom Chaney. This adaptation focused more on Mattie's point-of-view, keeping more in the nature of the novel than the 1969 film. In addition, it was shot in settings more typical of the novel. (The 1969 film was shot in the Colorado Rockies and the Sierra Nevada, while the 2010 film was shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico
as well as Granger
, and Austin
, Texas
.)
Charles Portis
Charles McColl Portis is an American author best known for his novels Norwood and the 1968 classic Western novel True Grit , both adapted as films. The latter also inspired a film sequel and made-for-TV movie sequel...
that was first published as a 1968
1968 in literature
The year 1968 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Dean R. Koontz's first novel, Star Quest is published....
serial
Serial (literature)
In literature, a serial is a publishing format by which a single large work, most often a work of narrative fiction, is presented in contiguous installments—also known as numbers, parts, or fascicles—either issued as separate publications or appearing in sequential issues of a single periodical...
in The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
. The novel is told from the perspective of a woman named Mattie Ross who recounts the time when she was 14 years old and sought retribution for the murder of her father by a scoundrel named Tom Chaney. It is considered by many critics to be "one of the great American novel
Great American Novel
The "Great American Novel" is the concept of a novel that is distinguished in both craft and theme as being the most accurate representative of the zeitgeist in the United States at the time of its writing. It is presumed to be written by an American author who is knowledgeable about the state,...
s".
In 1969 it was adapted for the screen as a Western film
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
True Grit starring John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (a role that won John Wayne Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
at the Academy Awards) and Kim Darby
Kim Darby
Kim Darby is an American actress perhaps best known for co-starring with John Wayne and country singer/actor Glen Campbell in the 1969 western True Grit.-Early life and film career:...
as Mattie Ross. Wayne would reprise the role in Rooster Cogburn (1975) with an original screenplay. The sequel was not well-received and the plot was considered a needless reworking of the plot of True Grit.
In 2010, another film adaptation was released. Also called True Grit
True Grit (2010 film)
True Grit is a 2010 American Western film written and directed by the Coen brothers. It is the second adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed in 1969 starring John Wayne. This version stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges as U.S....
, it was written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Coen Brothers
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
and starred Hailee Steinfeld
Hailee Steinfeld
Hailee Steinfeld is an American actress. She rose to fame for her portrayal as Mattie Ross in the 2010 film True Grit, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.-Early life:Steinfeld was born in Tarzana, Los...
as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
as Rooster Cogburn. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director(s) (The Coen Brothers), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jeff Bridges), Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
(Hailee Steinfeld), and Best Adapted Screenplay (The Coen Brothers).
In November 2010 The Overlook Press
The Overlook Press
The Overlook Press is an American independent publishing house based in New York. It was formed in 1971 by Peter Mayer, who had previously worked at Avon and Penguin Books, where he was CEO from 1978 to 1998. A general-interest publisher, Overlook has over one thousand titles in print, including...
published a movie tie-in edition
Tie-in
A tie-in is an authorized product based on a media property a company is releasing, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property...
of True Grit, featuring an afterword by Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt is an American writer and author of the novels The Secret History and The Little Friend . She won the WH Smith Literary Award for The Little Friend in 2003.-Early life:...
. It reached #1 on The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
's Bestseller List on January 30, 2011.
Plot summary
Portis’ novel is narrated by Mattie Ross, a thrifty, churchgoing spinsterSpinster
A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
distinguished by intelligence, independence and strength of mind. The novel is told from the perspective of Mattie as an older woman in 1928, where she recounts the story of her adventures many years earlier, when, at the age of fourteen, she undertook a quest
Quest
In mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...
to avenge her father’s death at the hands of a drifter named Tom Chaney. She is joined on her quest by Marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn
Rooster Cogburn (character)
Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1968 Charles Portis novel, True Grit.The novel was adapted into a 1969 film, True Grit, and from that a 1975 sequel entitled Rooster Cogburn was also produced...
and a Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
named LaBoeuf .
As Mattie's tale begins, Chaney is employed on the Ross’ family farm in west central Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, near the town of Dardanelle
Dardanelle, Arkansas
Dardanelle is a city in Yell County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,228 at the 2000 census. Along with Danville, it is one of two county seats for Yell County...
in Yell County
Yell County, Arkansas
Yell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 22,185. The county has two county seats, Dardanelle and Danville...
. Chaney is not adept as a farmhand, and Mattie has only scorn for him, referring to him as "trash", and noting that her kind-hearted father, Frank, only hired him out of pity. One day, Frank Ross and Chaney go to Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
to buy some horses. Ross takes $250 with him to pay for the horses, along with two gold pieces he always carried. He ends up spending only $100 on the horses. When Ross tries to intervene in a barroom confrontation involving Chaney, Chaney kills him, robs the body of the remaining $150 and two gold pieces, and flees into Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
(present day Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
) on his horse.
Hearing that Chaney has joined an outlaw gang led by the infamous "Lucky" Ned Pepper, Mattie wishes to track down the killer, and upon arriving at Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
she looks for the toughest deputy U.S. Marshal in the district. That man turns out to be Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn, and although he is an aging, one-eyed, overweight, trigger-happy, hard-drinking man, Mattie is convinced that he has "grit", and that he is best suited for the job due to his reputation for violence.
