“Grit is staring down the barrel of the difficult and the unknown, rejecting the voices that say I’m not enough, and pushing through anyway,” (Josh Collins thejoshcollins.com). True grit is defined as having perseverance, courage, endurance, and bravery through a difficult trial or hardship that may seem daunting. In the novel True Grit by Charles Portis, the characters Rooster Cogburn, Frank and Mattie Ross are portrayed as having the presence or the lack of grit. This book mainly describes Mattie Ross’ story in her own words. Frank Ross, Mattie’s father is killed in cold blood at the beginning of the book by a man named Tom Chaney, who then stole from the man’s dead body and ran away like a coward. This ignited Mattie’s fire of hate and revenge for Tom Chaney, causing her to determinedly pursue him through Indian Territory in hopes of ending his life as he had done for her father’s. Before embarking on her journey, she hires a U.S. state marshal by the name of Rooster Cogburn to track down Tom Chaney and kill him. Rooster Cogburn has a reputation of being the toughest, cruelest, and grittiest marshal the country can offer, these …show more content…
Rooster Cogburn, Frank Ross and Mattie Ross all show true grit in many diverse ways. In some cases, however, the lack of grit is shown through their actions. The definition of grit is different according to peoples opinions and views. The way I view it is, Rooster is truly the grittiest when he is fighting for someone or something he loves, Frank Ross showed grit by acting out of kindness and concern in risking his life for a good cause, Mattie Ross has moments of strong will-power, but lacks the grit to overcome trials and hardships. This quote by Dea Irby perfectly describes what true grit is, “Grit is doing what you don't want to do, to be what you want to be” (Dea Irby