True Grit

The first thing that caught my attention about this novel was the main character, Mattie. It is quit unusual to have a fourteen year-old girl as narrator of a western story. She is not a weak helpless little girl in this story and Marshal is not a perfect over the top western super hero. This western somehow shows a turning point in the United States’ history. Law and the justice system improved enough that a young girl like Mattie could take care of her family business relying on law and her lawyer. In this new era, even a marshal needs to answer for his actions. By the end of the story (25 years later) we realize men like Rooster Cogburn don’t really have any place in the new society as they used to have.

I also watched the movie (Coen Brothers’ version). I must confess it sometimes feel better not to know about everything that Mattie thinks about. There were few occasions that I needed to pause the audiobook only to refresh my brain. The movie was well crafted and loyal to the story but it was less political and had fewer references to the history.

The most important cultural aspects of the novel were equality and diversity. The main character was a girl who could achieve her goal thanks to the law protection and support. Also men in power couldn’t easily take advantage of their positions. Different races were mentioned few times in the story that mostly suggested improvement in their lives and situations. No black man introduced as a slave and no Indian was described as a savage.