Playing on Cogburn's need for money, Mattie persuades him to take on the job, insisting that, as part of the bargain, she accompany him. During their preparation, a Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
named LaBoeuf appears. He too is tracking Chaney, and has been for four months, for killing a senator and his dog in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, with the hopes of bringing him back to Texas dead or alive for a cash reward. Cogburn and LaBoeuf dislike each other, but after some haggling, they agree to join forces in the hunt realizing that they can both benefit from each other's respective talents and knowledge. Once they reach a deal the two men attempt to leave Mattie behind, but she proves more tenacious than they had expected. They repeatedly try to lose her, but she persists in following them and seeing her transaction with Marshal Cogburn through to the end. Eventually she is jumped by Cogburn and LaBoeuf, who had hid themselves from view and Laboeuf begins to spank Mattie. Mattie appeals to Cogburn and he orders LaBoeuf to stop. At this point Mattie is allowed to join their posse
Posse comitatus (common law)
Posse comitatus or sheriff's posse is the common-law or statute law authority of a county sheriff or other law officer to conscript any able-bodied males to assist him in keeping the peace or to pursue and arrest a felon, similar to the concept of the "hue and cry"...
.
Together, but with very different motivations, the three ride into the wilderness to confront Ned Pepper's gang. Along the way, they develop an appreciation for one another.
Film and television adaptations
The novel was adapted by Marguerite RobertsMarguerite Roberts
Marguerite Roberts was an American screenwriter, one of the highest paid in the 1930s. After she and her husband John Sanford refused to testify in 1951 before the House Un-American Activities Committee, she was blacklisted for nine years and unable to get work in Hollywood...
for the screenplay of the 1969 film True Grit, directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway
Henry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne.-Background:...
and starring John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
as Rooster Cogburn
Rooster Cogburn (character)
Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1968 Charles Portis novel, True Grit.The novel was adapted into a 1969 film, True Grit, and from that a 1975 sequel entitled Rooster Cogburn was also produced...
. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
in 1970.
A film sequel, Rooster Cogburn, was produced from an original screenplay in 1975, with John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
reprising his role, and Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
as an elderly spinster, Eula Goodnight, who teams up with him.
A made-for-television sequel, titled True Grit: A Further Adventure
True Grit: A Further Adventure
True Grit: A Further Adventure is a 1978 television film sequel to the films True Grit and Rooster Cogburn.While John Wayne played the role of Rooster Cogburn in the first two films, Warren Oates played him in this 1978 television film.-Plot:...
, was shown in 1978, starring Warren Oates
Warren Oates
Warren Mercer Oates was an American actor best known for his performances in several films directed by Sam Peckinpah including The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia...
and Lisa Pelikan
Lisa Pelikan
Lisa Pelikan is an American stage, film and television actress.She was born in Berkley, California, the daughter of American parents Helen L., a psychologist, and Robert G. Pelikan, an international economist who served as the minister-counselor from the United States at the Organization for...
. It featured more adventures of Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross.
In 2010, Joel and Ethan Coen
Coen Brothers
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
released another film adaptation of the novel, also titled True Grit
True Grit (2010 film)
True Grit is a 2010 American Western film written and directed by the Coen brothers. It is the second adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed in 1969 starring John Wayne. This version stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges as U.S....
, with thirteen year old actress Hailee Steinfeld
Hailee Steinfeld
Hailee Steinfeld is an American actress. She rose to fame for her portrayal as Mattie Ross in the 2010 film True Grit, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.-Early life:Steinfeld was born in Tarzana, Los...
as Mattie Ross, veteran actor Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
playing Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon is an American actor, screenwriter, and philanthropist whose career was launched following the success of the film Good Will Hunting , from a screenplay he co-wrote with friend Ben Affleck...
as LaBoeuf, and Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin
Josh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...
as Tom Chaney. This adaptation focused more on Mattie's point-of-view, keeping more in the nature of the novel than the 1969 film. In addition, it was shot in settings more typical of the novel. (The 1969 film was shot in the Colorado Rockies and the Sierra Nevada, while the 2010 film was shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
as well as Granger
Granger, Texas
Granger is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,299 at the 2000 census; it was 1,331 in the 2005 census estimate. Granger was the site for the filming of the 2010 remake of the movie True Grit.-Geography:...
, and Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.)
External links
- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5445836An interview with writer George PelecanosGeorge PelecanosGeorge P. Pelecanos is a Greek-American author. Many of his works are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writer...
about the novel], National Public Radio - "The Real Fort Smith: the Fact and Fiction Behind True Grit", AwardsDaily.com, 11/17/2010.
- http://www.believermag.com/issues/200303/?read=article_parkEd Park, "Like Cormac McCarthyCormac McCarthyCormac McCarthy is an American novelist and playwright. He has written ten novels, spanning the Southern Gothic, Western, and modernist genres. He received the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction for The Road...
, But Funny"], The BelieverThe Believer (magazine)The Believer is a United States literary magazine that also covers other arts and general culture. Founded and designed in 2003 by the writer and publisher Dave Eggers, it is edited by Vendela Vida, Heidi Julavits and Ed Park...
, March 2003.