"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
Why is the distance significant?
ReplyDeleteHunting up the references only enlightens the text if it contributes to a deeper understanding of the novel. Right now, you are doing some good research -- and not yet demonstrating why it matters. And I think there could be good reason for all of these things.