True Grit Analysis

True Grit by Charles Portis is an acclaimed western novel that was published in 1968. The most recent film rendition, produced by the Coen brothers, based off of the book was released in 2010. While the film adaptation is drastically similar to the novel in regards to dialogue and plot, there are some discrepancies that can be seen between the two. In the film there is more of an emphasis on the “true grit” aspect of the general plot than in the novel by Charles Portis. The Coen brothers added or exempted several things from the Portis book in their rendition of True Grit that gave it a rougher wild west tone that in the novel. They intensified the grit in the personality of the characters Rooster Cogburn, Mattie Ross, and LeBeouf, as well
as adding a peculiar emphasis on corpses. These aspects, whither left out or added, gave the film an increased feeling of grit than the novel it was based off. This emphasis on grit, I believe, is a more accurate portrayal of what the west was like during this time period. The definition of grit, as defined in the Oxford dictionary, is “courage and resolve.” Other synonyms of “grit” in regards to the Coen’s depiction of the movie include “backbone, toughness, hardiness, and tenacity.” These definitions fit many aspects of the Coen brother’s depiction of “grit” and how it is seen in main characters and throughout the film.
One of these characters is a U.S. Marshal by the name of Rooster Cogburn; a character that is represented with much “grit” in both the film and the movie. However, the depiction of Cogburn in the Coen version True Grit is much more hardy and tough. The first encounter Cogburn has with the main character Mattie, a fourteen-year-old girl from Arkansas, is her standing outside an outhouse trying to speak to him. The conversation they have is as
follows,
Voice: The jakes is occupied.
We see that Mattie stands before an outhouse.
Mattie: I know it is occupied Mr. Cogburn. As I said, I have business with you.
Voice: I have prior business.
Mattie: You have been at it for quite some time, Mr. Cogburn.
Voice: (roaring drunk) There is no clock on my business! To hell with you! To hell with you! How did you stalk me here?!
Mattie: The sheriff told me to look in the saloon.
In the saloon they referred me here. We must talk.
Voice: (outraged) Women ain’t allowed in the saloon!
Mattie: I was not there as a customer. I am fourteen years old.
No response. Mattie reaches up and raps again, vigorously.
Voice: (sullen) The jakes is occupied. And will be for some time.

This was a scene that was added to the film in an attempt to give the character of Rooster Cogburn a feeling of grit. One could argue that in a civilized society, you do not try and talk to people while in the john. Placing him in an outhouse trying to talk through the door and getting Mattie to leave him to his business is an excellent example of his rough, western lifestyle.
In the book, Mattie first introduces herself to Cogburn and offers him a fifty-dollar reward to help her find the man who shot and killed her father, Tom Chaney. Upon hearing this, Cogburn is hesitant, but says, “I do not believe you have fifty dollars, baby sister, but if you are hungry, I will give you supper and we will talk it over and make medicine. How does that suit you?” Although, in the movie he says, “I don't believe in fairy tales or sermons or stories about money, baby sister, but thank you for the cigarette.” From the beginning of the film Rooster
is