A fourteen-year-old girl from Little Rock, Arkansas, and the narrator of True Grit. Mattie is a strong-willed young woman who uses her intelligence and determination to succeed in a world where she is consistently undervalued. She comes to Fort Smith in the aftermath of her father Frank Ross ’s murder.
Everything you need for every book you read. A fourteen-year-old girl from Dardanelle, Arkansas and the narrator of True Grit. Mattie is a strong-willed young woman who uses her intelligence and determination to succeed in a world where she is consistently undervalued.
The timeline below shows where the character Mattie Ross appears in True Grit. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Because Lawyer Daggett—the family attorney—is out of town at the time of Frank’s death, Mattie is the one to go to Fort Smith to settle her father’s affairs.
Lawyer Daggett: I'll tell you frankly. I fully intended to have you jailed, and I'm just the man who could do it. But when Mattie told me the straight of the matter, I had second thoughts. I still think you showed poor judgment in this affair, but you're not the scoundrel I took you for.
True Grit (2010) - Joe Stevens as Cross-examining Lawyer - IMDb.
Sometime later, Mattie's attorney, J. Noble Daggett, (John Fiedler) meets Cogburn in Fort Smith. On Mattie's behalf, Daggett pays Cogburn the remainder of his fee in Chaney's capture, plus a $200 bonus for saving her life.
Lucky Ned Pepper, Tom Chaney and the other outlaws in True Grit are also fictional, though in looking over this list of criminals tried in Fort Smith, it’s easy to see how colorful the real ones were.
True Grit is based on a fiction book by a reclusive author While "True Grit'"s observant teenage protagonist was a thinly-veiled avatar for many of Portis' own thoughts and feelings about the Old West, the novel was otherwise fictional; Mattie Ross, Rooster Cogburn, and La Boeuf are all Portis' brainchildren.
Blue Mesa ReservoirThe ferry scenes were filmed over at Blue Mesa Reservoir, which is between Montrose and Gunnison. The actual locations are now under water, but you can see the rocky cliffs that were shown in the movie.
Stomach cancerJohn Wayne / Cause of deathOn June 11, 1979, John Wayne, an iconic American film actor famous for starring in countless westerns, dies at age 72 after battling cancer for more than a decade.
Cogburn knows that the horse is doomed to die. The horse will either starve to death, or get torn apart by predators and eaten. Cogburn shoots the horse to put it out of its misery, and save it from going through the torture of a slow, horrible death.
Ouray CountySpectacular scenery around our charming Colorado town caught the attention of the director of the film that was released in 1969. Ouray County was the main film location with key sets in the movie located right in Ridgway.
He continues to pursue Chaney alone and runs into the Ned Pepper gang. The gang seizes him and drags him along behind a galloping horse. Rooster saves him, but in the process of saving him, Rooster accidentally shoots LeBoeuf in his shoulder.
But for Mattie, this ending is abrupt, awkward, and out of nowhere. The movie was about fourteen-year-old Mattie. Nothing she said or did communicated to the viewers her feelings about having children. Yet at the film's end, she's unexpectedly shoved into the “cold women don't want husbands or children” stereotype.
Brett Cogburn is a two-time Spur Award-winning author and the great-grandson of the man who inspired True Grit, Rooster Cogburn. He was reared in Texas and the mountains of Southeastern Oklahoma, where his grandfather taught him to ride a bucking horse and his father taught him to hunt.
14-year-oldIn the film, based more on the 1968 novel by Charles Portis than on the 1969 film starring John Wayne, Steinfeld portrays 14-year-old Mattie Ross, a bright and headstrong young woman who hires drunken bounty hunter Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) to hunt down the man who killed her father.
A criminal from a family of outlaws. Rooster has been chasing down the Whartons for a long time, killing most of them whenever he encounters them. On one particular occasion, Rooster tracks down Odus, C.C. … read analysis of Odus Wharton
William Quantrill. The nonfictional leader of a pro-Confederate group of men who tore through Kansas and Missouri fighting Union soldiers and sympathizers. Quantrill is known for his violent ways, as he led his men in the infamous… read analysis of William Quantrill.
Mattie Ross. A fourteen-year-old girl from Dardanelle, Arkansas and the narrator of True Grit. Mattie is a strong-willed young woman who uses her intelligence and determination to succeed in a world where she is consistently undervalued… read analysis of Mattie Ross.
A “stock trader” who buys and sells horses. On the day of Frank ’s death, Stonehill sells him a group of ponies, letting them go for a low price because he’s having trouble finding buyers… read analysis of Stonehill
Columbus Potter. A U.S. marshal, and Rooster ’s best friend. Potter and Rooster were both part of Quantrill ’s group of guerilla soldiers during the Civil War. Afterward, they escaped and went their separate ways, though their… read analysis of Columbus Potter.
Jesse James. A nonfictional outlaw, and the younger brother of Frank James. Like Frank and Rooster, Jesse was part of William Quantrill ’s group of guerilla soldiers, who fought against pro-Union forces during and after… read analysis of Jesse James.
Frank James. A nonfictional outlaw, and the older brother of the notorious Jesse James. Like Rooster, Frank James was part of William Quantrill ’s group of guerilla soldiers, who fought against pro-Union forces during and… read analysis of Frank James.
The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. Chapter 1. Mattie Ross admits that not many people believe a little girl can “leave home and go... (full context)
Mattie Ross. Next. Rooster Cogburn. A fourteen-year-old girl from Dardanelle, Arkansas and the narrator of True Grit. Mattie is a strong-willed young woman who uses her intelligence and determination to succeed in a world where she is consistently undervalued. She comes to Fort Smith in the aftermath of her father Frank Ross ’s murder.
Ned Pepper’s... (full context) Ned asks Rooster if he should kill Mattie, and Rooster tells him to do what he thinks is “best.”. In response, Ned tells... (full context) While Rooster and LaBoeuf leave, Ned Pepper brings Mattie to the bandits’ camp, which is in a small clearing atop the hill.
When Rooster and LaBoeuf set off on the manhunt without her, Mattie buys a pony from Stonehill and follows them, forcing them to accept her presence, though LaBoeuf whips her with a switch until Rooster tells him to stop.
Early in the morning, Mattie rises and mounts her horse, putting her father’s pistol in a sugar sack and tying ... (full context) At the narrowest section of the river, Mattie steers Blackie into the water, and though the current is strong, she manages to thrash... (full context)
Seeing this, LaBoeuf shoots Quincy in the neck, and Mattie dives to the ground. Moon is “bleeding terribly from his hand and from a mortal... (full context) ...searching Quincy’s corpse, Rooster finds one of Frank Ross’s gold pieces in his pocket, delighting Mattie.
Mattie notes that one of the three outlaws doesn’t die right away, since the noose doesn’t... (full context) After the undertaker’s, Mattie visits the sheriff, who tells her Chaney has crossed into Indian Territory after linking up... (full context) Mattie convinces Yarnell to let her stay in Fort Smith.
The True Grit quotes below are all either spoken by The Sheriff or refer to The Sheriff. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Harry N.
The timeline below shows where the character The Sheriff appears in True Grit. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.