True Grit

by

Charles Portis

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.
Revenge Theme Icon

In True Grit, Portis demonstrates just how far people are willing to go for revenge. When fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross learns that her father has been killed by Tom Chaney, she yearns for vengeance. As the novel progresses, she develops an uncompromising thirst for retribution, one that illustrates the extent to which revenge can consume a person. Unsatisfied with the idea of LaBoeuf—a Texas Ranger—arresting Chaney for a different crime, she insists that the criminal must understand that his defeat is the direct result of having killed Frank Ross. To ensure this, Mattie puts her life at risk by coming along on the manhunt, refusing to be deterred despite the rugged conditions of the journey and the dangers of tracking down a violent criminal. In turn, Portis illustrates how obsessive people can become when pursuing retribution, suggesting that the mere idea of revenge is often enough to dangerously overshadow a person’s sense of self-preservation.

Mattie wants to bring Chaney to justice, but on her own terms. Although Chaney has committed many crimes over the years, none of these matter to Mattie, since she’s focused only on her father’s death. Because she wants Chaney to suffer specifically because of what he did to her father, she obsesses over the logistical details of his punishment, ultimately caring as much about this as she cares about catching him in the first place. When LaBoeuf first approaches her and suggests that he join Rooster Cogburn in his hunt for Chaney, Mattie makes her intentions clear, saying, “Well, it is nothing to me one way or the other except that when we do get Chaney he is not going to Texas, he is coming back to Fort Smith and hang.” By saying this, she expresses her desire to see Chaney die in the same town in which he killed her father. In turn, readers see Mattie’s emotional attachment to this case, as she yearns for a certain poetic justice regarding Chaney’s execution. She has invested herself so deeply in this vision of retribution that she rejects any other form of punishment. LaBoeuf, for his part, has been chasing Chaney for four months because of crimes he committed long before killing Frank Ross, including the murder of a Texan senator and his dog. For this reason, he simply wants to catch the man, but Mattie remains steadfast in her desire to see Chaney hang in Fort Smith, saying, “I want Chaney to pay for killing my father and not some Texas bird dog.” When she says this, it’s clear that she has already become unswervingly preoccupied with a very specific form of revenge, and her unwillingness to compromise only further demonstrates the kind of monomania that often comes along with this thirst for retribution.

Given her penchant for revenge, it’s unsurprising that Mattie hires Rooster Cogburn, a U.S. marshal known for his ruthless, uncompromising ways. Rooster agrees to track down Chaney because he wants to earn money, but it’s not hard to see that he’s well-acquainted with what it’s like to have a personal vendetta against someone. This becomes apparent when Rooster undergoes a cross-examination in court, which is the first time Mattie encounters him. As she watches, Rooster answers questions about his history with the Wharton family, a clan of criminals he has been tracking for years. Most recently, Rooster killed two of the remaining three Wharton men, and now Odus Wharton’s lawyer tries to demonstrate to the court that Rooster has used unnecessary violence because of his “bad blood” with the family. To that end, he uncovers the fact that Rooster not only killed two Wharton men without trying first to avoid violence, but also dragged one of their dead bodies into a fire—an act that illustrates his emotional investment in the case and his proclivity toward revenge. Later, when Mattie asks Rooster about this incident, he admits that he should have killed Odus (the one who got away), but that he was trying to bring him in alive to collect the reward money. “You will sometimes let money interfere with your notion of what is right,” he laments, making the morally backward insinuation that it’s better to kill a criminal than let him testify. Needless to say, this mentality resonates with Mattie, as it prioritizes revenge over legally regulated forms of justice.

Although Mattie eventually succeeds in avenging her father’s death, it’s worth noting that her fixation on revenge has consequences. When she first sees her father’s dead body, she makes a resolution to do everything she can to bring down Chaney. “I would not rest easy until that Louisiana cur was roasting and screaming in hell!” she declares. However, it just so happens that she doesn’t “rest easy” even after Chaney’s dead, since when she takes aim and shoots him in the head, the blast from her gun is enough to knock her over, sending her into a pit, where a rattlesnake bites her hand. Because of this, her arm is amputated above the elbow. This, it seems, is the price she has paid for refusing to let LaBoeuf and Rooster track down Chaney according to their own plan. Unwilling to accept the idea of Chaney being executed in Texas, she has put herself in harm’s way, thinking about nothing other than getting even with her father’s killer. Her crazed preoccupation with vengeance has consumed her entirely, eclipsing any concerns she might have for her own physical wellbeing. Because True Grit is narrated by Mattie in a straightforward, boastful manner, though, Portis doesn’t necessarily condemn this obsession with revenge. Instead, he simply presents a portrait of how strongly such convictions can take hold of a person, ultimately letting readers decide for themselves whether or not Mattie’s sacrifice is worthwhile.

