In the movie True Grit (1969), Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) depicts the negative effects of violence when he fails to notice blood on his corn cakes or when he kills a young boy whose name he can’t remember without any emotion. This shows Roosters lack of concern for violence since he has seen and caused so much bloodshed.
Violence is shown as a normal part of life in this film and Rooster seems to be used to this fact. When Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) notices the blood on the corn cakes and Rooster continues to eat them, Ignoring the blood, it is made clear that he has become indifferent to violence and bloodshed. As the two prepare a fire on their first night seeking to avenge the death of Mattie's father, Rooster hands her a corn cakes and she takes one bite and notices that they are covered in blood. When Rooster is made aware
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When Rooster kills a young boy on his horse who appears to be with the dangerous criminal Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall), it is made clear that he has come to see life as having little value; his apathy is further emphasized when he fails to even be concerned as to what the boy's name is. The boy Billy Walsh, is identified later by a rancher, who identifies his body when Rooster goes to him to bury it. By having the name be told by another character, it becomes clear that Rooster kills to kill, not to make it personal. He does not care about what the boy’s name is, only that he was a threat and now he is dead. He has become numb to violence and only sees it as a means to an end.
These claims are important in understanding the violence is this move by showing that violence is simply an act of justice. While it may seem bloody and sinful, to men like Rooster, shooting and killing is the only way to destroy your enemy. By showing no emotion to death or blood, he shows the audience that violence in this film is nothing new and nothing