True Grit Summary
Charles Portis

True Grit Summary

All of Portis's social concerns appear as themes, some minor, others major, in his novels. Justice and revenge, major themes in True Grit, are minor ones in The Dog of the South, whereas restlessness, a minor theme in True Grit, is the major theme of The Dog of the South and Gringos. Because Mattie Ross, a Bible-quoting Presbyterian, believes stoutly in the doctrine of "an eye for an eye," nothing stops her short of a full measure of vengeance. She is as relentless as a fury and requires Rooster Cogburn to give her full measure for the money they agree upon as his price for tracking down her father's murderer. She wants justice meted out in the place, Fort Smith, where her father was slain, but, more than that, she wants Tom Chaney to pay with his life if circumstances prevent his being tried for murder. Almost as...

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