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The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Revenge appears in each chapter of True Grit. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Revenge Quotes in True Grit

Below you will find the important quotes in True Grit related to the theme of Revenge.
Chapter 1  Quotes

People do not give it credence that a fourteen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father’s blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will say it did not happen every day.

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford), Frank Ross (Mattie’s Father)
Related Symbols: Frank Ross’s Gold Pieces
Page Number: 11
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

I said, “I have hopes that the marshals will get him soon. His name is Tom Chaney. He worked for us. I am trying to get action. I aim to see him shot or hanged.”

“Yes, yes, well might you labor to that end,” said Stonehill. “At the same time I will counsel patience. The brave marshals do their best but they are few in number. The lawbreakers are legion and they range over a vast country that offers many natural hiding places. The marshal travels about friendless and alone in that criminal nation. Every man’s hand is against him there save in large part for that of the Indian who has been cruelly imposed upon by felonious intruders from the States.”

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Stonehill (speaker), Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford)
Page Number: 34
Explanation and Analysis:

MR. GOUDY: How many, Mr. Cogburn?

MR. COGBURN: I never shot nobody I didn’t have to.

MR. GOUDY: That was not the question. How many?

MR. COGBURN: Shot or killed?

MR. GOUDY: Let us restrict it to “killed” so that we may have a manageable figure. How many people have you killed since you became a marshal for this court?

MR. COGBURN: Around twelve or fifteen, stopping men in flight and defending myself.

MR. GOUDY: Around twelve or fifteen. So many that you cannot keep a precise count. Remember that you are under oath. I have examined the records and a more accurate figure is readily available. Come now, how many?

MR. COGBURN: I believe them two Whartons made twenty-three.

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Rooster Cogburn (speaker), Polk Goudy (speaker), Odus Wharton, C.C. Wharton, Aaron Wharton
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis:

Judge Parker knows. He is a old carpetbagger but he knows his rats. We had a good court here till the petti­fogging lawyers moved in on it. You might think Polk Goudy is a fine gentleman to look at his clothes, but he is the sorriest son of a bitch that God ever let breathe. I know him well. Now they have got the judge down on me, and the marshal too. The rat-catcher is too hard on the rats. That is what they say. Let up on them rats! Give them rats a fair show! What kind of show did they give Columbus Potter? Tell me that. A finer man never lived.

Related Characters: Rooster Cogburn (speaker), Mattie Ross, Odus Wharton, Columbus Potter, Polk Goudy, Judge Isaac Parker
Page Number: 66
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

Right around 9 o’clock I went to the stock barn and exchanged my release for three hundred and twenty-five dollars in greenbacks. I had held longer amounts in my hand but this money, I fancied, would be pleasing out of proportion to its face value. But no, it was only three hundred and twenty-five dollars in paper and the moment fell short of my expectations. I noted the mild disappointment and made no more of it than that.

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Stonehill
Page Number: 81
Explanation and Analysis:

Goudy will claim the boy was provoked and he will tell a bushel of lies about me. I should have put a ball in that boy’s head instead of his collarbone. I was thinking about my fee. You will sometimes let money interfere with your notion of what is right.

Related Characters: Rooster Cogburn (speaker), Mattie Ross, Odus Wharton, Polk Goudy
Page Number: 84
Explanation and Analysis:

“Yes, a splendid inducement. Well, perhaps it will all work out to your satisfaction. I shall pray that you return safely, your efforts crowned with success. It may prove to be a hard journey.”

“The good Christian does not flinch from difficulties.”

“Neither does he rashly court them. The good Christian is not willful or presumptuous.”

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Stonehill (speaker), Rooster Cogburn, Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford)
Page Number: 92
Explanation and Analysis:

“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 7 Quotes

I said, “If you refuse to go I will have to shoot you.”

He went on with his work and said, “Oh? Then you had better cock your piece.”

I had forgotten about that. I pulled the hammer back with both thumbs.

“All the way back till it locks,” said Chaney.

“I know how to do it,” said I. When it was ready I said, “You will not go with me?”

“I think not,” said he. “It is just the other way around. You are going with me.”

I pointed the revolver at his belly and shot him down. The explosion kicked me backwards and caused me to lose my footing and the pistol jumped from my hand.

Related Characters: Mattie Ross (speaker), Tom Chaney (Theron Chelmsford) (speaker), Frank Ross (Mattie’s Father)
Page Number: 179
Explanation and Analysis:

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:

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: