"'The youth of Texas are brought up to be polite and to show respect for their elders.'
'I notice people of that state also gouge their horses with great brutal spurs.'" (76)
This bit of dialogue between LaBoef and Maddie shows just how little Maddie will take from anyone, whether it's an old man with an eye patch or a young Texas ranger with spurs on his boots. She not only rejects any insult they try to make on her, but she deflects it with an intelligent statement, especially for a girl her age. Portis wrote her character to be so strong and leading on purpose. True Grit was written in 1968 - just before the liberation of the 70s - and when women were really beginning to emerge as forces to be reckoned with in the workplace.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
True Grit 9
"I read her about the Wharton trial in the New Era and the Elevator. I also read a little book someone had left on the table called Bess Calloway's Disappointment." (70)
The New era and the Elevator are two newspapers or magazines that Portis created just for True Grit. In this quote, Maddie is reading to Grandma Turner of the Wharton trial - the trial that Rooster is in and where Maddie finds him for the first time - while she stays with Mrs. Floyd and is sick in bed. This ties in with the fictional journalists that Portis created just to support the main story. He could have found real papers in that time period, but did not. Bess Calloway's Disappointment, the other fictional book Portis wrote in, is also nowhere to be found when searched for. Portis fictionalized these papers for the same reason as he fictionalized the female writers - to create a sense of faux reality that is important to make the reader focus on the symbolism of the plot.
The New era and the Elevator are two newspapers or magazines that Portis created just for True Grit. In this quote, Maddie is reading to Grandma Turner of the Wharton trial - the trial that Rooster is in and where Maddie finds him for the first time - while she stays with Mrs. Floyd and is sick in bed. This ties in with the fictional journalists that Portis created just to support the main story. He could have found real papers in that time period, but did not. Bess Calloway's Disappointment, the other fictional book Portis wrote in, is also nowhere to be found when searched for. Portis fictionalized these papers for the same reason as he fictionalized the female writers - to create a sense of faux reality that is important to make the reader focus on the symbolism of the plot.
True Grit 8
"I was sick the next day. I got up and went to breakfast but I could not eat much and my eyes and nose were running so I went back to bed. I felt very low. Mrs. Floyd wrapped a rag around my neck that was soaked in turpentine and smeared with lard."
Portis mentioned this old-time remedy in True Grit to set the authenticity of the time period. Things like Vicks Vapo-Rub didn't exist in the early 1900s - the older remedies set the basis of those types of things. Rags soaked in turpentine and lard were used to relieve chest congestion. The lard does nothing besides prevent the turpentine from blistering the skin. Some of the events Portis wrote into the plot of True Grit are exaggerated and unbelievable but it's the smaller attention to detail, like the home remedies, that make it relateable to the reader.
Works Cited:
http://stixbrown.hubpages.com/hub/Old-Timey-Home-Remedies
Portis mentioned this old-time remedy in True Grit to set the authenticity of the time period. Things like Vicks Vapo-Rub didn't exist in the early 1900s - the older remedies set the basis of those types of things. Rags soaked in turpentine and lard were used to relieve chest congestion. The lard does nothing besides prevent the turpentine from blistering the skin. Some of the events Portis wrote into the plot of True Grit are exaggerated and unbelievable but it's the smaller attention to detail, like the home remedies, that make it relateable to the reader.
Works Cited:
http://stixbrown.hubpages.com/hub/Old-Timey-Home-Remedies
True Grit 7
"They think because I have a little money I will be happy to fill up their Sunday columns just to see my name in print like Lucille Biggers Langford and Florence Mabry Whiteside." (43)
Lucille Biggers Langford and Florence Mabry Whiteside, referenced in the book as real people who had written for papers and magazines, are apparently fictional writers that Portis created for True Grit. A reader would be surprised to find that, when their names are put into a search engine, a majority of the results generated are for True Grit. This brings up the question of why Portis didn't just research and use real female journalists from that time period. There must have been some that he could have drawn from and written in to make it more authentic - however, he opted to create his own people that are only mentioned once in the book. Portis' reasoning for this was perhaps leaving a sense of unreality to the novel. Even though the history in True Grit is real and the setting is authentic, using real people would possibly make it too non-fictional and distract from the civil rights symbolism in the plot.
Lucille Biggers Langford and Florence Mabry Whiteside, referenced in the book as real people who had written for papers and magazines, are apparently fictional writers that Portis created for True Grit. A reader would be surprised to find that, when their names are put into a search engine, a majority of the results generated are for True Grit. This brings up the question of why Portis didn't just research and use real female journalists from that time period. There must have been some that he could have drawn from and written in to make it more authentic - however, he opted to create his own people that are only mentioned once in the book. Portis' reasoning for this was perhaps leaving a sense of unreality to the novel. Even though the history in True Grit is real and the setting is authentic, using real people would possibly make it too non-fictional and distract from the civil rights symbolism in the plot.
True Grit 6
"He said, 'The killer has flown to the Territory and is now on the scout there.'" (33)
This line is from the scene in which Mattie is first confronting the salesman about her father's horses. It's all small talk of what Tom Chaney did, knocking out the store's watchman and obviously killing Mattie's father. Portis brings up the "Territory", meaning the Indian Territory, as where Chaney flees to. The distance that Chaney travels and the distance that Rooster, LaBoef, and Mattie chase him is larger than a reader would imagine. The Indian Territory is currently Oklahoma, and Mattie begins in Alabama. At the time that the novel was written, it was referred to as Oklahoma. In the time period in which the novel is set, however, it would still be called the Indian Territory. The distance traveled just to find Tom Chaney and the determination not to turn around and quit is almost entirely Mattie's doing - Rooster gave up on the search multiple times, but was brought back to focus with Mattie's determination.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Territory
This line is from the scene in which Mattie is first confronting the salesman about her father's horses. It's all small talk of what Tom Chaney did, knocking out the store's watchman and obviously killing Mattie's father. Portis brings up the "Territory", meaning the Indian Territory, as where Chaney flees to. The distance that Chaney travels and the distance that Rooster, LaBoef, and Mattie chase him is larger than a reader would imagine. The Indian Territory is currently Oklahoma, and Mattie begins in Alabama. At the time that the novel was written, it was referred to as Oklahoma. In the time period in which the novel is set, however, it would still be called the Indian Territory. The distance traveled just to find Tom Chaney and the determination not to turn around and quit is almost entirely Mattie's doing - Rooster gave up on the search multiple times, but was brought back to focus with Mattie's determination.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Territory
True Grit 5
"He might have taken the time to saddle the horse or hitched up three spans of mules to a Concord stagecoach and smoked a pipe as it seems no one in the city was after him. He had mistaken the drummers for men. 'The wicked flee when none pursueth.'" (17)
The quote "The wicked flee when none pursueth", originally from Proverbs 28:1, is used to describe Tom Chaney at the beginning of the book. The full quote as quoted from the King James Bible, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.", goes as far to describe Maddie's ferocity when deciding to pursue Chaney. Chaney fled quickly after he killed Maddie's father despite the fact that nobody chased after him, and Maddie, being only 14 and raised on a farm, pursued him without a second thought.
Works Cited:
http://bible.cc/proverbs/28-1.htm
The quote "The wicked flee when none pursueth", originally from Proverbs 28:1, is used to describe Tom Chaney at the beginning of the book. The full quote as quoted from the King James Bible, "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.", goes as far to describe Maddie's ferocity when deciding to pursue Chaney. Chaney fled quickly after he killed Maddie's father despite the fact that nobody chased after him, and Maddie, being only 14 and raised on a farm, pursued him without a second thought.
Works Cited:
http://bible.cc/proverbs/28-1.htm
True Grit 4
"Blackie fell to the ground and died, his brave heart burst and mine broken. There never lived a nobler pony." (216)
Portis characterizes Little Blackie as having white socks - a trait that, in a horse, can be good or bad, depending on who you ask. In the 1969 version of the film, Little Blackie is played by a Pinto with white socks and a blaze, whereas in the 2010 version he is played by an entirely brown-black stunt pony. Stockings on a horse can lead to superstitions in some horse owners, following the rhyme:
"One white foot, buy him.
Two white feet, try him.
Three white feet, be on the sly.
Four white feet, pass him by."
Portis characterizes Little Blackie as having white socks - a trait that, in a horse, can be good or bad, depending on who you ask. In the 1969 version of the film, Little Blackie is played by a Pinto with white socks and a blaze, whereas in the 2010 version he is played by an entirely brown-black stunt pony. Stockings on a horse can lead to superstitions in some horse owners, following the rhyme:
"One white foot, buy him.
Two white feet, try him.
Three white feet, be on the sly.
Four white feet, pass him by."
So the more stockings a horse has, the worse luck he is, which is something Portis may have decided to incorporate into Little Blackie's character to show his temperament. Mattie chose Little Blackie because of his personality, because she had hope that he could be a good horse. He proved to be a perfect companion throughout her journey.
Works Cited:
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